Remote Education at Sparken Hill Academy

This information provides clarity and transparency to pupils and parents/carers about what to expect from remote education at Sparken Hill Academy where national or local restrictions require entire year groups or class bubbles to remain at home.

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

You can also see our Remote Learning Policy for staff.

The Remote Curriculum: What is taught to pupils at 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.

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

We use Google Classroom as our remote learning platform in Key Stage 1 and 2. Within the first day or two, you will find tasks assigned on your child's Google Classroom page. Visit https://classroom.google.com and ensure your child is logging in with their Google Workspace username and password that they have been given. Teachers will use this platform to send a message to their classes and explain the remote learning that will be delivered during the bubble closure. Teachers will arrange a live assembly with pupils to talk them through the expectations.

In the Early Years Foundation Stage, tasks and communication will be via Tapestry. Visit https://tapestryjournal.com to login.

We have also shared lots of excellent resources on our Home Learning website that can be accessed at any time.

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?

At Sparken Hill Academy, 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, in Art, where all families may not have the same resources available at home, we may adapt our curriculum to ensure it is accessible to all, such as studying a drawing unit or a digital art unit instead of what would typically be covered at this time. We would still ensure that we are covering the same curriculum objectives, but take a different approach to support remote working. Another example is PE, where our teachers will share a range of resources that can be accessed at home. Other curriculum subjects, such as Design and Technology, are more challenging for pupils to study at home, so we may choose to cover other subjects and complete a block of DT instead when pupils return to school. Subject leaders will work with year groups to ensure that the curriculum is appropriate for remote learning.

Remote Teaching and Study Time Each Day

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:

• Early Years Foundation Stage: 2-3 hours a day
• Key Stage 1 (Years 1-2): 3 hours a day
• Key Stage 2 (Years 3-6): 3-4 hours a day

Accessing Remote Education

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

In Key Stage 1 and 2, we use Google Classroom for remote learning to set tasks each day, and to share links for live lessons and recorded lessons. Work completed is submitted on Google Classroom by children for teachers to see and respond to.

In the Early Years Foundation Stage, we use Tapestry for remote learning to set tasks and share recorded lessons. We use Google Meet (link shared on Tapestry) for live story time each day.

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:

Providing laptops/Chromebooks/iPads to pupils who do not have a device at home:

• Parents can call the school office on 01909 534060 to request this
• Available devices will be allocated, and parents can come to collect them from the school office. Ideally KS2 1-1 iPad devices will be allocated to KS2 pupils who require it. KS1 devices are more limited so will be allocated on a needs basis. 
• A waiting list will be in place once all devices have been distributed, and the school will request further devices from  other organisations offering support

Providing devices that enable an internet connection:

• Dongles will be available for families without an internet connection* (Providing these can be sourced)
• Parents can call the school office on 01909 534060 to request this

Access to printed materials:

• If we are unable to provide a device and internet connection, printed resources may be requested via the school office
• These will be printed on a Monday, ready for the coming week and will be made available for collection from the school office

Submitting work to teachers for pupils without online access:

• If your child does not have a device, they can photograph work, (marked for the attention of their class teacher) and send it to the relevant team's email address as follows:
  • fs@sparkenhill.com
  • y12@sparkenhill.com
  • y34@sparkenhill.com
  • y56@sparkenhill.com

• Photos of work can also be sent to Google Classroom using a phone if your child does not have a device
• If you are unable to send photos via email, you can return paper copies of completed work to the school office on a Friday afternoon

How will my child be taught remotely?

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

• Live teaching (online lessons)
• Recorded teaching (e.g. video/audio recordings made by teachers and White Rose Maths recorded lessons)
• Google Slides shared for pupils to read through and complete the attached assignments
• Commercially available websites supporting the teaching of specific subjects or areas, including video clips or sequences

Engagement and Feedback

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

Pupil Expectations:

• We expect children to join live teaching sessions
• We will timetable these to minimise clashes between year groups, so that siblings are all able to attend as much as possible
• Pupils should attend their daily year group assembly to ensure they understand the tasks for the day and as part of our safeguarding procedures

Parent Expectations:

• Parents are expected to set routines to support their child's education, e.g. bedtime routine, and ensure their child is dressed and has had breakfast before doing their school work
• Parents should be nearby and not leave their child unattended
• Parents are not expected to do the work; if your child is stuck, contact the class teacher
• Parents are not expected to replicate school at home; find a routine that works for your household
• Where possible, parents should not be on camera with their child during live lessons

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

• A register of attendance at year group assemblies and live lessons will be taken daily
• If pupils are not attending sessions, teachers will call parents to discuss this and support them with access if this is the issue
• Teachers will also call parents where engagement is a concern, to discuss how they can ensure their children are participating and submitting their work daily
• If attendance is poor, this will be reported to the Senior Leadership Team and our Education Welfare Officer, who may also call parents
• If we are unable to get in touch with a child, we will complete a home visit to ensure they are safe

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:

• Children will receive feedback via Google Classroom/Tapestry on submitted work
• Please encourage your child to look back over the feedback so they know what they are doing well and what they can improve on
• Feedback will also be verbal, such as during year group assemblies and star of the week
• Teachers may share 'top tips' which include supporting children with how to use the technology
• Children will receive verbal feedback on their reading during reading phone calls, and their progress will be communicated to the class teacher
• Feedback will look different for every lesson and age group, but pupils can expect to receive some verbal or written feedback daily

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 in the following ways:

• For those pupils who need to work from home, support staff will continue to run interventions, and other professionals will continue to provide sessions remotely
• Resources will be tailored to individual needs and shared on Google Classroom, as well as resources on our SEND page of the website
• If parents need any further support, they can contact their child's class teacher or the SENDCo

Remote Education for Self-Isolating Pupils

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 whole groups. 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 described above?

When a child is self-isolating, they will be able to access remote education in the usual way via Google Classroom or Tapestry. As the teachers will be in school teaching full-time, this will not include live or recorded lessons, but will include the slides and tasks that are being assigned in school for the core subjects and foundation subjects. They will be able to submit work, and this will be looked at by teachers with feedback given. Teachers will also ensure they call the child to speak with them once a week, and the child will receive a reading phone call from support staff.

We aim to ensure individual pupils self-isolating are taught a planned and well-sequenced curriculum with meaningful and ambitious work each day in several different subjects, including providing feedback.

For further information, please contact:

Sparken Hill Academy
Sparken Hill
Worksop
Nottinghamshire
S80 1AW

Telephone: 01909 534060
Email: office@sparkenhill.com