Parents/Carers
This information is intended to provide clarity and transparency to families about what to expect from remote education if local restrictions require entire cohorts (or bubbles) to remain at home.
The remote curriculum: what is taught to pupils at home
A student’s first day or two of being educated remotely might look different from our standard approach, while we take all necessary actions to prepare for a longer period of remote teaching
What should my child expect from immediate remote education in the first day or two of being at home?
Lime Academy Hartwell will be in contact, either through the Class Teacher or the Welfare Team, to discuss educational provision in the short term.
Due the very individual needs of our students at Lime Academy Hartwell, immediate remote education is discussed with the family taking into consideration the best interests of the pupils and the home environment.
Following the first few days of remote education, will my child be taught broadly the same curriculum as they would if they were in school?
Broadly, we will teach the same curriculum remotely for most students as we do in school. However, we have needed to make some adaptations in some subjects.
Parents will be signposted to previously recorded teaching videos which are available on the school website.
‘Live’ teaching sessions will clearly indicate whether it is best suited for those students following the Engage or Inspire curriculum pathway.
How long can I expect work set by the school to take my child each day?
We expect that remote education (including remote teaching and independent work) will take students broadly the following number of hours each day:
Up to 3hrs for Primary aged pupils
Up to 4 hours for Secondary aged pupils
Lime Academy will provide up to four Live teaching sessions a day for pupils to access.
It is up to parents to decide which sessions they would like to access and for how long. We understand that for some pupils this is more difficult at home. These live sessions are in addition to our catalog of recorded learning sessions accessible via the school YouTube channel and bespoke, individual directed tasks were appropriate.
How will my child access any online remote education you are providing?
All remote learning will be accessed via information through Parentmail.
Information about our ‘Live’ sessions, including the content and staff members who will be leading them is available through our ‘Online Learning Prospectus’. This has has been emailed to parents and is also available on the school website.
If my child does not have digital or online access at home, how will the school 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 students to access remote education:
If your child does not have a laptop or cannot access a laptop (or other suitable device) at home the school will endeavour to issue a school device for use at home.
If for any reason electronic remote learning is not appropriate for your family, please contact your class teacher who will provide alternative resources/ learning recommendations.
How will my child be taught remotely?
We use a combination of the following approaches to teach students remotely:
- live teaching offered every day (online lessons)
- recorded teaching (e.g. Oak National Academy lessons, video/audio recordings made by teachers on the Lime Academy Hartwell YouTube channel)
- packs produced by teachers (e.g. workbooks, worksheets, sensory resources) where appropriate
- therapeutic plans with supporting resources e.g. standing frames
- targeted EHCP (Education Health Care Plan) tasks
- ‘Topic on a page’ learning activities
- Bespoke, live 1:1 sessions
- Live streaming into ‘in-school’ sessions
- Whole school Zoom assemblies
Engagement and feedback
What are your expectations for my child’s engagement and the support that we as families should provide at home?
Please support your child to access the remote learning lessons when and where this is possible,
If your child is unable to participate at a particular time or on a particular day, please don’t give up and try again another time,
We have provided families with alternative options i.e. teacher videos which are available on our YouTube as we understand that set times for teaching may not be right for your child or your family,
We do not expect you to put any additional pressure on your child to participate, please just encourage,
While engagement in our remote offer is strongly encouraged, we understand that for some families this may not be possible, please discuss any concerns you may have with our Family Support workers, Pauline and Naghina on your weekly ‘safe and well’ checks or get in touch with their class teacher.
How will you check if my child is engaging with their work and how will I be informed if there are concerns?
The ‘Live’ teaching sessions will be run by a class teacher and monitored by another member of staff from the school, this will allow us to reflect on uptake and engagement.
In the event of a concern, we will discuss this with you via the weekly ‘safe and well’ check.
A register of all those attending the sessions will be taken as a record of parental/pupil interest.
If you have any concerns, you can access the school via email ortonoffice@limetrust.org
How will you assess my child’s work and progress?
Our approach to feeding back on student work is as follows:
We encourage you to take photographs of your child’s remote learning achievements and send them to the class teacher.
Screen shots may be taken during ‘Live’ teaching activities to show pupil engagement and success during sessions.
Parents will be asked complete a survey on a weekly basis to provide feedback on the sessions offered and the pre-prepared elements that have accessed.
Additional support for pupils with particular needs
How will you work with me to help my child who needs additional support from adults to access remote education?
We recognise that many of our pupils may not be able to access remote education without support from adults at home. We acknowledge the difficulties this may place on families, and we will work with families to support those pupils in the following ways:
We encourage families to access the ‘Live’ teaching sessions together with their child to chat with the teacher and other class members
If additional support is needed the parent or carer may contact the school to discuss what further support can be offered
Provision of pre-prepared activities and videos that families can access as and when required to support flexible learning hours each day.
Remote education for self-isolating pupils
Where individual pupils need to self-isolate 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 at home and in school simultaneously.
If my child is not in school because they are self-isolating, how will their remote education differ from the approaches describes above?
If a pupil is self-isolating whilst the rest of their class remains in school, the pupil will be encouraged to join the class remotely via zoom sessions set up by the class teacher.
The teacher and other adults will be teaching the rest of the class but will also do their best to support the isolating student to replicate the learning at home.