Remote Education

Home Learning at Ludham Primary School

Home learning (updated May 2022)

This information is intended to provide clarity and transparency to pupils and parents or carers about what to expect from remote education where there is an exceptional reason for school or part-school closure. We also have a ‘Remote Learning’ Policy in the ‘Policies’ area of the website.

Why might we need to issue home learning?

Covid testing has now ended for the majority. We won’t clearly know how many children have covid. Most children will be off because they are unwell, in which case we will not expect them to be home learning. However, school closures can be for more than Covid.

Reasons could include:

Suspected outbreak of infection (which could be covid) requiring a larger scale closure
Low staff numbers due to infection outbreak amongst staff (so children can’t come to school as we don’t have the adults)
severe weather (and a resulting lack of ability for staff to get to work)
significant damage to property (e.g, a fire)

Who should stay at home?

All children should now be back at school. please refer to the ‘Coronovirus’ information below for advice on when to stay home.

All absences (Covid related or not) should be reported to school by phoning the school office who will log the absence on Pupil Asset (phone app or computer login)

What should my child expect from immediate remote education in the first day or two of pupils being sent home?

Scenario 1- school is open to all pupils. My child is off due to them being unwell

If your child is unwell, they do not need to complete schoolwork. They should rest and get better as soon as possible to come back to school.

Scenario 2- school is open to all pupils. My child is off due to them having suspected covid and are isolating for the advised number of days

If they are unwell with Covid-19, we do not expect them to have to complete work, but if they are asymptomatic, let the school know you would like work set for them. This will be through ClassDojo or Tapestry Journal

Scenario 3- School closed to year groups or all, (except vulnerable children and children of critical workers) for one of the above reasons

On Day 1 of this scenario, teachers will be preparing ‘home learning plans’. These will be uploaded to ClassDojo/Tapestry Journal that day, ready for the majority of pupils to continue their learning at home from day 2. These plans are in line with the curriculum that we would be teaching in school if children were in.

Under this arrangement, it is expected that children of critical workers are NOT in every day, only the days when you are at work and need them to be in school.

It is essential that children have continuity in their learning. To this end, children who are in school follow the same home learning plan as children at home. It is important that children who spend some days in and some days out of school do keep up, so they are in the right place ready to move on when they come in.

With remote education on ClassDojo/Tapestry Journal, will my child be taught broadly the same curriculum as they would if they were in school?

For the reasons listed above, broadly speaking, we teach the same curriculum remotely as we do in school wherever possible and appropriate. However, we have needed to make some adaptations in some subjects, for example, PE, Art or DT. Writing for example may be of a similar genre but be a different outcome.

How long can I expect work set by the school to take my child each day?

We expect that remote education (including remote teaching and independent work) will take pupils broadly the following number of hours each day:

For reception children, exploring their environment and play is their learning! There will be key focussed learning including reading stories, speaking and listening, phonics and number that the teacher will set.

In years 1 & 2 (Key Stage 1) the teacher will set work that should last the child a minimum of 3 hours a day. This does not include the expectation of 20 minutes reading a day as well.

In years 3-6 (Key Stage 2) the teacher will set work that should last the child a minimum of 4 hours a day. This does not include the expectation of 20 minutes reading (or quizzing in Accelerated Reader) a day as well.

How will my child access any online remote education you are providing?

ClassDojo/Tapestry Journal is our chosen platform for sharing home learning. Please ensure you have downloaded the pupil app and the family app and you have the log in details. If you can’t seem to make it work, do get in touch with the school.

If your child will not be able to have any access to technology and this will be a barrier to their learning, please contact the school. We have some devices that can be loaned out to families.

If my child does not have digital or online access at home, how will you support them to access remote education?

We recognise that some pupils may not have suitable online access at home. We take the following approaches to support those pupils to access remote education:

If you are struggling with your child not having any access to a suitable device, then please contact the school. We may be able to loan you a laptop or iPad from school. There is an agreement to sign for all loan devices. This will allow access to ClassDojo/Tapestry Journal to view the home learning plans. It will also have ‘Zoom’ for any live meetings.

If you have a device, but you don’t have a suitable internet connection, again, please contact the school to discuss this. We may be able to talk you though how you can use your phone’s data allowance to link to the device or can talk through other options.

If you do not have a suitable device and feel you need printed materials, this can be arranged. Please contact your child’s class teacher via ClassDojo or Tapestry, or phone the school, to explain what you require. We will endeavour to provide you with a pack to collect. (Note: during a period of infection control, this is not the preferred solution as it needs multiple people to handle paperwork. This increases the risk of infection. Please use the home learning plan on ClassDojo/Tapestry Journal and internet access where possible.)

In terms of submitting work to the teachers, please use ClassDojo/Tapestry Journal primarily. The app is simple to use and you can upload work that your teacher will be able to review and provide feedback on. If you cannot do this, paperwork can be brought into school in a named envelope. (Note: we will be quarantining work to 72 hours before reviewing it)

What will the learning be?

If school is open as normal, then there will be limited ‘live’ lessons as the teacher is teaching the class all day. However, should there be a return to a school closure for the majority, then the teachers may have more capacity for live sessions. This will of course depend on the number of Key workers and vulnerable children in school and how many teachers are allocated to teach these groups.

Teachers plan to teach in a number of different ways, depending on the area in question.

Some examples of remote teaching approaches:

Signposting (links) to recorded lessons (e.g. Oak National Academy lessons or video/audio recordings made by teachers, including your child’s teacher)
Live teaching (online lessons, using ‘Zoom’ for pastoral support, listening to readers, small group or individual keep-up support or intervention)
Quizzes and other assessments (such as quizzes for every reading book or ZPD assessments in Accelerated Reader for KS2 children)
Signposting to commercially available websites supporting the teaching of specific subjects or areas, including video clips or sequences (e.g. phonics)
Printed paper packs produced by teachers (e.g. workbooks, worksheets)
Textbooks and reading books pupils have at home – sent from school
Long-term project work and/or internet research activities.

What are your expectations for my child’s engagement and the support that we as parents and carers should provide at home?

It is expected that if your child is at home on a school day, and they are well, then they will engage in home learning. They need to have access to a device such as a desktop computer, a laptop or tablet. For children in KS1 and above, they need to be able to log on to ClassDojo where they will find their learning for the day or week.

They will need to upload their learning to ClassDojo so the teacher can see what they have completed and comment- praising and giving feedback.

Try to help establish routines for your child. For example: learning starts at 9am, break time is at…. We stop for lunch at…. Reading is for 20 minutes after lunch… etc… This could be a visual timetable stuck up on display, so everyone is clear on what is needed. We understand sometimes the routine needs to change, but having a starting point always works best.

Home learning will need some support from you, depending on the age of the child. The younger the child, the more support they will need to access their learning, keep them on task and upload work. Older children should be able to be quite independent once underway.

ClassDojo is designed to be easy to use and interactive. If your child is having difficulty with something, they can always ask their teacher a question or ask for some support. These messages will be read daily. You can also use the ClassDojo App to message the teacher privately.

We expect your child to upload their learning on a daily basis. This is for a number of reasons:

We can monitor their engagement with home learning
We can intervene and support quickly if it is clear they have found something difficult.

How will you check whether my child is engaging with their work and how will i be informed if there are concerns?

Teachers will check ClassDojo/Tapestry Journal daily. We will be able to see if new messages from us to you have been read and if work has been uploaded.

If a few days goes by with no uploads and we can see that new messages have not been read, then teachers will notify the Headteacher. We will call home to ask if the family are OK and if there is anything we can do to support the child to access their home learning as we are concerned, they will fall behind if there is very little engagement.

If deemed appropriate the class teacher, or teaching/ support assistant may also call to see if there is any way we can help.

How will you assess my child’s work and progress?

As stated above, children need to submit their work to ClassDojo so the teacher can see it. Work with then be reviewed by the teacher and commented on. Feedback can take many forms and may not always mean extensive written comments for individual children. For example, whole-class feedback or quizzes marked automatically via digital platforms are valid and effective methods, amongst many others. Our approach to feeding back on pupil work is as follows:

Whenever a pupil uploads a key piece of work, recognition will be given by an adult in class. We will see everything submitted. Key pieces of work (such as a piece of writing) may have a more in-depth comment made. This might include commenting on what your child has done well and points for the future to reflect on.

Teachers may extend the learning by sending supplementary questions back via ClassDojo/Tapestry Journal. Equally, for children who have found a piece of learning difficult, the teacher can support or direct a Teaching assistant to support in a separate session.

How will you work with me to help my child who needs additional support from adults at home to access remote education?

We recognise that some pupils, for example some pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), may not be able to access remote education without support from adults at home. We acknowledge the difficulties this may place on families, and we will work with parents and carers to support those pupils on an individual basis.

If my child is not in school because they are self-isolating (but school is open for all as normal), how will their remote education differ from the approaches described above?

Rather than a weekly ‘Home Learning Plan’, a series of links and activities will be put onto the learning platforms (ClassDojo/Tapestry Journal) as individual elements. These may not be exactly the same lessons as those being taught in school but will cover the same overall curriculum objectives.

All children will be expected to continue with their learning remotely. The platform by which we share learning is called ‘ClassDojo’. This is where teachers:

upload learning content and links.
children can upload their learning for the teacher to review- in a variety of forms.
class staff can feedback to your child about their learning.

Communication

School staff will be contacting families in person for a number of reasons:

a general check in, to see how you all are.
to ask about learning if your child does not appear to have engaged, or uploaded much learning to ClassDojo/Tapestry Journal
to arrange a Zoom meeting. These might be for pastoral reasons, or to support learning directly for individuals of small groups.

ZOOM RULES

For safeguarding reasons, make sure you have your child’s name in Zoom. The teacher may not let you in from the waiting room if they don’t recognise the name.
Uniform is not required, but during an online session, your child must wear suitable clothing, as should anyone else in the household, when webcams are switched on. Pupils will be asked to leave the online lesson if it is felt that a pupil or family member’s clothing is inappropriate.
All digital devices must be used in an appropriate area of the house- ideally somewhere with enough space to work.
Consider what else people can see in the background and whether you want this. The ‘blurring of backgrounds’ can be used, where possible to aid privacy of your home.
All language used must be appropriate, including any family members and adults in the background of any household. Inappropriate language used by pupils or heard by members of their family will not be accepted. Pupils will be removed from the lesson.
We request that pupils do not eat during online sessions. Having a drink whilst learning and participating is fine.
To recreate a suitable learning environment for your child, ensure they can sit at a table for the lesson (where possible).
When your child is learning online, please reduce background distractions i.e. television, telephone calls, pets etc.
Let your child learn independently – do not sit next to them and coach them. Only offer support if there is a technical issue.
If you as a parent have questions about the online learning, they will be able to send a message to their child’s class teacher via ClassDojo/Tapestry Journal. Do be mindful that teachers may not be able to reply instantly, due to the structure of their day/week.
Please be aware that the lesson could be for a class of 30 children not just for your child. It is an open forum; any distractions will disturb not only your child but others too.
Teachers will check and acknowledge resulting work that is submitted.

Coronavirus updated for September 2022

Where can I get official guidance?

Please refer to the Government guidance below. (last updated June 10th 2022)

People with symptoms of a respiratory infection including COVID-19 – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Who should attend school now?

All children should attend school if they are well.

Who do I tell if my child is ill?

If your child is unwell on the morning of coming to school, please let us know. This can be by phone call (you can leave a message on the answer machine) or by filling in an absence on the Pupil Asset App or website log in. Please let us know the reason for absence as this has to be recorded.

Some families have started using Class Dojo/Tapestry for letting a teacher know. This is ok to do this AS WELL as phoning, but please don’t only send a message on Dojoo/Tapestry as the school office does not see this- only the class staff.

Symptoms of a respiratory infection, including Covid-19

Respiratory infections can spread easily between people. It is important to be aware of symptoms so you can take action to reduce the risk of spreading your infection to other people.

The symptoms of Covid-19 and other respiratory infections are very similar. It is not possible to tell if you have Covid-19, flu or another respiratory infection based on symptoms alone. Most people with Covid-19 and other respiratory infections will have a relatively mild illness, especially if they have been vaccinated.

If you have symptoms of a respiratory infection, such as Covid-19, and you have a high temperature or you do not feel well enough to go to work/ school or carry out normal activities, you are advised to try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people.

Symptoms of Covid-19, flu and common respiratory infections include:

continuous cough
high temperature, fever or chills
loss of, or change in, your normal sense of taste or smell
shortness of breath
unexplained tiredness, lack of energy
muscle aches or pains that are not due to exercise
not wanting to eat or not feeling hungry
headache that is unusual or longer lasting than usual
sore throat, stuffy or runny nose
diarrhoea, feeling sick or being sick

If you are feeling unwell with these symptoms, you should get plenty of rest and drink water to keep hydrated. You can use medications such as paracetamol to help with your symptoms. Antibiotics are not recommended for viral respiratory infections because they will not relieve your symptoms or speed up your recovery.

In some cases, you might continue to have a cough or feel tired after your other symptoms have improved, but this does not mean that you are still infectious.

People at higher risk of becoming seriously unwell from a respiratory infection, including Covid-19

People who are at higher risk from Covid-19 and other respiratory infections include:

older people
those who are pregnant
those who are unvaccinated
people of any age whose immune system means they are at higher risk of serious illness
people of any age with certain long-term conditions

The risk of becoming seriously unwell from Covid-19 and other respiratory infections is very low for most children and young people.

Children and young people (aged 18 years and under) who have symptoms of a respiratory infection, including Covid-19

Respiratory infections are common in children and young people, particularly during the winter months. Symptoms can be caused by several respiratory infections including the common cold and Covid-19.

For most children and young people, these illnesses will not be serious, and they will soon recover following rest and plenty of fluids.

Very few children and young people with respiratory infections become seriously unwell. This is also true for children and young people with long-term conditions. Some children under 2, especially those born prematurely or with a heart condition, can be more seriously unwell from RSV.

Attending education is hugely important for children and young people’s health and their future.

When should children and young people with symptoms stay at home and when can they return to education?

Children and young people with mild symptoms such as a runny nose, sore throat, or slight cough, who are otherwise well, can continue to attend their education setting.

Children and young people who are unwell and have a high temperature should stay at home and avoid contact with other people, where they can. They can go back to school, college or childcare, and resume normal activities when they no longer have a high temperature, and they are well enough to attend.

All children and young people with respiratory symptoms should be encouraged to cover their mouth and nose with a disposable tissue when coughing and/or sneezing and to wash their hands after using or disposing of tissues.

It can be difficult to know when to seek help if your child is unwell. If you are worried about your child, especially if they are aged under 2 years old, then you should seek medical help.

Children and young people aged 18 years and under who have a positive test result

It is not recommended that children and young people are tested for Covid-19 unless directed to by a health professional.

If a child or young person has a positive Covid-19 test result they should try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people for 3 days after the day they took the test, if they can. After 3 days, if they feel well and do not have a high temperature, the risk of passing the infection on to others is much lower. This is because children and young people tend to be infectious to other people for less time than adults.

Children and young people who usually go to school, college or childcare and who live with someone who has a positive Covid-19 test result should continue to attend as normal.

What do I do if I have more than one child in education?

If you have two or more children and one of them is exhibiting symptoms, then siblings can still come to school.

FOR ADULTS…

What to do if you (the adult) have symptoms of a respiratory infection, including Covid-19, and have not taken a Covid-19 test

If you have symptoms of a respiratory infection, such as Covid-19, and you have a high temperature or do not feel well enough to go to work or carry out normal activities, try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people, until you no longer have a high temperature (if you had one) or until you no longer feel unwell.

It is particularly important to avoid close contact with anyone who you know is at higher risk of becoming seriously unwell if they are infected with Covid-19 and other respiratory infections, especially those whose immune system means that they are at higher risk of serious illness, despite vaccination.

For adults, try to work from home if you can. If you are unable to work from home, talk to your employer about options available to you.

If you have been asked to attend a medical or dental appointment in person, contact your healthcare provider and let them know about your symptoms.

You may wish to ask friends, family or neighbours to get food and other essentials for you.

If you do leave your home…

If you leave your home while you have symptoms of a respiratory infection, and you have a high temperature or feel unwell, avoid close contact with anyone who you know is at higher risk of becoming seriously unwell, especially those whose immune system means that they are at higher risk of serious illness, despite vaccination.

The following actions will reduce the chance of passing on your infection to others:

wearing a well-fitting face covering made with multiple layers or a surgical face mask
avoiding crowded places such as public transport, large social gatherings, or anywhere that is enclosed or poorly ventilated
taking any exercise outdoors in places where you will not have close contact with other people
covering your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze; wash your hands frequently with soap and water for 20 seconds or use hand sanitiser after coughing, sneezing and blowing your nose and before you eat or handle food; avoid touching your face

Reduce the spread of infection in your household

While you are unwell there is a high risk of passing your infection to others in your household. These are simple things you can do to help prevent the spread:

try to keep your distance from people you live with
in shared areas wear a well-fitting face covering made with multiple layers or a surgical face mask, especially if you live with people whose immune system means that they are at higher risk of serious illness, despite vaccination
ventilate rooms you have been in by opening windows and leaving them open for at least 10 minutes after you have left the room
wash your hands regularly and cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing
regularly clean frequently touched surfaces, such as door handles and remote controls, and shared areas such as kitchens and bathrooms
advise anyone that does need to come into your home that you have symptoms, so they can take precautions to protect themselves such as wearing a well-fitting face covering or a surgical face mask, keeping their distance if they can, and washing their hands regularly

What do I do if my child has a sickness bug?

If your child has sickness or diarrhoea, they will need to be off school for 48 hours after the symptoms end. This normally means 2 days off school but could be more if the symptoms are present for a longer time. Once they are well enough, and 48 hours has passed since their last period of being unwell, they can return to school.

If I do get a test and it is positive, how long do I have to isolate for?

The day you tested positive with a LFD or PCR is ‘Day 0’. For adults, you are advised to isolate for 5 days. For children this is 3 days. IF you still have a temperature, or continue to feel unwell, continue to isolate beyond this as it is likely you are still infectious. return to normal routines when you no longer have a temperature and feel well enough to return to normal.

If you wish to discuss any of this, please refer to the Government guidance (link at top of page) or, please do give us a ring.

Kind regards,

Mrs A Goreham

Headteacher

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