COVID-19 Remote Learning (school closure/lockdown)

St Chad's is closed - how will my child's learning at home be supported?
 
In the event of a full school closure, we will communicate with all parents/carers in detail our plans for remote learning. However, in summary...

It is really important that the children who will be learning from home continue to complete educational tasks set by their teacher.

We understand that each family’s circumstances and their access to learning material for their children differs, and the responsibility to provide educational support at home can be difficult for families. It is, however, important that children remain engaged in education, even when they are not attending the school site. This is to ensure they are not missing out on vital education.

Children will access learning material remotely in the same way as they do for their normal home learning - via our online learning platform, Class Dojo. You will need to access the app on your registered electronic device each school day to check, complete and submit the activities to your child’s class teacher.

The activities set will mirror the learning that children would have received and completed in school. Children will be set a daily phonics, English and Maths activity and there will be a daily theme activity. Your child’s physical and mental well-being will be supported and promoted throughout the week. We will still continue with our whole school Collective Worship and Golden Book celebration via Class Dojo. As much as possible, teaching staff will use a combination of photographs and/or videos when setting home learning via Class Dojo so that it is visibly accessible by all children and parents.

Class Dojo will also be used to continue promoting and supporting key skills in reading and maths, as outlined in our Parent Home Learning booklets. Teaching staff will also share useful external websites and apps and may set tasks for completion. Regular reading, physical health and wellbeing will also be promoted.

To help parents support their child’s English and Maths learning, we will provide textbooks to every child. We kindly ask that these textbooks are kept in a safe place and looked after. It will be important not to let your child your child work their way through the textbooks. Your child’s class teacher will let you know which textbook/page is going to be completed on each day.

Your child’s class teacher will choose and area of learning and record and load a ‘teacher input’ via Class Dojo. The purpose of this recording is to explain the learning to your child.

  1. The class teacher will introduce and explain the learning (Watch Me)

  2. The class teacher will then model the learning (My Turn)

  3. Your child will then be asked to turn to the relevant page in their workbook and have a go at completing (Your Turn)

  4. Once your child has completed their activity, please take a photograph and submit it to your child’s class teacher via your child’s Portfolio on Class Dojo (Send Back to Me) 

 

In the event of a full school closure, we kindly ask that you remain engaged and in close contact with school as much as possible through Class Dojo. Once home learning is completed, work should be sent to your child's class teacher via Class Dojo, as with our normal home learning procedures. Information on how to send home learning via Class Dojo can be found here.
 
If it is not possible to access your child's Class Dojo account e.g. the account holder is very poorly, a photograph of your child's home learning should be emailed to admin@stchads.derby.sch.uk 
 
If this is not possible then please keep your child's completed work at home and send it back to school when your child is able to return.
 
During a full school closure, if your child is well enough, it is really important that their learning routine is maintained as much as possible. However, we recognise that these are currently unusual and unprecedented times: please be kind to yourself. Please don't argue or fall out about any of the home learning activities that we provide. During our school closure, you will still receive welfare calls and messages from school. If you are struggling to engage your child in the home learning activities, please let us know.

Try to have fun spending time together. In addition to our home learning, please remember to: 

  • cuddle on the sofa
  • watch a film
  • share a book and talk about it
  • bake and cook together
  • paint pictures, create and play
  • play board games
  • look at old photos and tell stories about family members, some of whom your children have never met
  • write letters to those you cannot visit at the moment

Your child's emotional and mental wellbeing - and yours - is far more important than anything else. How they felt during this time will stay with them for the rest of their lives. Follow your child's lead and use your gut instinct. Please remember: although your child is not in school, we are always here for your child and you. Please let us know if you need our support.

Please ensure that you keep us updated on any changes in the household during a full school closure. In the event of a full school closure, we will share all of our channels of communication with you.

A copy of our Remote Learning Policy, including our child friendly version, can be found here.