Home Learning

Home learning January 2022

Thankfully, even though the numbers of infections are increasing due to the Omicron variant, schools remain open to all children.  This is what all of our community wants and knows is best for the long term prospects of the children.

Nevertheless, we accept that there will be continued absence due to Covid-19 and that this will mean many children will miss periods of school.

As children can often be well during this period and are isolating as part of the aim to restrict transmission, school will provide work for children to complete at home.

Teachers will provide an overview of a schedule (via Tapestry or Class Dojo) which can be applied at home where children will access our online activities as well as book activity.  We provide laptops to those who do not have access and so if there are any need for hardware, please contact the school office.

Types of activity (KS1 & KS2):

  • Reading programme (Lexia or Reading Plus)
  • Maths programme (My Maths, TT Rockstars, Numbots)
  • Grammar book
  • Phonics videos
  • Reading book
  • Spelling 

***********************************************************

What we did for Home Learning January 2021

With a national lockdown being announced at such short notice, we have taken the first two weeks to organise and adjust to the new expectations.  Now that we have ensured that our pupil numbers are managed, we are looking to focus our efforts on embedding and supporting a consistent Home Learning approach and developing our communication with families.

It is important to understand that, on top of staff being face-to-face with groups of children, teachers are now expected to deliver to children within school as they would normally but also manage Home Learning; in essence, two jobs.

From communication with parents/carers, it is clear that there is an understanding of the challenges faced by schools and that we are working hard to get the balance right for school and home.  We know from our experience over the year that the vast majority of parents/carers accept that home is not school and, therefore, the learning we set has to reflect this.

There are guidelines for schools which provide some flexibility and, along with a common-sense approach, has allowed us to provide what we believe is sensible and balanced.

We will consolidate our practice and ensure that there is familiarity with what has been done previously.  Children in school will do much the same that is being asked of at home which means that children who access our in-school provision on specific days will be able to keep in line with the programme throughout the week.  This also means children working at Home are not missing out compared to those attending school.

Our provision will:

  • Focus on basic skills in English and maths
  • Provide opportunities for activities across the curriculum
  • Provide guidance and support for learning through PowerPoints, videos and explanations
  • Provide a range of online work (maths and Reading apps) and written work (to be recorded in the children’s Home Learning books)
  • Allow older children to work as independently as possible (to support parents working from home)
  • Provide approximately the allocated time per day (as per Government regulations)
  • Provide feedback through the subject apps and from teacher comments

Virtual Class Meets

We are setting up the opportunity for weekly Class Meets, where groups of children within the class will meet virtually through Microsoft Teams.  This is currently being organised and staff are being trained ready for the first sessions to begin week beginning Monday 25th January (via email invites).

This will provide the opportunity for children to see classmates and to have a time talking with them and the teacher.  The main focus will be on well-being with a ‘circle time’ approach.  Information will be provided to support set up and organisation.

Supporting Parents/Carers

We know that each household has differing circumstances, and this means the way the day is structured will be different for everyone.  Although we have given a schedule in a particular order, each day’s activities can be done in any order to suit what else is happening at home.

Teachers are available at various points in the day to support queries and questions from families which should come through class Dojo or Tapestry (dependent on Year Group).  Teachers will aim to support as swiftly as possible so that children can continue with their work.

**************************************************

The following information is previous provision which is currently not applied during current lockdown (Jan 2021).

Home Learning When School is Open to All

During lockdown, we worked with families to develop a Home Learning system which allowed children to focus on basic skills in Reading and Maths, whilst having other subject-based activities that could be undertaken in a range of ways.  The design of this was to cover the long period we found ourselves in.

With an understanding of schools being open but the potential of children being absent for up to 2 weeks at a time, we are developing our homework practices to become a more fluid Home Learning system.

From September 2020, we will establish Home Learning activities which children will undertake weekly, both online and in books.  This will allow children and parents/carers to develop routines and understanding of activities which, in the event of being absent, can be implemented and enhanced quickly and easily.

All children will have brought home a guidance sheet which explained each year group Home Learning schedule.  These can also be downloaded below.

We greatly appreciate the support of parents/carers whose role to guide Home Learning is crucial.  If there are any queries, the class teacher can be contacted who will be more than happy to help.

Year 1 Home Learning Guidance

Year 2 Home Learning Guidance

Year 3 Home Learning Guidance

Year 4 Home Learning Guidance

Year 5 Home Learning Guidance

Year 6 Home Learning Guidance

What we did during lockdown 2020

We will be posting our home learning information on our website to allow parents easy access to resources and instructions.  This page will be used to summarise what we are doing for the whole school which will allow parents/carers to:

  • understand what children should be accessing whilst learning from home
  • know what resources are available for a range of activities

 Each Year Group will manage their learning through their Year Group pages over time and so children should visit these pages regularly.

Please read the information in the tabs below to find out more.  Remember you can contact teachers via the year group email addresses (see Staff Involvement section).

Summer 2 Home Learning

Summer 1 Home Learning

Spring Term Home Learning

What else can I do?