Norristhorpe Junior & Infant School

Home Learning

During lockdown, we provided Home Learning to all pupils:

This information is intended to provide clarity and transparency to pupils and parents or carers about what to expect from remote education where national or local restrictions require entire cohorts (or bubbles) to remain at home.

For details of what to expect where individual pupils are self-isolating, please see the final section below.

Moving to Remote Learning

During the first two days of pupils being educated remotely, pupils’ work might look different from our standard approach, while we take all necessary actions to prepare for a longer period of remote teaching.

• Pupils may be sent home with paper activities to complete during the first two days.
• Wherever possible, we will direct pupils to assignments on Microsoft Teams.

Our remote learning teaching will follow the same curriculum as we do in school, wherever possible, although there will be variations to our usual timetable. Morning lessons will prioritise core subjects, as we would do normally, with foundation subjects delivered in the afternoon via remote assignments.

Remote Teaching and Study Timetable

We aim to ensure our remote learning is of equivalent length to the core teaching pupils receive in school.

KS1 and KS2 Timetable

Children of critical workers and vulnerable children in school will access the same learning as pupils at home.

Pupils in Reception will receive a different timetable, with a shorter more focussed live learning session, supported by tasks and activities.

Engagement and Feedback

Staff will monitor pupils’ attendance in live lessons and engagement in tasks set. If there is a concern around the level of engagement of a pupil, parents will be contacted via telephone to assess whether school intervention can assist engagement.

Where appropriate, staff will provide feedback on pupils’ work. This can include:

• Verbal feedback within live learning, including whole class feedback to discuss a remote learning activity.
• Written feedback to assignments completed when suitable.
• Automatically marked activities using our digital platforms.

Submitting Work

Tasks can be completed in different ways, and the teacher will explain to pupils what is expected for each task. This could include:

• Completing work on a document in Microsoft Teams, or uploading a document.
• Completing activities on a SMART Online Slide.
• Completing an activity on one of our other digital platforms.
• Uploading a picture or scan of written work (where possible)

Tasks can be ‘handed in’ on Microsoft Teams to let the teacher know they are competed, even if the work has been completed on a different resource.

We understand that not all pupil activities will have work to be uploaded; for example, Oak Academy activities. Similarly, we understand there may be times where it is difficult for pupils to share their work; for example, if it is written on paper. In this situation, pupils should let the teacher know they have completed their work by clicking ‘hand in’ function on Microsoft Teams. Where practical, pupils can sometimes share their learning with the teacher during the live learning sessions.

The video guide below helps explain how to use Microsoft Teams.

If you are having any problems with Microsoft Teams, or are having difficulties with accessing appropriate technology, please get in touch and we will help where we can.

SMART Learning Suite (SMART Online)

We are also using SMART Learning Suite to enable pupils to access learning - this is similar to the Notebook software we use in school. Pupils will be able to view pages and complete activities for their teacher to see. When this work is set as an assignment, pupils can access the software using their Teams account.

Please see the video below for more informaiton. 

You can try out the practice lesson using this link.

Other Resources

We will continue to use other Remote Learning resources used during lockdown, including White Rose Maths, BBC Bitesize, Oak National Academy, Purple Mash and EdShed. A link to some useful websites is available here.

Microsoft Teams etiquette for children

• Be on time for your lessons
• Be prepared and ready to learn, with equipment such as pens, pencils and paper.
• Remember you will be on camera, so be dressed appropriately and ready to learn.
• Listen carefully to your teacher’s instructions.
• Keep your sound on mute unless you are asked to unmute.
• Turn cameras on when asked to.
• Use the ‘hands up’ to show you want to speak.
• Please be patient when children are answering questions as this may take some time.
• Sit in an appropriate place such as at a table or desk and turn off or remove distractions such as other devices, TVs or toys.
• You might be at home but you are still in class. Remember our Norristhorpe Core Values!
• The use of mobile phones is not permitted during Live Lessons.

Support with technology

If you are having problems with accessing resources or submitting work, please get in touch with us - you may find some useful information in the videos above.

If your child is struggling to access suitable technology, or reliable internet access, we may be able to help. However, our resources are limited so we cannot guarantee availability. Please use this form to let us know.

Additional support for pupils with particular needs.

We recognise that some pupils, for example some pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), may not be able to access remote education without support from adults at home. We acknowledge the difficulties this may place on families and, where suitable, our SEND team and class teachers will support with alternative live learning or remote assignment activities.

Remote Learning for individual pupils self-isolating.

For the first couple of days of home learning, we will provide a pack of resources, either electronically through Microsoft Teams or, if someone can collect it safely, on paper. This will include Maths, Reading, SPAG and other resources. 

If your child is absent for a period of more than two days, we aim to offer learning through your child's Microsoft Teams account. This will include assignments to complete and joining virtually with some appropriate lessons taking part in class.