Thomas Whitehead CE Academy Remote Learning Information and Protocol

Thomas Whitehead Academy – Remote Learning Information and Protocol

When will my child need to learn from home?

1. In the event of your child being at home whilst awaiting test results;
2. In the event of an individual self-isolating because of Coronavirus (but school remains ‘open’).
3. In the event of a year group bubble self-isolating due to exposure, or if there is a local or National lockdown and the school is advised to partially close or your child has to shield.

Further guidance on each of these scenarios is explained further below.

     1. In the event that school is open but your child is at home whilst awaiting test results
As the child could be feeling under the weather, no specific work will be set for the child within the 48 hours whilst waiting for their results. If the child is feeling well enough, the child can engage with:

• Reading of their reading book, recording in their reading record.

• Continue to investigate and deepen understanding of work on the child’s knowledge organiser.
• Selecting activities from their homework grid (KS1 and KS2).
• Use of Fitter Future and mindfulness activities.
• If further work is required, please request from your class teacher via ClassDojo.                                                                                                           

2. In the event of an individual self-isolating for 10 days whilst school is still ‘open’

The class teacher will endeavour to provide as similar work as possible to a child remote learning, as their classmates in the classroom. This will include work being sent home via ClassDojo, closely following the activities taking place in class. In addition, children can be maintaining their work ethic, routine and engagement through Reading, TTRS and Sumdog, Fitter Future and mindfulness activities, whilst selecting activities from their homework grid (KS1 and KS2).
Work is expected from all children, either in ClassDojo messages, uploaded documents, or photographs of work sent in to ClassDojo daily.

      3. In the event of a year group bubble self-isolating due to exposure, or if there is
         a local or National lockdown and the school is advised to partially close

In this event, we will continue to provide regular, structured work for any children who are at home due to COVID-19. Each week we will upload a timetable and hyper-links for each year group. This schedule will be uploaded no later than 6pm on the Friday prior to the week the work is to be engaged with. We ask that parents ensure that their child completes this learning and returns it for teachers to look at, provide feedback or further support if appropriate and to inform their future planning. The timetable we provide covers a range of subjects and they cover the same learning objectives as those being taught in school for those who are attending. By following the timetable of lessons, this will help ensure that all children (whether in school or not) will have covered the same content.

We will be using a range of teaching methods, including videos of lessons (our teachers or Oak Academy), written instructions or PowerPoint presentations. We are following guidance that advises that delivering 'live' lessons is not appropriate for primary aged children but hope that the recordings and our weekly Zoom/Team Feedback sessions and meeting (see below for guidance) will allow you to access learning at a manageable time for your household bubble whilst still maintaining contact with our teaching staff.

We ask that you forward the work that your child completes to the relevant help email address so that we can be sure that the work is completed well, is pitched at the correct level and we can support with any appropriate next steps. Work can be sent in any method that suits you, from a word document to a camera phone photograph of written work.

You will find the weekly remote learning schedule either on your Classes ClassDojo page, or it will be messaged to you by the class teacher if your child is working on a differentiated schedule. The distance learning mostly involves the children using the Oak Academy Online Classroom. This is a virtual school set up by the Government solely for the purpose of this Coronavirus pandemic and we used this resource throughout the first lock down during summer 2020. Therefore, families and children should be familiar with it. Parents can click on the Oak Academy link below to read information about this resource.

Using Oak Academy for distance learning is simple. It is compatible with all devices and our hyperlinks for the work we provide do take you straight to where you need to go. In addition, children can be maintaining their work ethic, routine and engagement through Reading, TTRS and Sumdog, Fitter Future and mindfulness activities. Work is expected from all children, either in ClassDojo messages, uploaded documents, or photographs of work sent in to ClassDojo.

Children with additional needs 

Children with additional needs will also receive small group teaching sessions online from a teacher or TA

Early Years

Each week we will upload a timetable and hyper-links. This schedule will be uploaded no later than 6pm on the Friday prior to the week the work is to be engaged with. We ask that parents ensure that their child completes this learning and returns it for teachers to look at, provide feedback or further support if appropriate and to inform their future planning. Phonics is taught during live zoom sessions, both whole class and small group sessions .Parents are also encouraged to access Phoncis Play on a daily basis where they can find activities and games to support their home learning. Reception parents are asked to share the learning that their children are doing at home by posting pictures and comments on ClassDojo. The Early Years staff would love to see these and will be able to respond online.

Maths home learning websites

Phonics Home learning websites

Reading
Reading appears regularly on each year group's timetable. It is vitally important that children regularly read. The staff love reading. Reading for just 20 minutes a day has many benefits, including strengthening the brain and building vocabulary, and this is why we want you to read daily at home. If you are finding it difficult to get hold of books, the following websites have a range of books that you can access for free, online.

If you require any further information or help with remote learning please contact Mr D Roderick. email:  droderick@twa.dsamat.co.uk 

What are the expectations of our teaching team, the children and parents/carers?

How to access Distance Learning:

1. Go to your child's ClassDojo Class page.
2. Open the Weekly Schedule posted to see the timetable and lesson hyperlinks for the week ahead.
3. Most lessons on the timetable are accessed using Oak Academy. Click on the hyperlink provided and let your child start their learning.
4. Some lessons do not use Oak Academy. Any teacher input and resources that you need for these lessons will be found as links on the document.
5. The children will be able to do the majority of their learning independently.
6. Oak Academy activities only ever require your child to write on a notepad or on a piece of paper. These activities are also marked with the teacher at the time. Other activities and worksheets are usually provided where children can save their answers electronically. It is also fine to record any of this work on paper or in a notebook
7. The work that we are providing is likely to be new learning, matching what the children are currently being taught in school. Parents though are not expected to be teachers. All work will be revisited when the children return to school.

Remember... Whilst we are encouraging the use of the Internet to enhance children's learning, we remind parents about the importance of online safety. If you have any concerns or need advice, please visit our E-Safety page.