Remote Learning Offer

In the event of a local or national lockdown, the school may be required to partially close. The purpose of this offer is to provide parents with reassurance and further information should your child need to continue their learning from home. ‘Remote Learning’ refers to the provision of work, teacher support, assessment and feedback from teachers to pupils in the event that normal lessons are unable to be delivered ‘face-to-face’ as usual.

Remote learning implementation:

Situations where remote learning will commence include:

• In line with Local Authority and/or government legislation (e.g. national lockdown).
• Pupils being unable to attend school due to a period of self-isolation but who otherwise remain well (individual remote learning).
• When it is no longer safe for school to remain open for all pupils.
• An extended period of school closure.

To enable teaching and learning to continue as effectively as possible during the need for remote learning, please find some further information below as to what to expect where the above situations may be applicable.

Individual remote learning (Pupils being unable to attend school due to a period of self-isolation but who otherwise remain well)

Work will be set by the class teacher on our chosen remote learning platform Class Dojo, for the children to complete at home as they isolate. Children will be expected to engage with the work and complete it to the best of their ability, so as to avoid falling behind with the class work. The school will contact parents to keep up to date with information surrounding the children’s return to school.

Phase/group/bubble or the whole school remote learning

Teachers will follow the schools remote learning timetable and post lessons daily. Lessons and work will begin to be posted on Class Dojo from 9am and will be available to offer support through the day, mark and give feedback on pieces of work submitted. A weekly ‘Class Meet Up’ session will be held on Zoom to support children’s well-being. These 30 minute live sessions will give children the opportunity to interact with their peers and class teacher. A Zoom invitation link will be posted every week on Class Dojo. Copies of student log in details are available on paper to be collected from the main office or electronic via Class Dojo messaging. The school will monitor pupil engagement levels with the tasks set on Class Dojo. Children who frequently do not submit work will be contacted by the school to encourage engagement and offer additional support. Class Teachers will stay in regular contact on a weekly basis with vulnerable families EHCP children to ensure they are doing well. The school will contact parents to keep up to date with information surrounding the children’s return to school.

Remote learning platform:

To minimise disruption to learning and ensure that learning continues both in school or at home, we are excited to have introduced Class Dojo as our chosen remote learning platform as of September 2020.

Class Dojo in an online learning tool that gives teachers, students and parents the ability to instantly send photos, videos, school work and messages. The introduction of Class Dojo also means that learning will be able to continue with families and teachers staying connected in the event of school closure and all of the learning that is taking place either in school or at home to be shared.

If you would like to learn more about Class Dojo, please see our parent guide and a recording of one of our recent parent workshops or speak to your child’s class teacher who will be more than happy to help. Alternatively, you can also visit www.rainbowschools.org.uk/class-dojo or www.classdojo.com/Helpdesk.

Almost all of Rainbow’s remote learning will be delivered via Class Dojo with the exception of a virtual weekly class meet up via Zoom.

The remote curriculum:

Whilst we endeavour to keep Rainbow open for as long as it is safe, the following timetable has been prepared so that it is ready for immediate implementation where required due to pupils no longer being able to access education on-site. Our curriculum has been developed in line with government statutory requirements.

• EYFS – Pupils in Reception will receive less than 3 hours of remote learning per day. Timetable
• Key Stage 1 – Pupils in Year 1 and Year 2 will receive 3 hours of remote learning a day on average. Timetable
• Key Stage 2 – Pupils in Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6 will receive 4 hours of remote learning a day on average. Timetable

As you will see from the timetables above, your child’s class teacher will also be holding a weekly class ‘get together’ via Zoom to support children’s well-being. These 30 minute live sessions will give children the opportunity to interact with their peers and class teacher. A Zoom invitation link will be posted every week via Class Dojo.

At Rainbow, our remote learning curriculum is delivered in a variety of different ways, including:

• Recorded lessons (video/audio recordings made by teachers) uploaded onto Class Dojo.
• Live online class sessions.
• Links to valuable online resources (e.g. Oak National Academy, White Rose Maths, CBBC).
• Commercially available websites supporting the teaching of specific subjects or areas, including video clips or sequences (e.g. Timestable Rockstars, Purple Mash).

Monitoring and Feedback:

In order for us to provide the best remote learning, we will continue to provide positive and constructive feedback to ensure pupils are meeting the correct standards in their learning. Once work has been submitted via Class Dojo, teachers will electronically mark and approve work. Teachers may also return work as a draft to the pupil if they feel work is not up to the expected standard or children may need to up-level.

Whilst we encourage keeping a routine that is similar to the normal school day and submitting work daily, we understand that this may not always be possible due to the current circumstances. This means we do not expect work to be handed in by a specific time however we do ask for work to be submitted within that same week to ensure children remain on track and do not fall behind.

Just like in school, Children will be praised and receive rewards for their hard work in the form of Dojo points. Children can also earn points for following the school rules and demonstrating our school values.

Accessing remote education:

At Rainbow, we recognise that remote learning may not look the same for each of our families and circumstances will differ greatly. We understand that some pupils may not have suitable online access at home. To support our pupils with access to remote education, the following approaches have been implemented:

• Remote Learning Device survey has been issued to identify families who may not have access. The survey has also been included in our New Arrivals pack for parents to complete upon admission.
• The school will loan tablets (EYFS and KS1 pupils) and laptops (KS2 pupils) by user agreement where needed.
• The school will loan dongles to provide internet connect and data allowance by user agreement where needed.

If you child does not have access to the necessary technology for online learning, please contact the school office on 01274 221400.

Supporting your child’s learning:

In order to facilitate online learning, we ask that you support your child by:

• Ensuring your child logs into Class Dojo regularly (ideally daily) and completes work set by the Class Teacher.
• Ensuring your child submits completed activities via ‘Portfolios’ for the Class Teacher to mark and provide feedback.
• Keeping a routine as much as possible so your child knows what to expect (see our parent remote learning time table above which may help with this).
• Providing your child with a workspace that is quiet, safe and free from distractions with an adult nearby to support where possible.
• Playing educational games with numbers or letters and read together.
• Keeping active – ensure your child is getting enough exercise and encourage them to take regular breaks away from the screen (e.g. going for a walk outside, brain breaks, exercise…etc). Try to incorporate this into their daily routine.
• Staying sociable – form a support network wherever possible in line with government guidance and arrange regular calls and video calls with family and friends.
• Supporting your child with safe and appropriate online behaviour.

At Rainbow, we work hard to teach all children about staying safe and demonstrate acceptable behaviour when being online. We see this as an absolute priority and we look to parents to share this responsibility at all times, but this is particularly important during a period of remote learning.

Additional information:

If you have any concerns regarding your child’s remote learning or safety and welfare, please do not hesitate to contact the school on 01274 221400.