In line with guidance from the Department for Education, if after exploring all options to ensure the school remains open to all pupils, there may be some exceptional occasions when it is decided that it is not possible to open the school safely, or where opening would contradict guidance from local or central government.
If restricting attendance for pupils is the only viable option, we would consider providing remote education to help pupils stay on track with the education they would normally receive.
Teachers will prepare a timetable of work that will enable pupils to keep on track with their education using high-quality lessons developed by Oak National Academy, as recommended as ‘Good Practice’ by the Department for Education. The timetable will be provided as soon as reasonably practicable, though in proportion to the length of absence and expected disruption to education.
The timetable will outline a recommended program of learning – recorded lessons to watch and assignments to complete that will deliver a curriculum with the aim to have as much continuity as possible with learning that would have taken place in school. The provision will be mindful of the needs and circumstances of the pupils and their families and take consideration of age, stage of development, SEND, screen time and any significant demands on parents’ help or support.
The timetable will aim to provide remote education that is equivalent in length to the teaching time pupils would receive in school while taking consideration of the age of pupils, their independent study skills and screen time. It will include links to lessons that pupils should watch and complete and other activities. During the normal school day, pupils have opportunities to read, practice number fact recall, handwriting and spellings. Practise of these areas will be supported by online resources and reminders on the timetable – but not explicitly taught by a recorded lesson. This is similar to how homework is currently set for reading, grammar, punctuation and spelling, and number fact recall. For example, the timetable might state Complete 15 minutes of practise on Times Table Rockstars which provides enough instruction on a task that is familiar to pupils.
Depending on the length of absence opportunities for regular feedback and interaction with teachers and peers through Google Classroom will be set up and planned through the remote education timetable.
The SENCO will meet with the class teacher with the aim of creating an individual timetable for the pupil to activities focused on meeting the outcomes in their plan and ensure the greatest continuity of provision possible. This might involve video meetings with the class teacher, support staff and external agencies. Additional resources will be sent to the child’s home address.
