Our approach to home learning

Having looked carefully at a range of options following a survey of our families, we decided that the use of Tapestry and Seesaw was the best way in which to deliver home learning. We fully recognise that home learning will never offer the same level of interaction and support that we work hard to provide in school but we feel that it has a number of benefits which make it the most suitable way of delivering home learning during school closures.

We appreciate that managing home schooling alongside other commitments at home is challenging and therefore having the flexibility to access lessons at a time that works with family routines will be of benefit to many in our community. Also, this means that children who are sharing a device can access their remote learning at different times of the day. While some schools have used live lessons, we feel that being tied to set schedules would not always work for families and (as one identical lesson would need to be delivered to all children) live lessons would not allow us to set the work that enables all children to progress in their learning.  OFSTED have recently published a review of remote education citing a number of potential limitations of live lessons so we do feel that the decision we have made is justified.

Seesaw allows the children to access the learning at their own pace and re-watch and re-listen to each step of the lesson so that they are fully confident before moving on. It also enables teachers to set differentiated learning activities so that the lesson better meets the individual needs of the children. By allowing children to easily upload their learning, teachers can offer feedback to support learning and adapt future lessons in response to how the children are progressing. So far, the work shared by the children via Tapestry and Seesaw and the high level of engagement has been simply fantastic so we firmly believe that these platforms are working well for the children in our school.

Expectations for home learning

We understand that this is a difficult time for everyone and that busy parents and carers may struggle to find the time to support home learning as much as they would like. We also appreciate that some children may find it more difficult to concentrate upon their learning at home than they would in school. All we ask is that children try their best. The government states that, on average, children in key stage one have access to three hours of learning (with less for younger children). In key stage two, the expectation is that children have access to four hours of lessons.  As such, we make sure sufficient work is available on a daily basis. Please encourage your child to access as much as they can but do not worry if they do not complete every activity. It is important that the children remain positive about their learning and we do not anyone to feel pressurised.  Class teachers will be on contact via the phone on a regular basis to discuss online learning and will try to support you as best as we can during this challenging time.  However if you, at any time, feel you would appreciate the opportunity to seek support or just offload on us please ring 0191 2502207 or email office@fordleyprimary.org.uk and someone will be able to listen and help.

What to do when children are struggling with home learning

Having looked carefully at the parent/carer responses to the home learning survey sent out in September, we recognise that some children prefer working on paper. Therefore, we have made exercise books and stationary packs available from the school office. We do strongly recommend children access Seesaw as the recorded explanations will greatly help children to understand their learning but should you wish to have printed copies of the resources then these are also available from the school office. As teachers adapt their lessons in response to how the children progress in their learning it would require coming to school on a daily basis. If you intend on doing this could you please inform the school so we can have printed resources ready for you.

If you are having problems accessing learning online please let us know at office@fordleyprimary.org.uk or ring 0191 2502207 at we will do our very best to support you.

We hope you are well and greatly look forward to welcoming you all back to school in the future.