Downs Junior School

Overview

At Downs, home learning will be offered to all children who are not attending school due to COVID 19 restrictions.  Home learning will vary depending on the situation; for example individual pupil isolation, bubble isolation and school closure to most pupils.  Home learning may look a little different for the first few days compared to the standard provision. For all scenarios, our home learning programme will follow the current learning objectives being covered in school and will relate to the current year group topic where possible.  We will continue to use the online platform Seesaw.  All children have had Seesaw computing lessons in school therefore should be able to use this application effectively (click here for Seesaw help).

Children will receive activities and work via the Seesaw platform and this can be uploaded by the children for the class teacher to see.  All work will be seen.  The children will sometimes self-mark their own work, peer mark (mark another child’s) or sometimes the teacher will quality mark the work.  Like in school, this will depend on the task.  Each method has its’ own benefits and will help the children to progress.  Self-marking allows the children to see where they went wrong; peer marking (particularly in writing) allows the children to see other’s work and scaffold each other’s learning; teacher feedback can be very specific to the child’s needs.  A days home-schooling should take 3-4 hours if all tasks are completed in full and all media viewed.

Adults at home can keep track of their children's work by registering with 'Seesaw Family' (instructions on how to do this have been forwarded to all parents and carers).  If home-learning  work is not being completed by a child, a member of staff will contact their adult to see if we can offer any support. 

When using live video software between staff and pupils, we will be using Zoom.  Please see the below policy.  

Form Time

During school closure or bubble isolation due to COVID 19, form time will happen each morning before school. This will be to meet the class, set out the day and address any misconceptions.  

Additional Support

Where possible, children that have been selected to take part in our 'Tutoring Programme' will be offered this service online through live one to one sessions if they are unable to attend school.

Whole Class Zoom

During bubble isolation or if  the school is closed to most pupil, the class teacher will hold a weekly Zoom.  This will be a fun session designed to bring the class together.  At the end of this session, children can stay if they want specific help with their work.

Counselling

Our counselling will continue during periods of remote learning where possible.  Children will receive this service online.

Mindfulness

Each week, remote, live mindfulness sessions will be offered to children in each year group if needed.  Children will receive packs at home to allow them to participate.

We realise these are challenging times and your child’s mental health is the most important thing at the present time.  Please do not panic if your child is finding something difficult; we will address any gaps and misunderstandings when they return if needed.

Maths

Each day, your child will receive a maths lesson.  If there is a whole school closure or bubble isolation, there will be a  video lesson to watch for most lessons.  These will be delivered by a class teacher explaining the slides;  there may occassionally be a link to a White Rose video/other home learning resource.  There will be an accompanying worksheet and answers will be provided for self-marking if necessary to the task.

Your child can either complete the sheets on Seesaw electronically, print them out, or just write down their answer on a piece of paper. Then, once they have marked their own work, they can upload it to their Seesaw account.

If an individual child is isolating, they will receive daily activites on Seesaw with work to complete.

Sumdog/ Rockstars/ Numbots

Your child has access to these maths websites.  Using these applications, the children can play a variety of maths games linked to their own level.

English

English lessons will be linked to the school objectives.  Your child will receive activities daily which will include work for them to complete and during bubble isolation or school closure most lessons will have an accompanying video/audio lesson to watch or listen to.  If an individual child is isolating, they will receive daily activities or a weekly learning grid; there may be no videos during this short period.

Reading

The children should read for at least 20 minutes each day.  This can be on their own, with an adult, with a sibling, to a pet or occasionally on the phone or through video messaging to a family member.

Foundation subjects

These subjects will mostly follow the topics being taught in school however they may be adapted to meet home learning needs for example we realise resources, for some subjects, such as design technology will not always be available in the home environment.  Children may receive activities on Seesaw, video links to appropriate websites or home learning grids.   

SEND

If your child is registered as SEND, appropriate work, which is tailored to their needs will be provided.

Access problems

If you do not have access to an iPad or computer, please let the school know and one can be collected from school or dropped off to your home.  If you do not have an internet connection, please contact the school and appropriate provisions will be made.

Passwords

All children have been given paper copies of passwords to all our online learning platforms: Seesaw, Times Tables Rock Stars and Sumdog.  If you require this again, please contact the office.

Tagging other children into work

The class teacher may ‘enable’ the tagging facility which will allow children to TAG their learning partner into their work. This will allow their learning partner to comment or mark their work.  If they want others in their class to see their work, they can upload it to the class blog on Seesaw.  Other children can then see the work in the blog and can comment. 

Top tips for children

• Try your best
• Listen to your adults (this is tricky for everyone)
• Be patient and kind
• Help your siblings if you have any
• If you feel stressed, finger breath.  Hold out your left hand, run your index finger on your right hand up and down each left hand finger.  When you go up, breath in; when you do down, exhale
• Plan your week/day
• Give yourself breaks to have fun.
• Comment positively on other’s work on Seesaw
• If you are struggling with anything, please use the comment box on Seesaw.

Online safety

All children have received online safety training in school this term as part of their computing and PSHE lessons. Please have a look at the online safety link below.  Remind the children that everything they write should be positive and respectful and can be seen by their teacher.

Downs' online safety page link