Everything you need to know about Remote Education at Mapledown.  

In the event of a lockdown, snow days or other unforeseen circumstance causing an extended school closure,  Mapledown will aim to deliver learning remotely to our students.  We ask that, wherever possible, you assist your children with their learning at home during this period. We understand this is difficult, and we are here to help!

Supporting your child’s learning

Top tips for supporting your child while they learn from home:

• Keep to a routine as much as possible so your child knows what to expect.
• Keep active – ensure your child is getting enough exercise and incorporate this into their daily routine.
• Involve them in things you are doing, e.g. chores, and talk with them about it.

Contacting the school

We will provide you with all the details you may need when contacting the school during a  home learning period. When contacting the school, here are four important things both you and your child need to remember:

• When on a video call, sit in a suitable area, e.g. a living room with a neutral background.

• When on a video call, wear suitable clothing and ensure your conduct is professional.

• Please remember that staff may not always be able to help, but they will try their best and let you know who to contact for additional support.

• Remember to act in the same manner as if the school were open.

Additional information you need to be aware of includes the following:

• The school will provide you with all important contact information for key members of staff, including your child’s teachers and the headteacher.
• Any concerns regarding the safety of your child should be directed to the school’s designated safeguarding lead.
• Your child will not be penalised for their non-attendance during this time.
• Teachers will liaise with you regularly to monitor what work your child has been able to complete.

The remote curriculum: what is taught to pupils at home.

Will my child be taught broadly the same curriculum as they would if they were in school?

• We teach the same curriculum remotely as we do in school wherever possible and appropriate. However, we have needed to make some adaptations in some subjects. For example, some of our subjects require the use of specific equipment or resources. Staff will duplicate these resources where possible and loan them to families who would benefit from them.

Remote teaching and study time each day

How long can I expect work set by the school to take my child each day?

• Google Drive is used to deliver most of our remote learning. The material uploaded will enable you to support your child with their learning for 3 to 4 hours each day.  

Accessing remote education

How will my child access any online remote education you are providing?

• Your child’s timetable with links to all the learning material is found in our Google classrooms platform. You will have been provided with a user name and password.
• In addition, during a National Lockdown where most pupils will be accessing school from home, your child’s teacher will provide links to two live zoom sessions each day.

If my child does not have digital or online access at home, how will you support them to access remote education?

We recognise that some pupils may not have suitable online access at home. We take the following approaches to support those pupils to access remote education:

• If your child qualifies for additional support, the school will liaise with the Department for Education so that they can issue a laptop or tablet.
• The school may be able to loan devices on request.
• Our school’s ICT manager will support you to request free mobile data increases if you do not have fixed broadband at home and cannot afford additional data for your devices. Please contact Daniel Green for more information.
• Teachers will print and deliver material to support learning when required.

How will my child be taught remotely?

We use a combination of the following approaches to teach pupils remotely:

• Live teaching (online short lessons via Zoom)
• Recorded teaching (such as video recordings made by teachers)
• Printed paper packs (including symbol-based packs) and sensory resources produced by teachers
• Commercially available websites and Apps supporting the teaching of specific subjects or areas, including video clips (such as relevant YouTube links, Choose It App, Clicker App)

Engagement and feedback

What are your expectations for my child’s engagement and the support that we as parents and carers should provide at home?

• We acknowledge that your child will need your full support to access our remote learning offer
• We understand you may not be able to access all our resources but we encourage you to establish a routine and take part in at least the live sessions daily

How will you check whether my child is engaging with their work and how will I be informed if there are concerns? How will you assess my child’s work and progress?

• In addition to checking how your child is doing during live lessons, your child’s teacher or their lead Learning support assistant will call you once a week
• You will be able to discuss any concern or progress with their targets to inform next steps

Accessing Zoom for live lessons

Please see below for dos and don’ts when accessing Zoom with your child:

• If you do have a Zoom account and host meetings with others, please don't send an invitation to a teacher.  For your safety, our school policy requires a teacher to host the meeting and invite parents to join. This ensures that the teacher or therapist has full control of both the meeting and the participants who are allowed to join. ​​

• ​You will receive an invitation to join the meeting via an email link. Simply click on the link to join the meeting if you already have the Zoom app installed on your device. If you haven't installed the app, you will be asked to download the software before using Zoom for the first time.
• Please DO NOT share the meeting link with anyone else, including other relatives, friends or even families from your child's class. The teacher will send personal email invitations to all those who are invited to join a particular video call.​​ 

• Zoom allows you to check the view shown by your own camera before you join the meeting. Please be aware of what others will see and hear - try to find a quiet room if possible and check what can be seen in your background!  ​All those visible in the video call must wear appropriate clothing, and we ask that your device or computer is used in an appropriate area, for example NOT in the bedroom, and if you can, the background should be blurred.

• ​Please DO NOT ATTEMPT TO RECORD the Zoom meeting on any device. We are relying on our trust with families to arrange private video calls. Other families (and our teacher) have a right not to be recorded by others. Our video calls are 'live sessions' only. ​  

• Think of the ​video call as a coffee morning held at the school. Please be aware that all participants can see and hear each other when you join group sessions with other families. All communication should only be what you are willing to show and share with other parents in a coffee morning! Anything more private should not be communicated in a group video call.​​
•  Zoom for Apple device (e.g. iPhone, iPad): https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id546505307
•  Zoom for Android device (e.g. Android smartphone or tablet: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=us.zoom.videomeetings&hl=en_GB
• Zoom for PC (i.e. Windows) or Mac will prompt you to install the software when you click on an email link to join a meeting for the first time.

 

Remote education for pupils not able to attend school for other reasons

Where individual pupils are unable to attend school due to ill-health or any other reason, but the majority of their peer group remains in school, how remote education is provided will likely differ from the approach for whole groups. This is due to the challenges of teaching pupils both at home and in school.

 

If my child is not in school because they are self-isolating, how will their remote education differ from the approaches described above?

• The resources and activities available on Google classrooms, as well as the packs your child’s teacher will deliver will reflect the curriculum and the lessons being taught at school to the rest of the class
• Live Zoom sessions will not take place as often, but your child’s teacher will ensure there is at least one live session per week
• Your child's teacher will keep in touch once a week via telephone.

 

 

Please find the full document and the Remote Learning policy at the bottom of this page.

​