Enfield Remote Learning Statement
This is a statement of the expectations of Enfield schools while they are providing education provision off site to their children and young people during the COVID 19 pandemic was initially drawn up in June 2020. Its aim was to create consistency, coherence and continuity by developing a shared understanding of what should be on offer. In January 2021 the DFE have issued updated guidance about the expectations of a school’s distance learning offer.
In a previous survey of Enfield primary schools, it was clear that some children and young people were not able to access distance learning. It is the school’s responsibility to follow up with individual students and, in partnership with parent/carers, ensure that barriers to access are overcome.
Schools recognise that not every child may have easy access to a suitable electronic device either for the whole day or indeed some may have no access at all. If online work has been set and the child or young person cannot access it, the parent, carer or pupil should contact the school for support. The school will address the issues and find a way of ensuring that the child or young person can access work provided by the school in some format. It is recognised that while some schools have been able to loan devices to some families, this is not possible for all. Schools can apply to the DFE for more devices and for WiFi: https://www.businessdirect.bt.com/sectors/education/free-wi-fi/
All schools will respond to the needs of the community that they serve. The work set may take the form of online lessons or projects, downloaded work, physical workbooks or worksheets. Schools create and order their curriculum in different ways and this will be reflected in the different kinds of activity that the schools provide for their children and young people. The position of what each school can offer will be driven by their staffing, available technology, the community they serve and other factors. Special schools will create a suitable learning offer for the needs of their children and young people. The amount of work set for children and young people with SEND will be tailored to their specific needs and may be less than other pupils.
Distance learning means learning online, learning through self-directed projects or learning in a workbook without being in regular face-to-face contact with a teacher in a classroom. Although this gives flexibility to study when and where is easiest for the child and family, the child may require support from parents or carers as there is likely to variability in how schools choose to use direct or video teaching input. Schools may be in position to provide some online teaching for children and young people. It is acknowledged that there are issues around children and young people having access to suitable technology and therefore schools may limit this style of learning. Ideally, teachers will provide a balance of on and offline activities. For students at secondary school, it is important that there is some coordination to avoid every teacher setting online activities which could result in young people spending most of their time online. The DFE guidance is clear that the time (see below) is about learning not necessarily face to face teaching. Projects and exercises can be set for children to complete to consolidate and develop their learning without direct teaching input.
The wellbeing of children, young people and parents / carers is a priority for all schools. It is recognised that schools setting work in this way can be very general and is not necessarily appropriate for all children. If there are families, particularly those with children who have special educational needs, who are finding it difficult to complete home learning, this can cause additional anxiety in what is already a very challenging situation. Schools will look at the personalised targets for any child or young person with an EHCP in order to support their distance learning. Schools have been and will continue to monitor this carefully through regular (weekly) contact with vulnerable families and will work with families with regard to what is an appropriate level of work for each individual child or young person. Schools should also be responsive with regard to children or young people who may require additional support to access the learning in English.
Schools will respond to the needs of their community and set work expectations accordingly.
From the DFE Guidance:
- Set assignments so that pupils have meaningful and ambitious work each day in a number of different subjects.
- Primary schools should ensure pupils have three hours' work a day, on average, across the cohort.
- Secondary schools should ensure students have four hours' work a day, with more for those working towards formal qualifications this year.
- Provide frequent, clear explanations of new content, delivered by a teacher or through high-quality curriculum resources or videos.
- Have systems for checking, at least weekly, whether pupils are engaging with their work, and inform parents immediately where engagement is a concern.
- Gauge how well pupils are progressing through the curriculum using questions and other suitable tasks.
- Provide feedback, at least weekly, using “digitally facilitated or whole-class feedback where appropriate”.
- Enable teachers to adjust the pace or difficulty of what is being taught in response to questions or assessments, including, where necessary, revising material or simplifying explanations to ensure pupils’ understanding.
Enfield expectations (updated from June to reflect the requirements above.)
- Mainstream schools should provide a minimum of three pieces of English work, and three pieces of mathematics work per week.
- Mainstream schools should provide a minimum of six pieces of work from other national curriculum subjects[1], PSHE or RE.
- Special schools will set work according to the needs of the children and young people with regard to ambitious outcomes.
- Schools may set more than these twelve pieces of work if considered appropriate to do so. If workbooks are being used the school may suggest how many pages are to be done to equate to the three pieces of work per week.
- Additionally, children and young people will be expected to read every day. This can be by themselves or with an older person within the household.
The DFE have published a framework to support schools in reviewing the efficacy of their remote learning offer. It can be found here.
The Oak National Academy has webinars for teachers about using the resources available on the website. It can be found here.
Enfield has also provided resources for use by parents, carers, children and young people that can be found here under the Enfield Learns Together tab.
Schools may wish to remind parents and carers that ideally children have a separate space to work with the equipment they need. If possible, a desk space is set up in a quiet corner where the child or young person can keep their device, books, paper or notes. This can help with focus on schoolwork and other family life can carry on. We recognise that, for some families providing this working environment will not be possible. However, is important that parent/carers are encouraged to support their child/children to organise their day into a routine. It is also important to make sure exercise is factored into each day.
Schools will be tracking the impact of the distance learning that is undertaken by children and young people while they are unable to attend school in the usual manner. In the initial stages this may simply be by the level of engagement with the distance learning offer. Teachers will use any work that is uploaded to form a view about how a child or young person has moved forward in their learning. This will be integral to schools’ plans for the recovery curriculum and any additional support that is put into place for children and young people as they return.
Everyone involved in education is aware of the complexities and challenges of the move to distance learning. While developing their own approach to distance learning or blended learning these minimum standards should be taken in consideration by each school. The Education Service is aware that many schools are in a position to provide more for their children and young people.
If any schools are experiencing difficulties in proving this level of distance learning or tacking how children and young people are engaging with it, support can be given. There are examples of good practice that have been shared on the VLE and useful guides for different online platforms. Depending on the support required, the school’s SIA can broker support from another school or from expertise in the LA to support access to the school’s distance learning offer.
Peter Nathan Lucy Nutt
Director of Education Head of School and Early Years Improvement Service