Shooters Grove Primary School

Remote Learning 2021

We all know that it is important that our children continue to work and progress through the current lockdown, to reduce the impact on their education. During the first lockdown, we used workbooks delivered to children’s houses. This time, as you are aware, we are sending work out remotely via the Seesaw and Tapestry learning platforms. This will enable teachers/teaching assistants to more closely monitor the work the children are doing and provide feedback and support.

It is very important that children complete the work set promptly and carefully. A lot of the work will be new learning and children need to be encouraged to fully engage with the tasks set. Staff will be phoning the children in their class at least once a week to discuss progress and the work they have uploaded. Please be aware that the government have stipulated that we must provide 3 hours of learning every day for KS1 children and 4 hours of learning for KS2 children.

The following tasks will be set on a daily basis: maths, English, reading (phonics), wider curriculum activities and a challenge/exercise/mindfulness activity – 5 or 6 activities per day which will be scheduled by 9am in the morning.

If children have difficulty with a task, they can leave a message on Seesaw/Tapestry and we will try to help. Do remember, you can help your child; we are teaching them not testing them. If any parents wish to discuss issues with a teacher, they can phone the office and we will arrange for a member of the year group staff to contact you. Children of key workers who are in school will be working towards the same objectives as the children at home. If a key worker’s child is in school part time, they should bring their book into school when they attend and work on-line on days at home.

If your child completely fills their ‘Home Learning Journal’ with work, another book can be collected from the main entrance foyer in school when you are passing.

To make the transition to home education as productive and easy as possible, we have added the following suggested timetable. We understand that every child and household is different and runs in different ways so this may not be perfect for you but it can be used as a starting point to create a positive learning environment at home.

For younger children the suggested timings should be split into smaller 'chunks' as we would not expect EYFS/KS1 children to stay focused for an extended time.

Below is some further guidance around supporting children with home learning that you may find useful in the coming weeks:

Be realistic about what you can do

You're not expected to become teachers and your children aren't expected to learn as they do in school. Simply providing your children with some structure at home will help them to adapt. Use the tips below to help you make this work for your household
Experiment with the plan, then take stock. What's working and what isn't? Ask your children, involve them too
Share the load if there are 2 parents at home. Split the day into 2-3 hour slots and take turns so you can do your own work
Take care of your own health and wellbeing. This will be new for your entire household, so give it time to settle

Keep to a timetable wherever possible

Create and stick to a routine if you can. This is what children are used to. For example, eat breakfast at the same time and make sure they're dressed before starting the ‘school’ day – avoid staying in pyjamas!
Involve your children in setting the timetable where possible. It’s a great opportunity for them to manage their own time better and it’ll give them ownership
Check in with your children and try to keep to the timetable, but be flexible. If a task/activity is going well or they want more time, let it extend where possible
If you have more than 1 child at home, consider combining their timetables. For example, they might exercise and do maths together – see what works for your household
Designate a working space if possible, and at the end of the day have a clear cut-off to signal school time is over
Stick the timetable up on the wall so everyone knows what they should be doing when, and tick activities off throughout the day
Distinguish between weekdays and weekends, to separate school life and home life

Make time for exercise and breaks throughout the day

If you have a garden, use it regularly. If you don’t, try to get out once a day as permitted by the government (households can be together outdoors but 2 metres apart from others)
Get your children to write in a diary/discuss with a grown up what they did each day – this can be a clear sign that the ‘school’ day has ended

Other activities to keep children engaged throughout the day

Where you have more freedom in the timetable, make time for other activities. Add some creative time or watch a dance video from Go Noodle to get the heart-rate going
Ask grandparents to listen to your children read on FaceTime (or ask grandparents to read to younger children)
Give them chores to do so they feel more responsible about the daily routine at home
Ask them to help you cook and bake
Accept that they'll probably watch more TV/ be in front of a screen – that's ok but you might want to set/agree some screen time limits

The best place for your child to learn is in a school with a teacher. However, at this difficult time, we have to do things differently. Working together we can hopefully limit the disruption caused to your child’s education and ensure that they can have a successful and happy return to full time education.

We hope that this information will support you with home learning and look forward to when we are able to welcome all pupils back into school.

Timetables

Please follow the links below to access the weekly timetable for each year group:

Seesaw (http://seesaw.me), is a secure online journal where children can access and complete their remote learning tasks. Teachers can empower students to create, reflect, share, and collaborate. Students “show what they know” using photos, videos, drawings, text, PDFs, and links. It’s simple to get student work in one place and nothing is shared without teacher approval. Please click here to view Seesaw's privacy promises: https://web.seesaw.me/privacy.

All students have been given an individual login code (QR or 12 letter code) to access and share their home learning. Whatever learning your child is doing at home, Seesaw allows them to share this with their teacher. This will ensure that the needs of all pupils are catered for and will allow staff to keep in daily contact and provide pertinent feedback to ensure that learning continues. Teachers will be able to schedule learning in a manner which does not overwhelm our pupils.

All children have been set up with an account so if you need your Seesaw code, please contact the school and a code will be sent to you later that day.

What is Seesaw?

How do I complete tasks on Seesaw?

Seesaw / Seesaw Help Center for Families

Please follow the link below to read the Frequently Asked Questions for Seesaw Families document if you have any problems. If your question is not answered in this, then contact the school office and we will try to help.

Tapestry (https://tapestryjournal.com/) is an online application that collates learning that takes place for every child in Nursery and Reception. A range of media such as photographs, videos and written observations are taken of the child to highlight new learning that has taken place. Communication between school and home is an integral part of school life and Tapestry allows both parents and practitioners to discuss, comment or ask questions.

Our remote learning is also available on Tapestry during a school or bubble closure. Here, we set challenges, tasks and activities for children to complete via video or photographs and these are commented on by staff members regularly.