MOL Virtual Learning at Home Expectations and Guidelines

Term 4 Introduction The following are our current guidelines as a school for online learning at home during the current school closure. Our guidelines are based on local authority information, as well as staff consultation and parental feedback. The situation within education is evolving as it is across all sectors in society at the moment, and so our guidelines are subject to change during the time that schools remain closed to pupils. However they help to outline our current approaches to provision of learning at home and should be useful for parents and carers in supporting their children with virtual learning. From the outset, we have recognised as a school the real importance of working closely with parents/carers and partners within education to provide the best outcomes for pupils during this time. As always, our door is open (albeit virtually at the moment) for you to seek help or provide suggestions for us as staff with our plans for the children. Together, we can provide children with support, reassurance and engaging learning opportunities during this current phase. Mrs Snedden Acting Head Teacher meg.snedden@highland.gov.uk

How to make contact with the school

If you have any queries or concerns about the provision of learning at home for your child, please email your child’s class teacher. Everyone should have access to this email address but if not, please contact the school office and they will be able to help with this miltonofleys.primary@highland.gov.uk. Please don’t hesitate to contact Acting HT Mrs Snedden meg.snedden@highland.gov.uk if you have any concerns about your child’s well-being or have any queries/suggestions about our provision of learning over this time.

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Distance Learning / Curriculum Planning

The authority has issued the following guidance to support virtual education in Highland during the school closure phase.

Points to consider (for all schools)

● Teachers are not planning for a normal school day. The goal is not to recreate face to face classrooms which is impossible to do.

● Teachers should encourage sensible screen time. ● Teachers should think in terms of quality of learning experiences, not the

quantity. ● Teachers know their pupils and will be mindful of specific needs when

planning. ● Proposal would be to plan in 2 week blocks of learning and review. ● It’s important to design learning that does not require a lot of support from

parents as they might be at work or working from home. ● Have a blend of opportunities for pupils to learn at times that will be

convenient for themselves and their families.

Primary Pupils

● The expectation is that there are opportunities for learning in literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing daily.

● Suggested timings for early level (ELC/P1) - 20 minutes for literacy, 20 minutes for numeracy and limitless time for other curricular areas (eg art, music and PE).

● Proposals for 1st level (P2-4) timings increase to 20-25 minutes for each curriculum area (literacy and numeracy) and limitless time for other curricular areas (eg art, music and PE).

● For 2nd level (P5-7) this could extend to 25-30 minutes for reading, 25-30 minutes for writing and 25-30 minutes for numeracy and again limitless time for creative activities.

Guideline for Learners on Distance Learning

● Dedicate appropriate time to learning as guided by your teacher/s. ● Regularly check either Seesaw or Google classroom for information on

classwork. ● Identify a comfortable and quiet space to study/learn. ● Try to complete all the learning activities posted by your teacher.

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● Ensure you look after your own health and wellbeing. Don’t worry if you can’t do everything that your teacher has set. Pupils can contact their class teacher/Guidance teacher through email or Seesaw.

Guidelines for Parents on Distance Learning

Parents know their own child best and individual circumstances will dictate the pace and type of learning which is appropriate. Support their child/ren in their learning by:

● Providing an environment to support learning (access to technology if possible, safe and quiet space during daytime).

● Engaging your children in conversations on posted work. ● Monitoring time spent engaging in online and offline learning. ● Support health and wellbeing by providing plenty of time for physical activity,

conversation and play. ● Parents can contact the school if they have any queries around virtual

learning.

Please have a look at the posters below or follow the link for more tips on online learning at home for pupils and parents.

10 Top Tips for Children Poster 10 Top Tips for Parents Poster

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What will planned learning at MOL look like?

Based on the authority guidelines, staff consultation and parent/pupil feedback, we have planned the next block of learning at home as follows: Accessing the Learning

● Google classrooms have been set up across a stage of classes ● Teachers will use google classrooms for assigning learning ● Google Hangouts (and Google Meets) will be used for face-to-face

learning/emotional check ins between staff and pupils ● Google Hangouts can be used by pupils for socialising. This time is not

supervised by staff so may require adult support at home. ● Expectations on appropriate use online is shared and understood by children;

suspension of use or limited access would be sanctions for inappropriate use (the next section deals in more detail with online safety/use of virtual tools)

Plans for Learning ● Teachers will share a weekly timetable, setting out suggested blocks of time

for learning, as well as times for accessing hangouts for group discussions and times when teachers are available for pupils to make contact with queries/concerns.

● Teachers will share a fortnightly learning overview highlighting learning activities within literacy and numeracy. Expectations of the time spent on these activities are as noted in the previous section in the authority guidance.

● Opportunities for Health & Well-Being will be planned in the timetable, eg 9-9.30am workouts.

● Pupils with the support of their parents can access the learning opportunities provided over the course of the fortnight, to tie in with different home circumstances

● The expectation is that where possible pupils aim to complete the literacy and numeracy activities planned over the two week block

● Teachers will present the learning focus for numeracy/literacy for the two-week learning overview by making use of online tools, for example using slideshows/videos/hangouts.

● These learning tools might include videos of teachers and practitioners from our school and elsewhere sharing examples of learning and giving guidance. For example, your child might find a demonstration of numeracy learning from one of the Highland Council numeracy officers, Miss Leakey!

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Feedback

● Feedback on learning from teachers will be centred on the numeracy and literacy learning activities set by teachers for the fortnightly block of learning.

● Feedback from teachers may take place during timetabled google hangouts or on work submitted in the google classroom. Your child’s class teacher will let your child know what to expect.

● Every week your child will have a google hangout with one of the teachers in their google classroom to check in and this may also be used to provide learning support.

● Teachers will also be available at timetabled slots throughout the week for pupils to be in touch with them. Playground hangouts

● We are trialling the use of google hangouts as a place for ‘playground’ chat for pupils at timetabled times during the week.

● These ‘playground’ hangouts are unsupervised by staff and children will be expected to follow our appropriate use guidance for hangouts for this to be successful.

● We will gauge the use of this in discussion with teachers, pupils and parents and extend the ‘playground’ chat as appropriate. Other curricular areas

● As stated above, the guidance is for children to access the learning within literacy and numeracy as best fits in with every household’s circumstances at present. This should be approached flexibly with parents, pupils and teachers working closely together for children to feel well-supported and happy with current provision from MOL.

● In addition and in keeping with the authority’s guidance to provide for a wide variety of activities within other curricular areas, we have created a whole school Inter-Disciplinary Learning (IDL) cross-curricular planner for this term.

● Our vision with this is that families will share learning across all stages together and will hopefully find the focus stimulating and of interest to all.

● The theme is ‘Our Virtual World’ and over the course of the term, we will discover one country a week together. This whole school learning focus will be shared with the school community and provide opportunities for sharing and learning together as we make virtual trips around the world. Pupils will be invited to choose from a grid of many different cross-curricular activities, and can engage in as much as they would like to in this respect. Teachers will let children know the best ways to share what they have learnt/created with the rest of the class.

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● There will be two weeks during the term with a different cross-curricular focus:

VE Week (when we will plan activities and learning around VE Day celebrations on Friday May 8th) and Sports Week (planned for the last week in May) when we will have a whole school focus on health and well-being.

We will review our whole school IDL over the course of the term as long as school closures continue, including continuing to speak with our learners about their experiences as we do during normal school times to ensure we can motivate, support and challenge as much as we would do normally. Registration There is an authority expectation that all children be registered during term time throughout the school closure phase from a safeguarding point of view. Following feedback from the parent survey, we are continuing with our online registration by 9.30am for all children, from nursery to P7. If this is difficult owing to work commitments or for any other reason, please contact your child’s class teacher Guidance for safe and appropriate online use We are following Highland Council guidance for virtual learning which includes the guidelines noted below for safe and appropriate use of online platforms. These guidelines sit within the general framework of guidance for parents on distance learning that parents should determine in their own home circumstances what is a suitable environment to support learning with access to technology in a safe and quiet space during the daytime. If you wish to discuss any aspect of the guidelines, please contact the head teacher.

● All lessons should normally be organised by the teacher and signposted on recommended platforms such as Google Classroom or SeeSaw.

● Contact should be during school timetabled hours. ● Video sessions should take place using authorised platforms such as Google

Hangouts, Google Meet and Skype. ● When involved in a video session, pupils should do so in a public room, e.g.

living/dining room. ● Where possible, other individuals, e.g. children, family members etc., should

not be in shot or be able to be heard during a video or audio session. ● Children should be dressed in their day clothes ready for learning for video

sessions. ● Teachers/professionals may not record any sessions conducted via audio or

video, without full consent and agreement (e.g. to allow others to watch a lesson at a later date).

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● Students may not record any session conducted via audio or video without full

consent and agreement from both teacher/professional and parent/guardian. ● The use of teaching videos is for teaching and learning within the child’s own

google classroom and not for public sharing. ● In the event of misuse of provided platforms, eg inappropriate language on

google hangouts, pupils will be reported and appropriate sanctions applied, including limiting online access and suspension of accounts.

● In the event of your child receiving inappropriate messages, please ensure that you report this to your child’s class teacher/the head teacher for investigation.

● Your child can block an account on google hangouts (more information on this can be found in the link below).

Information for Parents Please follow the link below for the information sent out last term which contains some further guidance on distance learning at MOL. Information for Parents March 2020 Google Classroom If you require any support for using Google:

● Email your class teacher to reset a Google password

● Use the Parent Guide to Google Classroom:

2020 Parents’ Guide to Google Classroom

Hangouts Milton of Leys Guidance on Google Hangouts

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Survey Results Thank you for completing our Home Learning Survey at the end of Term 3. There were 86 respondents in total and the results are shared below. Use of Google Classrooms and Google Hangouts The feedback received was positive with respect to the use of the G Suite as a method of teaching, with 91.8% of parents rating the use of Google Classroom as 4 or above and 83.5% of parents rating the use of Google Hangouts as 4 or above. Rating of Google Classroom (1 is unsatisfactory; 6 is excellent) Rating of Google Hangouts (1 is unsatisfactory; 6 is excellent) Registration 83.5% of parents said they were satisfied with the current procedure for registration, which is that pupils register online by 9.30am.

For parents not satisfied, the main reason given was the time; please note that where there is a specific concern about the timing, parents are advised to contact their child’s class teacher to organise suitable registration for that day.

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Overall Online Learning Experience How would you rate your child’s online learning experience this week? This question was asked of the first week of school closure, before the Easter holidays. The responses were positive overall (more than 75% answered good/very good/excellent). We have used some of the pressures noted separately to help inform planning and improve the overall experience for pupils and parents.

(1 is unsatisfactory; 6 is excellent)

In answer to the question, which areas of learning have been easiest to support, the responses were as follows:

Numeracy, Literacy and Health & Well-Being are the core areas of learning we are planning for with our fortnightly overviews. All other curricular areas are planned for as additional to this core learning during school closure.

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In answer to the question, is there anything we can provide that would make a difference to your child’s learning at home, the responses were as follows: 

 

 

Our ability to provide more devices for families is limited and we appreciate the additional pressures this will cause at home. Our planning will aim to provide a balance between online and offline learning opportunities to avoid over-use of online platforms for learning. There was a mix of views on providing more or less activities and we have been guided by this and Highland Council information to provide clear structured learning for literacy, numeracy and health & well-being within the formats already outlined, with a freer approach to other curricular areas. All areas of distance learning should be approached flexibly and in partnership with parents.

Pressures Many of the pressures noted in the survey linked to accessing online activities as well as the pressures related to the current circumstances of balancing own work commitments and supporting children with their learning at home. By following Highland Council guidance and creating flexible fortnightly learning overviews with additional optional curricular learning through the IDL planner, we hope that our provision of learning at home this term will be manageable for parents and their children. Please let us know if we can support/adapt our current plans to make this provision as workable for our families at Milton of Leys as possible.

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Highlights The highlights were wide and varied. These included:

● Being able to see teachers and speak to classmates (eg on google hangouts)

● Listening to stories with teachers and peers ● Range of online learning opportunities ● Enthusiasm of staff with online learning ● Arts/Crafts ● Provision of structure for learning at home ● Online classroom as support ● Specific online learning sites, eg Sumdog

This term through our fortnightly planners and continued use of google classroom and hangouts (or meets), we will build on planned use of specific sites for use in supporting learning at home. We are mindful of the expectation to provide offline as well as online learning opportunities and these will be built into the fortnightly overviews and IDL planner. Conclusion Finally, we recognise the challenges that we find ourselves in at this time of change, uncertainty and difficulty for all. We have so much appreciated the positive messages from parents and the wider community around the care and learning we are providing for our pupils. For us, well-being is at the heart of our thoughts and plans, and we hope that over the weeks to come, we will continue to work in close collaboration with parents and the community to support and provide positive experiences for our young learners at MOL.

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