Ansdell Primary School

Coronavirus Information for Parents (Attendance at school)

Remote Learning Provision updated January 2021

During the Covid-19 Pandemic, it is expected that there will be periods of time where pupils must access learning remotely as they will be unable to attend school.  This will include periods of time when there is restricted access to school, for example, during national lockdowns and where groups of pupils are required to self-isolate.

How will our pupils access Remote Learning?

All pupils at Ansdell Primary School have access to online learning platforms as follows:

Reception Class:           Tapestry

Year 1 to Year 6:           Google Classroom

Login details have been provided for all pupils and these can be found inside each child’s Reading Diary which accompanies the child home each day.   Our pupils also have individual accounts for Purple Mash, through which some learning activities may be set.

 What are the aims and purpose of Ansdell Primary School’s Remote Learning Provision?

Through our Remote Learning provision, we aim to teach our usual planned curriculum as much as is possible.  We aim to provide planned, high quality sequences of learning and maintain continuity of learning for our pupils.  The subjects of English (Reading, Writing and Phonics), Mathematics and PSHE are key priority areas and these subjects will be taught daily and throughout any periods of Remote Learning.  A wider curriculum will be planned and our pupils will continue to have access to foundation subjects including PE, Science, History and Geography.   Lessons in all of these subjects will be adapted for Remote Learning and our teachers will plan a range of learning opportunities to motivate our pupils through the remote learning school day.

How long should pupils expect to be working?

The following expectations have been set by the Department for Education:

KS1: Pupils should have at least 3 hours of learning each day.

KS2: Pupils should have at least 4 hours of learning each day.

Our teachers are working on site and are available for pupils each day from 8:45am to 3:15pm.  Our pupils will be set a range of learning activities and will access live teaching each day  Our teachers will plan lessons to ensure that all pupils have four hours or more of learning activity each day.  Some activities – especially those set for the afternoon sessions – will be more open ended so that pupils who wish to spend longer working, can do so.  There will be no teaching sessions planned on Friday afternoons and pupils attending school for Key Worker/Vulnerable childcare will access games, jigsaw and craft activities. 

How will pupils access Remote Learning?

As Google Classroom and Tapestry are the main platforms used for Remote Learning, pupils will need access to appropriate technology and an internet connection.  Where pupils do not have access to such technology, the school will do everything possible to support our families.  We have a limited number of school iPads which have been reconfigured to work offsite.  We are also awaiting delivery of additional Chrome Books through the ‘Get Help with Technology’ scheme.  Vulnerable pupils and those entitled to Pupil Premium Grant will have priority access to this support and other families will be supported where possible.

If lack of access to technology is a barrier to a child accessing learning, school will provide additional support to families where possible.  Families are advised to contact the school office on 01253 736902 or email bursar@ansdell.lancs.sch.uk if support is needed.

How will pupils be taught remotely?

Our pupils will be taught through a combination of live lessons (via Zoom), recorded session (e.g. Oak Academy), other online resources and information (White Rose Maths, BBC Lockdown Learning).  Our pupils will access to the following live sessions:

N.B. There will also be two additional drop-in sessions each week.

Live teaching sessions will focus on English (Phonics, Reading, Writing) and Mathematics.  Pupils in KS1 will continue to access daily phonics sessions and throughout the week morning live session will have a English or Mathematics input.  Our usual approaches to teaching will be maintained with live sessions including direct instruction, modelling, questioning, discussion and feedback.

Learning tasks will be set using Google Classroom (Google Docs).  Pupils will complete tasks and will hand in tasks within a given timeframe.  N.B.  At Ansdell Primary School, we understand that this can be a challenge for some of our parents, especially those who continue to work from home and have their own work demands.  We encourage our pupils to complete tasks as close to the time set as possible to enable our teachers to read, mark, evaluate and feedback to our pupils at regular intervals.

How will teachers feedback to pupils?

Pupils will be asked to complete learning tasks and ‘hand in’ completed activities to their class teachers.  These will often be in the form of Google Documents but will also be videos, photographs, comments and questions.  Teachers will feedback in a number of ways:

• Comments and feedback relating to a specific learning objective via Google Classroom or Tapestry
• General or specific feedback verbally during live sessions
• General feedback (likes, ‘well done’ comments) to show appreciation for effort of a child

Our teachers will give more detailed feedback on one piece of work each day with other pieces receiving verbal or more general feedback via the online learning platforms.  Through this feedback, our teachers will continue to monitor each child’s work and progress and a bigger picture of each child’s progress will develop over the period of Remote Learning.

How will school monitor each pupil’s engagement and completion of Remote Learning tasks?

Each day of Remote Learning, a register will be taken to record:

• Pupils attending school through Key Worker Childcare or as Vulnerable pupils
• Pupils participating in live sessions

Class teachers will also monitor pupils’ engagement in learning tasks and work handed in.

Where a pupils does not attend a live session for two consecutive days, or where a pupils consistently misses certain sessions or repeatedly fails to hand in work, school will contact the family to ascertain reasons for child’s disengagement.  School will do everything possible to support families and to enable pupils to re-engage.  

What are the school’s expectations of pupils?

At Ansdell Primary School, we expect our pupils to engage with all Remote Learning sessions and tasks to the best of their ability.  Should a pupils or family be experiencing any challenges, families should make contact, either via the school office or via the child’s learning platform, to inform school.  At this point, we will do everything possible to support or help families.

Pupils are expected to sign on to their first live session each day, wearing school uniform.  Pupils are expected to uphold the same high standards of behaviour that we would see during a normal school day.  That is,

• Explore (engage with the learning and be willing and ready to learn)
• Endeavour (do their very best and ask for help should they need it)
• Embrace (Embrace all opportunities, be kind and respectful)
• Excel (Be the best they can be)

What does Ansdell Primary School expect from parents?

Everyone at Ansdell Primary School is sympathetic and understands the challenges pupils face during Remote Learning.  It can be especially challenging when teaching our younger pupils remotely and we understand the challenges faced by our families who are working hard to balance the competing demands of their own jobs, caring for other family members whilst supporting their child’s learning at home.  We hope that everyone in our school community will work together to promote the very best outcomes for our pupils and to reduce any adverse effects of restricted access to school.

We ask our parents to:

• Support our school ethos and set the tone for learning at home (encourage pupils to be ready to learn, show respect and follow our school rules)
• Provide a place for pupils to work and the resources each child will need
• Communicate with school if there are challenges or if they need our help
• Work with school to resolve or minimise the impact of such issues

How will school provide for pupils with SEND?

Some pupils with SEND, especially those with Educational Health Care Plans, will attend school, either full-time or part-time, as a vulnerable pupil.  We will work with families to agree what would be best for each child.   Where pupils with additional needs access learning remotely class teachers will work with parents to adapt the curriculum and teaching resources to support the pupils.

What to do should parents need further information or advice.

Should parents wish to discuss any aspect of our Remote Learning provision, they may contact us via our school office at bursar@ansdell.lancs.sch.uk or 01253 736902