Remote Curriculum - Parent / Carer Handbook

Prospect House Specialist Support School Part of the Prospere Trust Special School Cluster

Prospect House’s Remote Curriculum

Parent / Carer Handbook

Contents 1. What is a Remote Learning Offer?

2. DFE Advice 3. Guidance for Home Learning 4. Troubleshooting Q&A 5. Useful Links and APPS Annex A : Data (parent/carer survey)

Purpose of this document: This booklet will provide information about how Prospect House will help support you in ensuring that your child maintains their academic progress and wellbeing during any school closure or period of self isolation.

1. What is a remote learning offer?

1.1 Remote learning provides an opportunity for students and teachers to remain connected and engaged with the content while working from their homes. Opportunities for remote learning have become essential within the within the pandemic and teachers have adapted quickly to ensure high quality work has been sent home, both in lockdown and over periods of self-isolation.

1.2 The key aim of the remote curriculum is to keep students engaged and actively learning when not in school. The Prospect House Remote Curriculum is inclusive and accessible to all students, whilst providing a balanced and coherent curriculum offer that can be delivered at home so that there is a seamless provision between home and school and any gaps in learning are minimised. At Prospect House, we aim to provide all students with excellent learning opportunities in order to limit any negative impact on their overall education.

2. DFE Advice 2.1 With so many options available to support remote education, one of the most important decisions schools are making is to keep it simple, making sure pupils, parents, carers and teachers know what is being asked of them. The exact approaches adopted by each school will vary depending on the needs of its pupils and school context. There is no single right answer. Transitioning to remote learning can keep students on track so that when they return to physical school environments, they will not need to complete a lot of make-up work to be ready for any scheduled assessments. Many of the requirements in a traditional classroom environment will be in play for remote learning environments, and the goal is to adhere to as many state and local requirements as possible.

2.2 DFE Key points: •

•

•

Education is not optional – All pupils receive a high-quality education that promotes their development and prepares them for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life.

The curriculum remains broad and ambitious. All pupils continue to be taught a wide range of subjects, maintaining their choices for further study and employment Remote education – where needed, this is high quality, safe and aligns as closely as possible with in school provision. Schools and other settings continue to build their capability to educate pupils remotely where this is needed

Remote Curriculum Contingency Plan Report Absence to school — Ensure you let the staff know that it is a COVID related absence. Staff will ask you to explain the details of the absence (confirmed COVID case, awaiting a test, symptomatic etc). If anyone in your household is symptomatic, student must not attend school. If isolating, government guidance is clear that you/your child should not leave home/garden for any reason.

Awaiting test in family or self isolating— length of absence unknown (rest of class in school)

Week 1 timetable, teacher will send work home. Minimum of one contact point in the week via week video or phone call .

Positive test in family or self isolating for 14 days (rest of class in school)

Week 1 and 2 timetables and work will be sent home. Minimum of one contact point in the week via week video or phone call with class teacher.

Burst bubble—whole class including class teacher and TAs are isolating for 14 days

Week 1 and 2 timetables and work will be sent home. 1 teacher slot by video per day. Welfare / progress check scheduled for those who cannot access video sessions.

Student work will be posted or hand delivered on the same day as absence is reported/bubble burst. Your teacher will complete a progress call/video meeting which will be scheduled on the timetable. if you have not received work within the first three days, notify the class teacher. In the first few days of isolation, students can complete PE challenges, ILS challenges and work through the wide range of online learning tasks and challenges (outlined at the end of this document). If you are unable to access online tasks and activities please notify the class teacher who will be able to support in the interim (whilst waiting for delivery of work).

Keep all work safe and ready for return to class once the student starts back at school, work will be stuck into books and marked.

3. Guidance for home learning Guidance for Home Learning At Prospect House we are committed to supporting you to help your child continue with their academic learning during this period of uncertainty. We will provide all of our students with excellent learning opportunities in order to limit any negative impact on their overall education.

What other ways will you keep in touch?

Our school website will be the main point of reference for all students and family members. Teachers will also set up regular video meetings which will be timetabled. Additionally, for those families unable to access video sessions, teachers will make weekly calls to check student progress and welfare. The school website has lots of information about the curriculum offer as well as information related to COVID-19. Further information has been included in this pack we have included a comprehensive list of all the apps/websites we think may be of use to you.

Prospect House working from home lessons will include: • • • • • • •

A two week timetable in which all subjects are covered Morning sessions which focus on key curriculum subjects Afternoon sessions which focus on high engagement subjects (highlighted in the pupil survey) Lunch and break time integrated within timetables Video teaching slots delivered by the class team Progress call slots Independent living skills session ideas

What type of work will my child receive?

All lessons have been carefully planned by class teachers to allow students continued access to the planned curriculum. Student work will vary greatly between and within classes as work will be differentiated and tailored to individuals. Students will access work that links closely with their own personalised targets.

What can parents/carers do to help?

• • • • •

• • • • • •

Provide your child with a quiet space to study Remove any distractions (TV, mobile phone, iPad etc) Use the timetable to help your child to organise their day, including time for breaks Restrict other activities (such as gaming, watching tv, socialising online) during the timetabled hours Remind your child about our focus: it is important that they do not lose out on valuable curriculum learning during this period at home Remind your child that all work must be their best effort and must be well presented Ask them to show you the work they have completed and talk through what they have learned Give regular reminders that work will be returned to school and marked by the class teacher Stay positive—give lots of praise and encouragement Join the video sessions if you can Give the teacher regular progress updates via weekly calls (if you are unable to access video sessions).

4. Troubleshooting Q&A

Contact the school., we can support in a variety of ways including referrals if eligible.

My child won’t do any work and I’m really struggling

My child is getting all the work wrong, what should I do?

We will not put any pressure on you to complete work, we do not want any relationships to break down. Keep an open dialogue with the class teacher who will offer support. We appreciate that working from home and being out of routine is very difficult and challenging for our students, remember, we are on hand to help.

It is good to get things wrong, as it the first step to new learning. Don’t correct the work, your teacher will want to know that the student found this work tricky and will cover it again in class.

Make sure you let the teacher know in the progress /video call. If you can support by correcting any misconceptions—that’s great, just make sure the work completed is their own.

Can I change the timetable and do it in a different order?

No, all work will be marked by the class team when it is returned to school.

Yes, you can change the timetable to fit in with your own routines and schedules. We’d like to encourage students to complete all the lessons, we appreciate this may not always be possible, any work completed will be celebrated.

I have to work and I don’t have the time to help my child, I am worried he isn’t doing a good job.

Do I need to post the work back?

We really want the work to come back, it will be stuck in books and marked by the class teacher. You don’t need to post the work, you can return the work with the student when they start back at school.

I/my child isn’t well - does work still need to be completed?

No, if you are unwell it is important to focus on your health and getting better.

My son’s/daughter’s timetable looks really different to one of the kids in the other class, why is this?

Access groups vary significantly at Prospect House. teachers utilise their expertise to create class timetables to suit the needs of individual learners.

I can’t access the internet to join video sessions, what can I do?

You can still speak to the class teacher in the timetabled progress call time. These calls are really important as it is a chance to report back on progress and welfare.

I haven’t received any work in the post We aim to post out all work within 24 hours of a burst bubble/isolation. Work packs are hand delivered or sent via second class post. If you are concerned that you haven’t received anything, please contact the school who will support with this.

I can’t get out of the house to get food and we have to isolate, I don’t have any support, what can I do?

Do I have to mark the work?

We appreciate that a significant proportion of parents are not able to designate the time they’d like to home learning. Teachers are aware of this and wherever possible they will endeavour to set work that can be completed independently.

I think the work is too easy/hard.

Are there any quick wins/ways to make the work better suited to the level your child is working at? Could you make the task simpler/more challenging. If this isn’t possible, report back to the teacher.

My child won’t join in with all the virtual video sessions We understand that behaviour and willingness to participate will vary daily. Please don’t worry if you miss some of the sessions for this reason.

Getting my child to complete work is having a negative impact on our relationship/causing behaviours.

It is important to maintain positive relationships, some behaviours can be very challenging to manage at home. Try to engage students with the activities and sessions that are highly rewarding. You/your child's mental health and physical wellbeing should be prioritised over the completion of work.

I haven’t heard from the teacher, what should I do?

Teachers will only make progress/welfare calls to parents/carers not accessing virtual video sessions. If you haven’t had any communication with the class team, we really encourage an open dialogue, you can contact the school any time within school hours.

5. Useful Links and APPS APPS Dyslexic Learners

Sound Literacy Dyslexia Quest Happy Maths Phonics dyseggxia dyslexics-dictionary

Autistic Learners

Sight Words Sequences for Autism See Touch Learn Words on Wheels Verbal Me Autism i help autism-dtt-shapes autism letters Speech with Milo

Visually impaired learners

Via-by-braille-institute Dragon Diction Light Detector Colour ID TapTapSee Be My Eyes Talking Calculator Say Text Access Note visual-brailler

Learners with Writing Difficulties

The Writing Machine Write Words Handwriting Letter School Alpha Writer Pocket Phonics Word Magic

Useful Websites to Support Home learning English: https://www.researchify.co.uk/audiobooks.html https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/find-a-book/library-page https://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/ https://www.worldofdavidwalliams.com/ https://uk.ixl.com/ela/ https://funenglishgames.com/writinggames.html https://www.phonicsbloom.com/ https://www.phonicsplay.co.uk https://www.topmarks.co.uk/english-games https://www.ictgames.com/mobilePage/literacy.html Maths: http://ww7.topmarks.com/ Science: https://www.jamesdysonfoundation.co.uk/resources/challenge-cards.html? gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6P6JvOKT7AIVhobVCh3NAQxZEAAYASAAEgLn2fD_BwE https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zdp4382 https://wowscience.co.uk/?sfid=27&_sfm_resource_type=Games https://www.jamesdysonfoundation.co.uk/resources/challenge-cards.html? gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6P6JvOKT7AIVhobVCh3NAQxZEAAYASAAEgLn2fD_BwE BBC Bitesize games https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zdp4382 Wow Science – has info, challenges and games https://wowscience.co.uk/?sfid=27&_sfm_resource_type=Games Music: https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/bring-the-noise/key-stage-1-music/zvnhxyc http://www.musicgames.net/livegames/orchestra/orchestra2.htm http://resources.hwb.wales.gov.uk/VTC/2008-09/music/ogd-new-appraising-ks2/ en/index.html MFL: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zhyb4wx https://rockalingua.com/games https://www.spanish-games.net/ Citizenship https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zmpfb9q https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zqtnvcw https://www.actionaid.org.uk/school-resources/search/s/subject/0-2377/page

https://www.valuesmoneyandme.co.uk/family-learning

Further list of Apps by need: http://redbridgeserc.org/resources

History: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zkqmhyc http://horrible-histories.co.uk/ https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/category/discover/history/ PSHE: Emotions: BBC TEACH; Oak Academy – higher; lower Road Safety: BMW; Handwashing: Learn Alberta; Personal Hygiene: Turtle Diary; Dental Hygiene: Colgate Personal Care: Oak Academy (higher); Lower Friends: Oak Academy (higher; Lower Families: Oak Academy – my family; Oak Academy – different types Healthy Eating: Oak Academy Safety in the home: Oak Academy Safe Relationships (needs trusted adult to supervise): Oak Academy Food Tech: https://www.topmarks.co.uk/Search.aspx?q=healthy%20eating% 20games http://archive.foodafactoflife.org.uk/QuickLinks.aspx? contentType=2&PageIndex=5 https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/category/all-family-kids http://www.nourishinteractive.com/nutrition-games/childrenseducational-healthy-food-games Forest School: www.wildlifegardener.co.ukwww.rspb.org.uk https:// www.rspb.org.uk/search/?q=wildlife+explorers www.animalfactguide.com Computing: https://blockly.games Art https://theimaginationtree.com www.pawprintbadges.co.uk Geography www.natgeokids.com/uk/ General: https://www.helpkidzlearn.com/ (Free 14 day log in) https://chatterpack.net/ https://www.thenational.academy