As schools have moved towards full re-opening, we know there will still be a need for remote learning solutions in the event of local outbreaks and individual self-isolation. We appreciate the work of schools in adapting to remote learning and Surrey’s school leaders, teachers and support staff have worked tirelessly to ensure that our children and young people continue to get the very best possible learning experience during this time. We applaud you and thank you for your relentless efforts to provide continuous learning in the most challenging of times.
As the term has progressed, we really appreciate the challenges that staff have undertaken in ensuring a safe return to the classroom and providing continued remote learning where necessary. The recent report from Ofsted on ‘Remote Education Research’ found that overall, the switch to remote learning had increased teacher workload. Each of the different phases and sectors have specific challenges that reflect their context. We hope this page continues to provide valuable learning from the pandemic and support for remote learning moving forward.
The phrase ‘remote learning’ refers to the fact that learners and teachers are at home rather than at school. ‘Digital remote learning’ forms part of this.
You will have a professional view on how much learning will involve digital activity based on your school context and the age and phase of the learners. Different approaches to remote learning suit different types of content, pupils and schools.
‘Live lessons aren’t always best’ (Ofsted guidance 11th January 2021) Ofsted considers that there is no one-size-fits-all approach and school leaders must make considered choices about how best to deliver remote education. A ‘digital approach’ does not necessarily mean live ‘synchronous’ education. The DfE consider ‘Where remote education is taking place, it should include recorded or live, direct teaching time from the school or other educational providers (such Oak National Academy), and time given for pupils to complete tasks and assignments independently.’
Remote learning is fundamentally the same as other forms of teaching/learning – keep it simple.
Most schools will most likely use a blend of approaches that includes:
Live lessons/part lessons where teacher and learners work together in real time. This may include the teacher being ‘live’ to motivate, explain concepts, ask questions and offer feedback, or for whole live lessons;
Pre-recorded material that includes accurate teacher explanation and modelling. This can be particularly helpful for learners and parents to use at home as they can revisit material as often as is helpful;
Work set and submitted electronically, with access to electronic resources as appropriate;
Paper based activity that includes written explanation, questions and activities for learners to engage with.
The Oak National Academy have a useful range of webinars, guides and case-studies to support schools using their resources. These can be accessed here. SAfE endorse the use of these resources to enable you to support this model of delivery.
The Education Endowment Foundation considers ‘Teaching quality is more important than how lessons are delivered’.
Having a strategy and plan for communicating your strategy and rationale to your parents is important. The EEF have produced this useful guides for schools: Communicating Effectively with Families: Guide for Schools
We strongly suggest that schools use the Department for Education’s 'Review your Remote Learning Provision' framework. Using this as a senior leadership team, with governors and potentially with peer review from a colleague head will support schools to identify the strengths and areas for improvement in their remote education provision and give confidence in the quality of provision.
Ensuring a balanced and sensible workload for teachers is crucial – in many cases 5 - 6 hours of live lessons is not sustainable on a long-term basis particularly where they are also working in school with children.
We will continue to support you and your staff through our professional learning programmes, including our networks where colleagues come together to share practice – see our Professional Learning Offer
We are working with several schools to provide additional support and share good practice through case studies. See below our "Voices From Schools" VLOGS, kindly shared by schools in Surrey. Please re-visit this page when you can, we will continue to add new "Voices from Schools" as we receive them. We will build up a resource library for all phases, focusing on common challenges that we all face. If you would like to contribute to the Voices from Schools series, please email Alex Williamss a.williams@schoolsallexcel.com to receive further information about how you can participate.
Evidence of informed planning for remote learning- Autumn 2020 from Schools Alliance for Excellence on Vimeo.
Chris Runeckles from the Education Endowment Foundation presents an exploration of the evidence to support school leaders as they prepare contingency plans for remote learning.
Contingency planning for remote learning webinar September 2020 from Schools Alliance for Excellence on Vimeo.
Please find below the following supporting documents for this webinar - click on the title to download:
Webinar Slides
Contingency Planning Guidance from SAfE
Rushey Remote Learning Contingency Plans for Autumn
You may find the following guidance and resources useful:
Government Guidance for teaching children online
Shared practice for schools teaching remotely
Remote education resources for teachers
Teaching mathematics in primary schools
EEF Covid Support Guide (Including Guidance on Using Catch-up funding)
The EEF Guide to Supporting School Planning: A Tiered Approach to 2020-21
Our webinar A beginners Guide to Google Classrooms explores how this remote access platform can be used both to support remote learning but also help reduce workload.
Beginners guide to Google Classrooms 14th October 2020 from Schools Alliance for Excellence on Vimeo.
You can download the slides from this webinar by clicking on the link below.
Whilst supporting remote learning, making sure children and young people are safe online is more important than ever. The following links may be useful when considering Safeguarding for remote learning.
NSPCC on Remote Teaching Safely
SWGfl Resources for Safe Remote Learning
SAfE has produced a document detailing safeguarding arrangements and data and privacy considerations whilst children and young people continue remote learning during the national lockdown. You can download this document here.
Our children and young people will be learning remotely for at least the first half of the Spring term, and we felt it may be helpful to share a reminder of the evidence-based practice for excellence in remote learning. The pdf document accessible here offers a shortlist of useful material for school leaders to reference easily if a reminder of best practice is helpful.
With the announcement on February 22nd of all pupils attending school, and with even more focus given to supporting pupils with missed learning, Oak have turned their attention to all of the ways they can continue to support you through this period.
Resources and support are available to help relieve some of the pressure and reduce workload for teachers. Access their resources for Catchup Planning!
Guidance available here provides step by step instructions to access Google Classroom via XBox or Playstation devices.
Please check with your school/setting IT support to ensure that any in-school firewalls, online security systems and IT policies can accommodate the use of these devices.
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