Alexander First School

Home Learning Plan

In order to ensure that learning is continued, irrespective of lockdown and self-isolation, Alexander First School have developed the following plan. This plan offers remote learning opportunities whilst also acknowledging that some households have limited access to devices and would require hard-copies of work and resources.

The plan complies with the expectations and principles outlined in the DFE document Guidance for Full Opening of Schools and the research carried out by the Education Endowment Fund into effective and high quality distance learning. This research found that schools should consider:

• The quality of teaching including being able to offer effective feedback
• Offering access to technology for all pupils and ongoing support and guidance on using different platforms
• How giving opportunities for peer interactions can improve learning outcomes
• The need for pupils to work independently and to reflect on their learning
• That different approaches suit different contexts and groups of pupils.

It also draws on the comments and feedback from parents and carers at Alexander First School, following the first lockdown in March 2020. The aim of our remote learning plan is to ensure that all children have access to a high-quality education and are not disadvantaged in their learning due to a full or partial school closure. Teachers will use their medium-term plans to ensure a broad and balanced curriculum is provided and will provide feedback using the guidance in our updated Feedback Policy.

Software and Online Platforms

Within all plans, teachers will set appropriate work in-line with our current curriculum (following scheduled topics and material), supplemented with additional resources such as Times Tables Rock Stars, Sumdog, Oak Academy videos and White Rose Maths. Live lessons (for Years 1 to Year 4) will provide an introduction to lessons and ensure pupils are supported in undertaking tasks. Additionally, children will be able to see and communicate with their peers, ensuring continued social interaction and the sharing of successes.

White Rose Maths resources will be used as they are matched to our current maths curriculum model and children are very used to seeing these resources. Sumdog, Purple Mash and TT Rock Stars will all be utilised to support the acquisition and retention of basic core skills.

Class Dojo will remain in use, as this communication element has already proved to be invaluable and many families have used this successfully in the past. Teachers and parents will be able to message one another to share information and offer support. School can always be contacted via email or by telephone (9am-4pm); the office remains operational.  

Parents must understand that engagement in home learning is compulsory, as is the expectation that we make that provision available and accessible to all. However, if children themselves are too ill to participate in the lesson, then they would not be expected to engage in the home learning for that day and we would ask parents to inform us of their absence in the same way they would if the child was expected to be in school. Pupil’s engagement in remote learning will be monitored daily and any concerns from either school or parents/carers will be raised quickly via a phone call.

In preparation for home-learning, parents and children need to know and be able to use logins and passwords for the following platforms. These can be resent via email should you need them again.

• Class Dojo
• Purple Mash
• Sumdog
• TT Rock Stars

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

Children will be provided with weekly learning packs (arrangements for collection to follow) which will include resources and materials (whiteboards, sheets, their pencil cases etc.) needed to support home learning. Children will then have immediate opportunity to continue their learning.

The work packs will include work that is needed for that week. These are then returned the following week where a new pack and resources will be made available. These packs mean that children can begin remote learning from Day 1 and have access to activities that can be done independently during the period of absence from school; they are not meant to be used instead of the live lessons offered by the class teacher (Year 1 to Year 4).

We appreciate and understand that many families will have significant barriers to access online learning through lack of suitable devices, time pressures or intermittent internet access. Wherever possible, we will support families to be able to work online to ensure that regular and effective feedback is given to pupils at home to enable their learning to move forward during the time they are not at school.

In the event of a bubble closing or national lockdown, we hope to be able to order a small number of laptops from the Department for Education which we will be able to loan out to families. We will contact you in the event of being able to offer this.  

Remote Learning

The initial response to any isolation will be to provide children with a pack of home learning materials. This measure will afford teachers a short time to prepare their live learning resources and to upload resources onto Dojo. It is expected that remote learning resources will be ready for families to access on the second day of any absence. The following provision will be put in place but we would ask families to be mindful that teaching staff may also be in school teaching children who are not self-isolating for most of the school day.

As a school we appreciate that our younger pupils may need extra support to access remote learning; we will ensure that the activities planned reflect the ages and learning needs of the children and will also regularly speak to parents either on the phone, via Zoom or by Class Dojo.

Reception and Nursery Pupils (EYFS)

As you will know, unlike the National Curriculum (Years 1 to 4), the EYFS curriculum is not designed for formalised teaching (e.g. children sitting for long periods of time listening to the teacher). Rather, it is an exploratory and play-based approach to acquiring knowledge and understanding. That being said, we recognise the challenges you face at home in supporting learning in this way. Consequently, home learning provisions for EYFS pupils are as follows:

Weekly Text

Each week the class teacher will share a text of the week which will provide the basis for pupils’ learning. Accompanying this will be an activity bingo sheet providing a variety of suggested activities to be undertaken. The children’s weekly pack will include the activities sheet as well as any resources needed, such as number cards etc.

Activities will cover all 7 areas of the Early Years curriculum. Parents and pupils can choose how many tasks and when to undertake these. Each week a new text will be selected along with new accompanying tasks, so that no two weeks will be the same; this will offer variety and maintain interest for pupils. Completed or attempted activities will be submitted to the teacher via Dojo for continued feedback and celebration.

Daily Phonics Video

The Reception class teacher will prepare and post a consolidated daily phonics video to recap sounds and blends. Parents and carers are asked to record their child saying the sounds so the class teacher can advise and correct where necessary. For children who are confident in completing this, there will also be an additional challenge task.

Modelled Letter Formation Video

To support children’s phonics knowledge and writing, teachers will also provide a brief handwriting video modelling how to correctly form letters. We ask that the children then practise these with the mnemonic (the saying which helps to remember how to correctly perform the letters- such as “around her face, down her hair and give her a curl”). 

Daily Number Video

Teachers will identify a maths related video for the day from a bank of resources such as The Oak Academy video resources.

Zoom Catch-up

The teachers will hold an informal bi-weekly coffee and catch-up via Zoom to provide the opportunity to informally chat and answer any questions parents and carers may have regarding home learning. The Zoom link will be posted to Class Dojo shortly.

We recognise that for many families home learning needs to fit around a variety of activities such as working from home, caring for younger children as well as supporting older siblings. Home learning should not add to an already stressful situation for parents/carers or the children. We support efforts and attempts to engage in learning and hope families feel no pressure in expectations.