Home Learning at Christ the King
Christ the King is committed to ensuring that high quality learning continues even when a class or the whole school is closed. Whilst the school building may need to be closed at times, to some or all learners, learning itself is never ‘closed’ at our school. Home learning (Remote learning) and on-going communication and feedback between teachers, pupils and parents will be a priority.
Home learning overview
- Children will receive work online every Monday morning for the entire week.
- Home learning packs will be available from the school office.
- Work will include English (including spellings/phonics, comprehension, and grammar activities), Maths, Religious Education, History/Geography, Art/Design and Technology, Science and PE.
- Maths in Year 1 to Year 6 will, where possible, include recorded video lessons.
- In Year 1 - Year 6 teachers and teaching staff will deliver Zoom lessons throughout the week.
- In EYFS (Reception) home learning will consist of recorded and live sessions from the EYFS team.
- Children will receive a class Zoom on a Friday to celebrate work completed during the week.
- Equipment including pencils, paper, rulers and whiteboards will be available from the school office.
Where will I find my child's home learning?
Home learning can be found on the school website every Monday morning. This is located on the top bar of the website titled ‘Home Learning’. Paper copies of the full weeks learning will be available from the school office. Parents can collect this on the Friday before to allow children to have a hard copy before the week starts.
What should a typical school day look like at home?
At Christ the King, we will teach the same curriculum remotely as we will for those remaining in school – children of critical workers and vulnerable children.
Here is an example timetable to show you what a typical day of home learning might look like.
9:00 - 9:05 – Morning prayer (This can be found on the school website)
9.05 - 9.15 - Preparation time – accessing Zoom sessions, getting equipment ready, finding a quiet area to learn
9:15 - 10:15 – English or Maths Lesson
10:15 - 10:30 - Break (get active/get moving)
10:30 - 11:00 – RE / Spelling/ Handwriting practice
11:00 - 1200 - English or Maths Lesson
12:00 - 13:00 - Lunch Time (eat and have fun together with those around you)
13:00 - 13.30 – Reading / Times tables via TTRS (Times Table Rockstars)
13.30 - 14.15 – Get active ~ PE lesson/ Daily walk
14:15 - 15:15 – Topic
(Please remember this is just an example and this may be different depending upon the age/needs of your child and the work set by the class teacher)
We expect that daily Home learning (remote education) will take pupils broadly the following number of hours each day:
Key Stage 1 - 3 hours
Key Stage 2 - 4 hours
How will my child be taught during a whole school closure?
We use a combination of the following approaches to teach pupils who are working from home:
- Online tools for EYFS (Reception), Key Stage 1, Key Stage 2 – these will be on class Home learning pages.
- Use of Recorded video links for key lessons within the school day. For example, White Rose maths in Year 1 – Year 6, recorded phonic /maths sessions in Reception, recorded exercise sessions
- Live lessons via Zoom
- Welfare Zooms / phone calls at least once a week
- Emails – daily communication class teacher/support staff
- Printed learning packs
- Physical materials such as white boards and writing tools and where necessary maths equipment
- Use of TTRS (Times Tables Rockstars), Active learn and Purple Mash
English
English lessons will consist of reading and writing opportunities throughout the week. Children may be required to watch short video clips to enhance their knowledge of a particular text. Weekly lessons will be progressive throughout the week, frequently leading to a piece of writing at the end of the week.
We continue to promote and encourage reading at home through Active learn. Should you require a new selection of books please contact your child’s class teacher via the class email.
Spellings and Phonics
- We continue to teach phonics over Zoom from EYFS (Reception) to Year 2
- Tailored lessons are taught on Zoom so the phonic phases can be taught individually.
- Children in Year 2 – Year 6 will continue to follow the schools spelling programme which children all have a copy of. Weekly spellings will be published on the Home learning pages.
Maths
- Year 1 to Year 6 will continue to follow the White rose maths programme, Recoded daily lessons, where possible, will be uploaded on the website at the start of every week.
- Zoom differentiated lessons will be delivered to enhance some of these lessons.
- Times tables rock stars should be incorporated into the daily timetable with teachers regularly setting up challenges with individuals and groups within and between classes in Key Stage 2.
How will my child receive feedback?
Feedback can take many forms and may not always mean extensive written comments for individual children. For example, whole-class feedback or quizzes marked immediately during the Zoom sessions are also valid and effective methods, amongst many others. Our approach to feeding back on pupil work is as follows:
When photos of work are emailed through to the teacher, the teacher will provide feedback in the form of a written reply via email or a phone call. If work is handed into school, feedback will also be given via email.
Feedback may also involve a further teaching session if it is concluded that additional support is needed.
Who can I contact for support with Home Learning?
All classes have separate email addresses (this can be found on class home learning pages) where parents can contact the class teacher during school hours. Emails will be checked throughout the school day. All children will receive at least one phone call from a member of staff during the week.
Our Designated Home Learning Lead is Mrs Webster (Headteacher).
What can parents do to support learning?
- Set clear start and finish times.
- Give children regular breaks throughout the day.
- Make sure your child has somewhere, preferably a quiet area, where they can do their work.
How will you check whether my child is engaging with their work and how will I be informed if there are concerns?
- There will be welfare calls during the week to see how children are and to discuss any issues with work.
- Teachers will check pupils’ work and respond with feedback to emails regularly, talk to children through Zoom sessions and record participation on a register throughout the week.
- If no work has been received, or there has been no participation in the Zoom sessions during the week, the Home Learning Lead will be informed, and parents will be contacted.
How will you work with me to help my child who needs additional support from adults at home?
We recognise that some pupils, for example some pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), may find it difficult to access home learning. We acknowledge the difficulties this may place on families, and we will work with parents and carers to support those pupils in the following ways:
- Mrs Kelly, our SENCO, will forward ideas for ways of supporting via email.
- Mrs Kelly can be contacted via email /phone call for additional support.
- Teachers will take the needs of the children into account when planning activities and timetables.
- Practical resource packs will be prepared by some teachers for children with additional needs.
How will the Zoom sessions operate?
You will be contacted by your child’s class teacher with Zoom lesson codes and passwords prior to the lesson. Session times and days will be posted on the class home learning page.
Code of conduct
- Children should be in a suitable communal quiet place when taking part in Zoom sessions.
- Children need to have a pencil and paper available.
- Children should be suitably dressed.
- Children should only use the chat facility when asked by the class teacher,
- Comments on the chat should be linked to questions asked and home learning only.
- School expects the same behaviour online as we would in our classrooms.
- Recordings, screenshots or photos of the session are not permitted.
- Any safeguarding concerns during the meeting should be reported in the normal way.
How will I receive communication whilst my child is at home?
Mrs Webster will communicate with parents and carers in the usual way via email/text or phone call. There will also be a weekly Headteacher update on the Home learning tab outlining any further developments and celebrating children’s achievements, birthdays and learning. Links to support will also be posted on this page weekly.
What do I do if I have any safeguarding concerns during partial or whole school closure?
There will always be a member of staff on site to answer safeguarding queries. Our Designated Safeguarding Lead is Mrs Webster and our back up Safeguarding lead is Mrs Kelly. If you have any safeguarding concerns, school can be contacted on 01282 429108 bursar@king-pri.lancs.sch.uk
Please click here where you can find our Safeguarding Policy.
How can I keep my child safe online during remote learning?
Our school website is free from cookies and pop ups so access to home learning is safe.
Where children are asked to watch video clips for the purposes of their learning outside of the school website, reminders to parents and children about staying safe online is always highlighted and adult supervision is always recommended.
Children are taught about online safety in all year groups and our online safety policy can be found here
Other useful information
Praise & recognition:
- Class celebration ‘Zooms’ are delivered every Friday giving children a chance to ‘show off their work to others in their class.
- Headteacher awards will continue for those working at home and those in school. Mrs Webster will celebrate winners learning at home with a special Zoom every Friday.
- Mrs Webster will update parents weekly on her Home learning page showing off examples of home learning and special achievements.
- Class teachers will acknowledge home learning and children’s efforts via feedback in emails.
- Parents are encouraged to use the school’s behaviour chart at home and notify any child who reaches ‘pot of gold’.
Pastoral Support:
- Welfare calls/Zooms will be made every week by teachers and support staff.
- Mrs Webster will contact vulnerable children who are not in school throughout the week.
- Further pastoral support is offered to any families we think need the extra support including food / child protection support / family routines / adult help with learning / adult self-care / technology & digital devices.
Online Learning/ Digital Support:
We recognise that some pupils may not have suitable online access at home. We take the following approaches to support those pupils to access remote education:
- ‘On loan’ computers have been ordered via the government websites to assist families needing access to devices in order to complete home learning. The school will inform the families of their allocation. A ‘Responsibility Agreement’ must be signed before a device is collected and taken home. The devices are to enable your child to complete their online learning and not for personal use in the household.
- All devices loaned remain the property of Christ the King School
- Schools will provide support to any families on setting up emails / using technology / accessing Zoom - please contact us if you need help.
Wellbeing support
Here at Christ the King, we fully understand that this is a very challenging time for parents and carers and therefore want to ensure we continue to offer support for our families whether their child is learning in school or at home. We will include articles and web links for emotional health and wellbeing on the Headteachers weekly page and strongly encourage parents/carers to contact school if they require any form of support.