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Westgarth Home Learning,
A Guide for Families
This guide is to provide families with information about home learning in terms of provision, expectation and support. It is adapted from DFE guidance sent to support understanding of what pupils, parents and carers should expect during periods of school closure or pupil isolation relating to coronavirus (COVID-19).
The remote curriculum: what is taught to pupils at home
What should my child expect from immediate remote education in the first day or two of pupils being sent home?
A pupil’s first day or two of being educated remotely might look different from our standard approach, while we take all necessary actions to prepare for a longer period of remote teaching. This will be a more simplistic and independently completed timetable where staff will provide work which should be familiar or recapping previous learning.
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 teach the same curriculum remotely as we do in school. Teaching staff will create tailored packages of learning which will be the same for pupils at home and in school. The same resources and videos will be used in school which will often be delivered by support staff whilst teaching staff are video teaching, making welfare calls etc.
How long can I expect work set by the school to take my child each day?
DFE guidance is that pupils should be spending the following amount of time each day:
KS1 = Three hours per day
KS2 = Four hours per day
How will my child access any online remote education you are providing?
ParentMail will be used to send families the learning each day. This will be sent in the form of attachments, which will contain inputs, instructions and video links. Families can access this directly from a device or print out where possible.
If my child does not have digital or online access at home, how will you support them to access remote education?
Where families are struggling to access the remote learning, the following options are available:
- School to print out packs for families to safely collect and return
- School to provide access to a limited number of laptops for home learning
- School to provide access to a limited number of iPads for home learning
Arrangements for the above can be made by contacting the school on the main telephone number or email.
How will my child be taught remotely?
Westgarth have combined a variety of resources and strategies which offer a tailored approach to your child’s home learning and try to take into account the challenges faced by families at this difficult time.
We use a combination of the following approaches to teach pupils remotely:
- Electronic documents with written instructions
- Recorded teaching inputs by teaching staff
- Frequent live video sessions to offer support on work set each day
- Recorded teaching from eternal sources to support learning (e.g. Oak National Academy lessons)
- Links to external resources via internet (e.g. BBC videos)
- Purple Mash
- Spelling Frame
- Evidence Me (Early Years)
- A range of bespoke worksheets and digital question pages
- Textbooks and reading books pupils have at home
- Commercially available websites supporting the teaching of specific subjects or areas, including video clips or sequences (eg White Rose mathematics)
What are your expectations for my child’s engagement and the support that we as parents and carers should provide at home?
This will vary across the school, depending on age and individual circumstances. Families at home should be ensuring that children are engaging with the learning and completing it to the best of their ability in often challenging situations. Learning content has been carefully put together and designed for children to complete as independently as possible, but with the support of videos and follow up meetings. Where engagement and motivation is an issue, then school should be contacted and informed as early as possible.
How will you check whether my child is engaging with their work and how will I be informed if there are concerns?
Regular contact will be monitored each week through phone calls, work being returned and email. Concerns would usually be raised by a telephone call.
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 approach to feeding back on pupil work is as follows:
- Brief replies to work emailed in
- Conversations with pupils during video meetings
- Comments left on Purple Mash (KS2 children)
- Conversations during welfare calls
Additional support for pupils with particular needs
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 with an individual, bespoke package.
If my child is not in school because they are self-isolating, how will their remote education differ from the approaches described above?
In the event of a pupil who is in school having to self-isolate, then the home learning would continue as normal, but there would be additional contact in terms of welfare calls to better understand any additional challenges in the home learning situation.