Further Information about Remote Learning

8th January 2021

SSCA Information on remote learning (1).pdf

Dear Parents/Carers

Here is an update since my last letter following the announcement from the government, that school will be remote for most of our pupils until at least the February half-term. in response to the government’s new guidelines about what should be set for remote learning I have attached an Information Sheet as requested by the Department of Education. This sets out how remote learning will work as well as outlining how you can get help should you need it.
Daily lessons
Your child’s class teacher will post a daily/weekly timetable for your child on their on line learning platform. This will be the same as the timetable being followed in school and the content of the lessons will also be the same as those that are being worked on by pupils in school.
Assistance can be given by comments and messaging on these platforms and, if necessary, we can call to assist you and your child. We will be holding weekly (KS1) and twice weekly (KS2) Teams meetings where support and guidance can also be given.
As we have all the class teachers and teaching assistants in school teaching and supporting classes, most of the videos will not feature them but will be led by qualified teachers from the Oak National Academy or White Rose Maths. However they will be uploading videos of themselves teaching and sharing stories. The sequence of learning has been planned by your child’s class teacher and any feedback or assistance given to your child will be from your child’s class teacher or other member of St Stephens Community Academy School staff. The day’s timetable will be uploaded before 9am and all necessary video materials etc. will be in place for learning. We do appreciate that family life is busy, especially if you are also trying to work from home or support more than one child, so we are happy for you to select suitable times of the day to complete the work set.
If you’re unsure how to upload your child's learning just get in contact with your child’s class teacher through their class messaging facility.
All staff will have access to on line learning during school hours and will endeavour to give feedback or assistance as quickly as possible. If you submit school work outside of school hours, there may be a delay in receiving feedback. Staff also have families to support and work to plan- we must ensure this is workable for them too.
Supporting Materials
We are aiming that this approach to remote learning means parents are not having to teach their children daily as the materials provided by us will take most of that role. We also appreciate that printing off materials is expensive and have therefore put together a pack of supporting materials: paper, maths work books/worksheets and other items to help. Please make sure you pick these up from the Main Office. If you need further books etc. please let us know.
Issues and Problems
If you are experiencing issues at home with remote learning, please contact us. If your child is stuck or unwilling to complete tasks, please contact your child’s class teacher in the first instance. If there is an issue with the IT, please contact me in the usual manner and I will do everything I can to ensure you have adequate provision for your child.
Why engage with remote learning?
The more you and your child/children engage with remote learning, the more they will get out of it. We have carefully planned the learning offered to ensure that completion of and engagement with the work will lessen the chance of a loss of learning and gaps when they return to school.
Safeguarding
Although the school is closed to most of its pupils for face to face learning, we still have a responsibility for the safeguarding of all of our pupils. Monitoring the engagement with the on line platforms is an important part of teachers role to ensure their pupils are safe. If your child does not engage with learning, we will be adopting a protocol which will involve teachers messaging /texting after one day with no contact, with emails and phone calls following thereafter.
In addition to this, we will be aiming to contact every family weekly during lockdown to check you are all OK and if you need any assistance. If the school is unable to make contact with parents, we may need to involve the Educational Welfare Officer, to ensure we are meeting our safeguarding duties.
Praise and recognition

I will continue to record a weekly virtual assembly where we can celebrate the achievements over the week for those in school and at home and look out for a postcard dropping through your door if your teacher has been particularly impressed with you!
We are aiming to provide for at least three- four hours remote learning per day but appreciate that different families have different circumstances. If you fall behind, you can still access prior learning and can always contact your teacher for help. If your child requires more, we will provide links where additional online learning activities can be found.

I appreciate that remote working creates a range of challenges for families and if you are struggling or have questions, please do not sit worrying, get in contact with us and someone will be available to help.

Please remember, we are a team and if anyone can do this 'Team St Stephens' can!

Take care and stay safe

Maura Furber

Head Teacher