REMOTE EDUCATION

On this page you will find all the information you will need about our Remote Learning Offer.

Dear Parents,

I am sure that even though it is only Day 3 of remote learning for many of you it feels longer, hence why I am emailing you now.

I just want to remind you of a couple of things:

1) You are not 'Home Schooling'. 'Home Schooling' is a life choice, you are not your child's teacher, you are not planning the learning. What you are doing now is distance/remote learning. Supporting your child with learning that has been set by their schoolteacher.

2) We had no notice and no time to prepare your child for remote learning. Unlike last time we had 3 days to explain to your child what they needed to do, show them how to log on, discuss with them what a day would look like and most importantly provide them with the resources they would need i.e. textbooks, exercise books, reading books etc.

3) The teachers cannot just plan and email the lessons that they would be delivering if all the children were in school. Please remember in school the children are discussing learning with their learning partner, the teacher is demonstrating and leading discussions, intervening either at whole class level or individually if children need further explanation. The teachers are now having to plan activities that children should be able to do with minimal support, where possible without a worksheet that needs printing, taking into account every child is different. 

4) We know that it is extremely difficult to facilitate remote learning with children aged 4-11, whilst you yourself may be working from home and even more so if you have different aged children at home. If you are trying to do that my advice would be to stop now! You have got to make the next few works work for you and your individual family needs. So here are some tips:

1) All of the remote learning for the next day will be uploaded the day before. Take time to have a look through the night before and decide what your child can do completely independently, especially if you are working from home. The teachers are putting work on in chronological order to help those families that need a routine and a clear timetable for the day. Make it work for you, nobody is going to be 'telling you off' for doing things differently.

2) The expectation for primaries is that 3-4 hours work is set per day. That does not mean you have to sit at the table for 4 hours. Again, every child is different, but my advice would be don't do more than 3-4 hours. Listen to what your child is saying if they are frustrated, angry or upset they are not going to do their best so please take a break and pick the work up again later, the next day or even at the weekend. Remember that the children of Tanworth have between 7 and 14 years still left of education, they will catch up!

3) Please be kind to yourself as a parent. You are doing something that I trained for 4 years to do and have had 26 years' experience (yes, I know I don't look old enough)! You are not teachers, you are parents doing their best for their child. You will get cross and frustrated, when this happens stop and do something else.  It is ok to just spend time cooking, drawing, building lego models, playing outside, reading, watching a film... your child will be learning lots by doing these types of activities and you will feel better about yourself.

4) Please the most important thing is to tell your child 'well done' and that you are proud of them with how well they are doing. Remember they don't want to be at home doing schoolwork. Home is the place which should be fun, a place to relax, a place to play and do the 'fun' stuff. Your child wants to be at school with their friends, so please remember this is a tricky time for them also.

Some parents have asked what are the children in school doing? The children in school are doing the same remote learning that the children at home are doing. Obviously, the school day is 6 hours long, so the children have lunch break as normal for an hour and playtimes 2 x 15 minutes, and when the remote learning has been completed, they are doing the fun activities mentioned above i.e. art activities, construction, reading, PE etc. The children at school are not having additional learning set or individual interventions to accelerate learning.

Each year group class teacher has created named individual packs for the children who are remote learning. These will be available from the Doctor's Hill Car Park on Friday. They will also be available outside of school hours from the porch area of the main office.

I apologise at how long this email is, but I just want you to know that you are doing a great job! Your lives have been turned upside down once again, but reducing stress is essential at this time, not only for your mental health but also for your child's. We are here to support you, so if you need anything please let us know. We still have a few laptops available and can provide paper, pens, equipment should you need anything at all to help make this situation we find ourselves in just a little easier.

Kind regards,

Mrs Bamford