Our Remote Offer (and catch up plan)
- for children AND families!
When required, we are determined to provide ALL children with high quality learning provision that is highly supported and driven by the talented Tudor teaching team. This section of the website will share some of the key aspects of our successful and well regarded approaches to remote learning. Find out how we can support the wider family as well as the children of Tudor...
First of all our KEY pledge is that EVERY child, whether they are in school or at home, will have high levels of access to their normal Tudor class teacher. Each teacher will set work and be able to give bespoke support and feedback to the children. As well as shared responses, children will be able to receive regular individualised feedback about the work that they are completing. There will be opportunities for whole class discussion and interaction using appropriate media platforms and we expect the children to fully immerse themselves in what is being offered. The more your child puts in, the MORE they will get from it.
As part of our duty of care, we expect to see high levels of interaction from children and there is monitoring of responses from the children in each class. We will obviously evaluate the level of interaction with the children in our care- there may be a number of obstacles for us all to deal with but we must all be committed to the wellbeing of the children. Overall feedback from the parent community was fantastic in the first period of school closure and we seek ways to refine and improve further.
As we all know, school is not simply about academic progress and we are very aware of the wider impact that any school closures present- and this is in addition to the restricted freedoms of a national lockdown! It is natural (and very understandable!) when children have that initial sense of excitement that they can have more time with family at home and, dare I say, opportunities for staying up later in the evening. However, there is a huge amount of evidence for the impact on children’s confidence and wellbeing and Tudor’s commitment to your families will be as wide as we can make it. We must all try to be on the front foot as this will enable your children to fulfil the awesome potential that they all have- consistency of effort is key and a clear structure helps. If you want to ask any questions are seek further advice, please do contact the school! We are even going to offer online support and guidance to parents as part of remote learning at Tudor. We never stop learning!
So how would it be organised?
As our high level of interaction evidenced, the approaches that we offer enable all of the children to get super levels of engagement. Use the hyperlinks for examples in each area of the school. The following information highlights how Tudor Primary responded to the school closures of the recent past:
Nursery and Reception- Tapestry
Welcome to our remote learning section for children in EYFS. The information will share how the early years’ team provide high quality remote learning.
At Tudor we use Tapestry to upload children’s daily learning challenges. It is an easy to use application that allows the staff to send out videos, photos, messages and documents. to support the learning an progression of the children. Parents can reply and send us their own videos and photos of what the children have been doing at home.
At Tudor it is our pledge that to engage effectively with the children and their families and teachers remain available and ready to interact and ensure that you feel supported.
What you will receive
Every day there is an upload for nursery and reception children that will provide a range of exciting activities closely linked to what we provide the children at school. In Reception this includes a Literacy and Maths task, a phonics lesson, and a set of activities linked to UW and EAD.
The team are able to create bespoke learning videos that engage your children:
With each task set, there is a short input for you to follow which will explain the learning and then an activity for your child to complete. In Nursery this includes daily information/ guidance which covers Phonics, Maths, Literacy and Play and Learn activities. A screenshot of how this is presented is shown below:
The Tudor Extras
On top of the daily uploads, we provide many other opportunities for your child to access other areas of the curriculum. We share/ send out links and videos for your child to do P.E, Music and interesting and exciting play and learn activities. There is a daily story time from one of the three teachers reading a story linked to our current topic.
Each of the three early years’ teachers host a weekly zoom story time for the whole class to attend, including key worker children in school, so the children can see their best friends, teacher and teaching assistant. There will also be a Friday celebration zoom to congratulate our ‘Top Tudorites’ of the week! In reception, we also provide your child with 4 CGP books for additional learning opportunities, and a personalised pack which includes support materials such as a number line, sound mat etc. and a guide of expectations for your child with regards to reading, writing and maths. In nursery we provide your child with a fine motor pack, full of interesting challenge cards, a name practise sheet, playdough and lots more goodies!
As we plan each week we consider your child’s next steps, so we can continue to support their progression. We will consolidate their learning and introduce new concepts and vocabulary for them to explore.
Working together
Your role at home is the key to unlocking your child’s full potential. It is crucial that you have a space for learning that is quiet and organised with all of the resources your child will need to access. Start by creating a timetable with/ for your child with allows them periods to complete their work, brain brakes and time outside. Your child’s class teacher will have the work ready for you to read the night before so you can get everything ready that they may need to stay focussed and enjoy their learning. Please try to ensure that some learning takes place each day. For any children who find it more challenging to access the planned learning activities, please remember that it is the simple things like sharing a story with your child, baking, counting, writing their name, will all provide valuable learning experiences. You know your child best and whilst the tasks are there for them to complete, it is for you to judge what your child’s needs are on a day by day, hour by hour basis.
Maintaining that close contact
Our role at Tudor is to ensure there our early years children are safe, happy and enjoying their learning. We are committed to making this as easy as possible for you to deliver at home. We will be available to contact throughout each day via tapestry or from your child’s class email.
Year 1, Year 2, Year 3- SEESAW
For our children in Years 1, 2 and 3, Tudor Primary School uses the online learning platform of Seesaw to support the delivery of our curriculum. This program has been developed to be used in the classroom by children, allowing for some of the older pupils in this age bracket to be more independent. This learning platform is accessed via an app or on a web browser.
Everyday pupils are activities via the activities function in Seesaw.
These activities include differentiated mathematics, writing and reading. Each activity contains; a set of instructions (written and recorded) about how to access and respond to the task; either a pre-recorded lesson with a class teacher or recorded modelling of work and structured support on how to complete the task (this can be as questions, labelling or diagrams, sorting of words as a few examples).
Weekly tasks that cover the rest of the curriculum are set in the same way and pupils can work through these at their own pace or as directed by the class teachers.
Below is an example of what an activity looks like. There are recorded instructions, supporting lesson materials and a template for pupils to respond on.
Pupils and parents can keep track of what they have completed, because once the response has been added…the activity moves from To Do to Done!
The interactive nature of the program allows different approaches to completing tasks. At times, pupils may be directed in a specific way, but ultimately all the responses could be completed on paper and uploaded as a photograph.
Pupils are able to record their thinking verbally by sampling using the microphone tool, this allows understanding to be shown at a deeper level that isn’t reliant on writing ability. Work can be shared in a variety of ways:
Feedback is given in a range of ways once work has been submitted.
It is also simple for pupils to edit their work and improve, or respond to a question using a voice comment.
The screenshot on the left is an example of submitted work that a pupil asked for help with. The example on the right is taken from the teacher response to support the pupil using modelling recorded using the screen recording function.
Every day, the class teacher posts a note (written or video) to the class journal or sends a message. These help engage and prompt pupils before they start the day.
Also, teachers will continue to celebrate work by regular updates of the class blogs:
http://www.tudor.herts.sch.uk/page/?title=School+Provision+for+Spring+2021&pid=159
THANK YOU!
We acknowledge the key role Parents and Carers play in supporting the remote learning of the pupils and each class teacher is available to support via email or directly on Seesaw to support the academic and emotional needs of the pupils. If additional adaptations are required, teachers are able to support.
Alongside the home learning set by class teachers, Parents and Carers are also supported (via the school website) towards additional resources online such as PhonicsPlay, BBC Learning and The Oak National Academy, as well as paid applications such as EduShed and Lexia. These resources can work alongside the set curriculum and teachers are able to support parents when selecting any additional materials.
As well as the educational support, we want to ensure the children have a way of staying in contact with friends. This is achieved via weekly Zoom meetings lead by the class teacher that may include a story, games and class awards. Invitations to these meetings are shared with parents and carers securely and we do ask pupils to remember our 3 'Tudor Core Principles' when taking part in them.
Year 4, Year 5, Year 6- Google Classroom
For the older children in Years 4, 5 and 6, Tudor Primary School uses the online learning platform of Google Classroom to provide remote learning provision. This system builds on the one used in Year 3 and KS1 (Seesaw) as it allows the children to work with a greater level of independence and take more responsibility for their own learning. Shared via Google Classroom, there are daily Mathematics and English lessons (or “assignments” as referred to on Google Classroom), which will include prerecorded lessons delivered by one of the class teachers as well as a range of resources and links to support and enable all children to engage with the lesson content. These assignments, and their attached resources, provide content tailored by each class teacher especially for their class, and usually allows pupils to access and submit work in a variety of different ways.
Example of an assignment on Google Classroom – see the attachments included allowing the children to present their work in a variety of ways, enabling all to access the work.
There are also weekly assignments provided for the rest of our Tudor curriculum. These allow children continued access to the breadth and depth of the curriculum we provide as a school, although there are some adjustments to aspects to make it suitable for remote learning. These lessons follow a similar structure to the daily mathematics and English lessons, with presentations from the teacher and a range of resources dependent on the task.
An example of the range of wider curriculum assignments set each week.
By using Google Classroom, children have the option of completing work online by using the included Google Docs applications (such as producing word processed texts or adding answers to sheets by using Google Slides) or completing work by hand. Certain tasks provided will lend themselves better to different approaches, but teachers are committed to providing the children with options and accessibility is key in their planning and delivery. Work is expected to be completed and returned daily either via the submit and return section on Google Classroom (this also allows you to upload video and images) or via email to the class teacher.
Example of a child editing a Google Doc to highlight key features of a text type
Uploaded image of creative work.
Each Google Classroom also has a ‘Stream’ where important announcements and additional comments and activities from members of staff are added. Similar to a social media style ‘wall’, this feature helps it to function in a similar way to a real classroom and appropriate behaviour standards are managed by the Tudor staff. Children are reminded of our Google Classroom Agreement and of how to interact online in a safe, responsible and respectful way.
Classroom Stream with announcements and interaction from Tudor Staff.
Every child can expect high quality interactions with their class teacher. These take place in many different forms and will include: interactions based upon the work on Google Classroom (this could be responses to questions, supportive comments and feedback about the work completed); email communication in a similar manner when appropriate, as well as regular video conferences to allow children to interact with their peers and their class teacher (focuses for these sessions will vary).
Examples of remote interaction and feedback.
As well as this work and interaction via Google Classroom, there are additional links and activities highlighted on the Tudor School website and communication to parents. These include use of other applications like Spelling Shed and Lexia, as well as additional resources provided by The Oak National Academy and other academic websites. All this is also supplemented by the provision of high quality printed resources when deemed appropriate. Parents and Carers are encouraged to supervise and ensure engagement in activities provided, as well as communicating with teachers to ensure the school community is working together to enable all children to access the curriculum we provide.
To ALL year groups...
We share training additional videos (for groups/ individuals) via programs that are easy to access. We will be taking our Tudor thematic curriculum INTO your homes!
We are confident that the platforms are the correct choices depending on the ages of the children. Like last time, we have used our understanding of the school community for what forms of technology would be more accessible and how parents would want work to be shared with their children. Furthermore, not all homes have access to printers- the ink costs can also be extortionate! This is why we will continue with our commitment to provide high quality pre-printed materials to supplement the online offer. We really do want to remove those aforementioned obstacles that you could face. In many ways, consider ANY way that you think we can help your child succeed in this period of home learning and we promise to consider any ‘deliverable’ solution.
If we can make a difference, we promise to give it a go!
At #TeamTudor it's not just about children!
Supporting families in the delivery of remote learning- working alongside other providers...
Following feedback from the school community during the initial lockdown (as well as using our own experience!), we were very aware of the additional pressures that parents and carers were under during times of school closure. There was also a lot of evidence that the colder, wintery period was more challenging due to the fact that gardens/ open spaces are not as accessible- the impact on our wellbeing was extreme. It is not an exaggeration to say that teaching one child (or more) of your own at home feels more difficult than teaching 30 (unrelated!) children in a classroom.
To provide additional support and advice to parents and carers in the delivery of home learning, we were proud to be one of the first schools nationally to offer free, high quality materials that parents could access in the form of guided online learning. Alongside a high quality provider, 'Guide education' families could access the support materials without cost. Tudor was in close contact with the course designer to ensure the content made a difference. The super content was very easy to access and use- to complete it in full only took a couple of hours in total. Family members could dip in and out of different sections.
Access the content using your computer, tablet or phone:
Be assured that such online offers of support will not (in any way!) replace our personal commitment to you. From class emails, ease of contact with the office team, our dedicated pastoral team, home deliveries, phone calls and more, #TeamTudor continues to be highly accessible to our community.
Don't forget to follow the links to each year group blog.