Online and Remote Learning

Online and Remote Learning at St John's

Online learning can be an exciting way to embed and consolidate learning in school and practise skills such as times tables, arithmetic, spellings and much more. There are many excellent websites which can enhance your child's skills and knowledge in all areas of the curriculum and although we have added some key ones below, there are many others too which you may find helpful. In some classes, homework will often be set on Google Classroom our online platform.

Although those children who will be set homework via this platform will have been taught and practised how to use it, a helpful reminder or intro for parents is in the video link below.

Across the country, remote learning has become an integral part of pupil's access to learning and we have been using it in some classes for setting homework. It is also invaluable for our 'new normal' experience during lockdown periods or for pupils self isolating during the Covid 19 pandemic. At St John's the expectation is that self-isolating pupils will engage in the remote learning each day, with pupils work being uploaded via our Google Classroom portal. If your child is self-isolating, learning tasks will be set for them which they will be expected to complete and 'hand in' through the Google Classroom portal. If the whole class bubble is self -isolating, their teacher or another member of staff will be available for online support and guidance during the day. These times will be communicated by their teacher to the children and parents, should a class need to isolate.

Example of timetable.

St John's Remote Learning Information for parents

This information is intended to provide clarity and transparency to pupils and parents or carers about what to expect from remote education where national or local restrictions require entire cohorts (or bubbles) to remain at home.

For details of what to expect where individual pupils are self-isolating, please see the final section of this page.

The Remote Curriculum: What is taught to pupils at home

A St John's pupil's first day or two of being educated remotely might look a little different from our standard approach, whilst we put in place necessary actions for a longer period of remote learning.

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

Your child may be sent home with work to complete on paper or will find initial tasks set on the google Classroom area for their class.

Following the first few days of remote education, will my child be taught broadly the same curriculum as they would if they were in school?

We aim to teach broadly the same curriculum remotely as we do in school wherever it is possible and appropriate. However, we may need to make some adaptations in some subjects for example in Music, Art, Design and Technology, as well as PE, depending on the activity and access your child may have to resources.

Remote teaching and study each day

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

We expect that remote education (including teaching and independent work) will take pupils broadly the number of hours set out below each day. However, we are very aware that this amount of time will vary for each pupil, depending on their maturity and engagement, and is a general guide for us to provide a relevant amount of learning for your child as well as a guide for you to know what is the general expectation.

Reception (4-5 years old) 2 hours

Year 1 (5-6 years old) 3 hours

Year 2 (6-7 years old) 3 hours

Year 3 (7-8 years old) 4 hours

Year 4 (8-9 years old) 4 hours

Year 5 (9-10 years old) 4 hours

Year 6 (10-11 years old) 4 hours

Please remember that this can be split into chunks of learning and that children may want breaks to exercise and to move away from their device for a short while before re-focusing and are a guide.

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 and will support learning for these children in different ways. In the first instance, please do contact the school office (admin@stjohns561.herts.sch.uk) as soon as possible so that we can support you quickly.

if you are in receipt of Free School Meals we will contact you to ensure your child has digital access and lend you a laptop/chrome book if not
if you are not in receipt of Free School Meals and need to borrow a laptop/chrome book, where these are available we may be able to provide you child with one
we will print off lesson activities for the week if these are required and completed work can photographed on a mobile phone and submitted if necessary

How will my child be taught remotely?

We use a combination of the following approaches to teach pupils remotely

2 live sessions with the class teacher each day ( Yrs 1 - 6). Reception will receive at least 1 live session a day
recorded teaching (eg Oak Academy, White Rose maths, BBC etc, video/audio recordings made by teachers)
printed paper packs produced by teachers where required
weekly pack of reading books for all Reception and KS1 pupils
commercially available websites supporting the teaching of specific subjects (eg Timetables Rock Stars, Spelling Shed, Numbots etc
Some project work for older pupils to work on independently

Engagement and Feedback

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

your child will be expected to attend the live registration and learning session in the morning and we strongly encouraged them to attend the follow up session in the afternoon (Yrs 1-6)
your child will be expected to attempt to complete the learning tasks set. If they are having difficulty they or you as a parent can contact the teacher by email on google classroom or the normal class email to request support or clarification and the teacher will respond as promptly as possible during school hours
whilst we are aware that many of you will also be managing your work around study times, we would urge you to set routines and a rough timetable for learning each day for your child so they know what their goals are for the day
if they are stuck, let them attempt to resolve the problem themselves at first ( age dependent) and then perhaps help them call a friend for support, then help them if they cannot resolve their problem. Please do not complete their learning for them. It is still important for teachers to understand where children are having difficulties with concepts and may need some teacher direction in the afternoon live sessions

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

class teachers will be marking the register each day and if your child is not on the live registration a follow-up call from the school office will be made to check if there are any problems or illness that day
during the day your child's work will be looked at by the classroom staff. Any work that is submitted after the end of the school day may not be acknowledged until the next day
If there seems to be a problem with engagement either during the live sessions or with the independent learning, we will contact you to discuss how we can all support your child

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

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 also valid and effective methods , amongst many others. Our approaches to feedback on pupils works may consist of the following:

individual comments on a piece of work to support further learning or misconceptions
a comment of acknowledgement eg well done, if appropriate
comments and feedback to the whole class with clarification during the live sessions
feedback will not always be given for every piece of work but where appropriate and will take the learning forward

Additional Support for children with particular needs

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

We recognise that 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 pupils in the following ways:

for those children with EHCPs, they will have a place in our critical worker and vulnerable pupil bubble if they are able to attend
for those self - isolating or unable to attend, our Senco, Amy Gammon, will work closely with the class teacher and support staff to design a programme personalised learning for your child or to adapt the class learning to make it accessible for your child's needs eg learning packs and activities
staff will be available by email or phone to discuss supporting you and your child in their remote learning
1:1 sessions online where appropriate to support pupil's targets

Remote Education if my child is self isolating

Where individual pupils need to self isolate but the majority of their peer group remains in school, how remote education is provided will likely differ from the approach for the whole class. this is due to the challenges of teaching pupils both at home and in school.

If my child is not in school because they are self -isolating, how will their remote education differ from the approaches above?

where possible work as closely matched as possible to learning in class will be provided via Google Classroom or if required via printed worksheets
live sessions will not be possible in normal circumstances, especially if individuals are self-isolating
marking and feedback of remote learning will continue for your child as described above

Please see below our flow chart of how remote learning will work should your child be self-isolating.