At Bevois Town Primary School, we firmly believe that “together we are on a learning adventure; learning with, from and on behalf of one another to believe, be brave and be brilliant...to be our best!” As teachers and learners within the current climate, this has never felt more true.
Since the first national lockdown (March 2019), we have worked tirelessly as a school to ensure that children are able to continue learning from home, whether this is as a result of the need to isolate, a class ‘bubble’ being closed or as a result of a whole school closure. Our staff have embraced new technology, adapted to new ways of teaching and found innovative ways to continue to make learning as memorable and exciting as it would be if children were in the classroom.
At Bevois Town Primary School we are constantly striving for ways to improve our practice in order to provide our pupils with the best learning experience; our approach to ‘remote learning’ is no different. Each week, we meet to share best practice and communicate to what extent and how well each child is accessing the learning tasks set. We will continue to develop and refine our practice and are determined to try and tailor our learning offer to meet each and every child’s needs. There is also an ever growing body of information relating to ‘learning from home’ and we have used the findings from research conducted by the Educational Endowment Foundation to tailor our approach to remote learning. https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/covid-19-resources/best-evidence-on-supporting-students-to-learn-remotely/
When implementing strategies to support children’s remote learning and supporting parents in this, we have considered the following points:
As well as working closely with the schools in our Aspire Trust in order to share best practice, we are also keen to listen to and act upon feedback from our children and parents. Year Teams are making phone calls on a regular basis to talk to parents and their children, provide support and answer any questions or concerns.
If a child does not have access to a computer/laptop and/or the internet, we will do all we can to support them, including providing paper packs of learning. Where funding can be accessed, remote devices (e.g. laptops) and/or 4G connections will be sought, particularly for disadvantaged children. If your child is struggling to access the remote learning provision, please make the school aware so that we can assist in overcoming any barrier. As always, you can contact school directly by calling or emailing the School Office during school hours or by emailing your child’s teacher.
We recognise that some pupils, particularly inexperienced learners, those with additional and or Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), may not be able to access remote education without considerable support from adults at home. To help these learners, our Inclusion Leader (Holly Colbert) is working closely with Phase Leaders to effectively deploy the Teaching Assistants working from home to provide remote individualised support. She is also liaising regularly with Class Teachers to ensure that the home learning offer for children with SEND is appropriately tailored to meet their age and stage of learning. This includes the use of targeted 'live' and recorded sessions from Teachers or Teaching Assistants.
We understand that due to the risks posed to the health of some children and their parents, it is not possible for all of our children with Education Health and Care Plans to physically attend 'Toy School'. However, as part of the School's home learning offer, Miss Colbert is making weekly phone calls to these parents and children to firstly, enquire after their wellbeing, as well as ensuring that the remote provision provided matches the individual needs and addresses the personal targets of each child; as outlined in their Education Health and Care Plans.
Miss Colbert and the wider Inclusion Team continue to work in partnership with a range of external agencies to ensure the continued implementation of specialist and therapeutic support programmes, and external assessments.