Remote Learning
The information below sets out to all our parents what can be expected from The Discovery School when the school may have to close unexpectantly, for example when not enough staff can come into school because of snow.
How will remote learning work?
Whilst your child’s class is closed, they will continue to receive the learning they would have had whilst in school. This is to ensure that all children do not miss out on important parts of their learning whilst they are away from school. Learning tasks for Years 1 -6 will be uploaded to Class Dojo www.classdojo.com daily.
Children in EYFS will have learning that will be posted on to Tapestry and parents are encouraged to upload photos to Tapestry to show their learning.
If you are unable to access the learning online, then please contact the school office who will be able to help you either gain access to a digital device (via a loan agreement) or where possible, will provide you with paper copies of the learning set for your child.
My child has additional needs. How will their learning work?
We recognise that some pupils, for example some pupils with SEND, may not be able to access remote education without the support from adults at home. We acknowledge the difficulties this may place upon families, and we will work with parents and carers to support those pupils in the following way:
- Provide personalised learning in line with your child’s EHCP or in class support plan.
- Provide learning that will either be delivered via ClassDojo or work will be delivered directly to you.
What will each day look like?
Each day, children will receive the Department for Education (DfE) recommended 3 hours of learning and this will normally include: English, Maths and one topic task.
Our suggested format for the day would be:
- 9am – 10am – Maths task
- 10am – 10:30am – Playtime
- 10:30am – 11:30am – English tasks
- 11:30am – 12:30am – Lunchtime
- 12:30pm – 1:30pm – Topic based learning
- 1:30 – 1:45pm – Reading with an adult
Learning will be a combination of:
- Recorded teaching (SWAYS, PowerPoints or Oak National Academy lessons)
- Worksheets produced by teachers
- Worksheets from work books
- Specific websites which support learning such as reading
- Project work
On the first day of closure, we ask that children access our online learning platforms to access their learning. This is to allow teachers the time to prepare and upload the rest of the week’s learning onto ClassDojo. The range of platforms can be found on this part of our website: https://www.discovery.kent.sch.uk/pupil-zone/home-learning/
On a snow day, a learning grid can also be found for simple activities that the children can carry out in the snow. This can be found on our snow closures page of the website.
Whilst you are waiting for learning tasks to arrive, you can still access learning for your child via The National Oak Academy https://www.thenational.academy/ This is a government established school, which is recommended by the DfE to use in cases of school closure. Many schools are using this resource and it is particularly useful for parents who are seeking teacher led learning. You just need to select your child’s year group and there are activities and learning for your child to take part in.
Another excellent resource is the BBC Bitesize website. The children are familiar with this website and their activities are bright and engaging. Again, select your child’s key stage and then subject you would like to learn. https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize
How will feedback be provided to my child?
When the children have completed their learning, they will be able to upload their learning to ClassDojo for their class teacher and class teaching assistant(s) to see. Teachers and teaching assistants will then provide feedback to all children between the hours of 9am – 4pm. Alternatively, parental support can be gained from the class teacher via their school email. Feedback will be given in the form of written feedback. This can either be praise or identifying an aspect of the work to develop further. Please ensure that children are supervised when downloading and uploading learning to ClassDojo.
How can parents support remote learning?
We ask that parents support the school in facilitating the home learning for their child. We ask that as a lot of learning will be online, that parents supervise their child when online, to ensure that they are kept safe and also behave responsibly online. Where children aren’t engaging with learning, a member of the school staff will make contact with you to see if we can provide support for you.