Home (Remote) Learning

Below, you can find out about our systems and organisation of home learning. This has been developed based on research and guidance but also bearing in mind the needs of all of families in working from home and the times and facilities they have available to support their children in their learning.

Our remote learning provision and the offer which we provide to our children and their parents can be reviewed in our official document below. This guidance uses the government framework to ensure that all elements of home learning are suitably catered for and particularly takes in to account the guidance release by Ofsted about what makes good remote learning. This document can also be read below.

Class Dojo

The platform which we use for home learning is Class Dojo which can be viewed using this link ClassDojo

Dojo can be accessed by parents via laptop, tablet or phone and provides a way for staff to share work, usually in the form of an interactive powerpoint, and also individual portfolios through which children can upload their work for marking, in the form of files, photos and videos.

Dojo also offers direct communication between school and home. Whole school messages and documents are now widely shared using this platform as alerts go directly to parents technology devices. It also allow teachers to feedback advice to pupils about their work and gives a channel of communication using the messaging tool between parents and teachers when questions or support are needed.

Home Learning Apps

We use various on-line resources to support teaching of basic maths and English skills. Pupils can log in to these when they first have to isolate so learning time isn't lost and can also be set teacher guided tasks or simply login for some free practise and additional learning.

If your child has lost track of their login for these important learning platforms, please contact their class teacher.

Spelling Shed - tasks and practise of spelling skills - Spelling Shed - Spelling Shed - Spelling game for school and home

Nessy - additional spelling support app - Nessy - Reading, Writing And Spelling Help For Children With Dyslexia

Maths Shed - tasks and practise of maths skills - MathShed - Mathematics game for school and home

Ten Town - basic number skills for younger pupils - Ten Town - Ten Town

Oxford Owl - online reading books, organised by reading level - Oxford Owl for School and Home

TT Rockstars - times table practise for KS2 pupils - Times Tables Rock Stars (ttrockstars.com)

COVID 19 Advice and Support

Below, you will find resources and support to help your child and others stay safe during these unpresidented times. You can also find resources and information which have been shared with parents since the original lockdown in March 2020.

As with all areas of school, if you or your child need more advice or support and are struggling with any elements of the current situation, please contact school on 0191 415 5050, where we will be able to offer you support.

Online Safety advice for parents and carers during Covid 19

Many families will be encouraging their children to make good use of technology while we start the second week of lockdown with no opportunities to see their classmates “in real life”.  Technology can help us all stay in touch safely but parents and carers will want to make sure that their children are as safe as possible.

Parental Controls

Almost all devices allow parental controls to be set.  These can be adjusted depending on the ages of the children.  They can :-

• Stop children putting new apps on a device until the parents approve them
• Reduce the chance of a child accidentally spending money on virtual goods
• Limit the time that children use a device without having a break

A good starting point is the internet matters website https://www.internetmatters.org/ , go to the SETTING CONTROLS section at the top!

Talking

Probably the best thing you can do to help your son or daughter is to talk to them regularly about how they use technology, which apps and sites they use and who their online friends are.  Some children struggle with online relationships perhaps either sending or receiving hurtful messages.  Parents and carers will be able to help guide youngsters through this difficult area.  If children receive unpleasant messages these can  usually be reported and each app or site will have a different way of doing this.

Apps and Sites

The list of apps and websites children are using grows by the minute so printed advice is likely to be out of date.  In the UK the NSPCC have a site called Net-Aware https://www.net-aware.org.uk/ which explains many current apps , the risks and the benefits of their use.  More apps are listed on the American site Common Sense Media https://www.commonsensemedia.org/

Activities for Children

https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/ is the website aimed at children and their parents from the National Crime Agency.  It has lots of useful suggestions and advice on how to report issues.  It also has games and activities including Jessie and Friends for the younger children and Band Runner for the older ones.

More Help?

The NSPCC have teamed up with O2 https://www.nspcc.org.uk/what-we-do/about-us/partners/nspcc-o2-online-safety-partnership/  to provide advice to parents and have a free helpline on 0808 800 5002.  They will also give support in any O2 shop – you do not have to be an O2 customer.

Children can call Childline on 0800 1111  for advice on anything that is worrying them.

Finally since 2015 is has been a criminal offence for an adult to send a message with sexual content to a child (This is Section  67  of  the  Serious  Crime  Act  2015).   If you are concerned that this might have happened please contact The Police without further using the device.  This will help ensure that evidence can be preserved.  The Police can be                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Hand washing technique for kids:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9VjeIWLnEg 

Catch it, Bin it, Kill it video:

https://www.facebook.com/PublicHealthEngland/videos/1662404137130262/

Last updated: 17.42020 (1.00pm)

Important information for parents from the DfE

Please see the link below for updated information from the DfE about school closures.

Last updated: 31.3.2020 (11.00am)

Important information for children in receipt of Free School Meals

The Local Authority will no longer be providing packed lunches for children who are in receipt of FSM.  Instead, families will be issued with a voucher to redeem at a supermarket.  This will take effect AFTER the Easter holidays, from Monday 20^th April 2020.

For this week packed lunches will continue to be delivered.

Unfortunately there will be no FSM food or vouchers during the holidays as the scheme is term time only.  If you might need support over the holidays then please contact school.

Ordering vouchers

It is the school’s responsibility to order vouchers and send parents an eCode.  This will be to the value of £15 per child per week.  The vouchers can be combined for households with more than one child in receipt of FSM and can be on a rolling basis. 

Receiving Vouchers

Once school has ordered the voucher, an eCode will be emailed directly to the parent with instructions.  Parents can then use the eCode to choose an eGift card from a range of supermarkets.  It is the parents’ responsibility to use the eCode.    

For parents who do not have an email address, or the internet, then school will select an eGift card on your behalf and it will be posted to your home address.

Supermarkets available

Currently the eGift cards can be spent in the following shops:

• Morrisons
• Tesco
• Sainsbury’s
• Asda
• Waitrose
• M&S

The local authority recognise that it may not be convenient or possible for some families to visit one of these supermarkets, and they are working to see if additional supermarkets can be added to this list.

If parents are unable to visit one of these supermarkets, please inform school.

Redeeming the vouchers

Once families have downloaded their voucher, they will be able to redeem them in-store at the selected retailer by either:

• presenting the voucher on a smartphone or tablet
• presenting a paper copy of the voucher

Families are free to select the most appropriate food and drink for their child. When selecting products, we encourage families to consider health and nutrition.

The vouchers should not be redeemed for any age-restricted items, such as alcohol, cigarettes or lottery tickets.

Next Steps

If you are eligible and would like to receive an eGift card from Monday 20^th April, then please email the school at info@rickletonprimary.co.uk to confirm.  We will then use your email address to share the eCode with you.

If you do not have an email address then please call school before Friday on

0191 4155050.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Last updated: 26.3.20 (12.45pm)

We hope everyone is continuing to keep well and safe.

For parents with children who are on the SEN register, please see attached a letter from the Department for Education which offers guidance and advice.  If you need any support please don' hesitate to contact school.

Last updated: 23.3.20 (1.15pm)

We hope everyone is keeping safe and well.  The children we have in school have enjoyed a DVD this morning and have been busy doing the work set for them on Dojo.  They are going to be spending the afternoon doing art and craft activities.

Thank you to everyone who has made alternative childcare arrangements where possible to try and prevent the spread of the virus.

We are aware that the home learning being set requires the children to use technology and the internet.  Above is some guidance for parents on how to further keep children safe whilst online and how to support ICT based learning.

If you have any queries or concerns regarding e-safety, please contact Miss Patterson via the school email - info@rickletonprimary.co.uk

Last updated: 20.3.20 (4.00pm)

Parents who are key workers and who requested child care provision from Monday have received a letter tonight via their child.  I must stress that child care [not educational] is only for those who are in critical need.  To reduce the spread of the virus we must keep the number of children and staff in school at a minimum.  

If you no longer require childcare and have brought in a form please contact the school office via email on info@rickletonprimary.co.uk as soon as possible.  Please also inform the office if you think you should have received a letter and did not.

Last updated: 20.3.20 (9.00am)

Rickleton Primary School will be providing childcare for a very limited number of children from Monday.  Along with the government guidance below(and the link), we encourage parents to try and keep children at home as this is where they will be the safest.  This is our priority.  The latest advice states that:

'The government has asked parents to keep their children at home, wherever possible, and asked schools to remain open only for those children who absolutely need to attend.

But the fewer children making the journey to school, and the fewer children in educational settings, the lower the risk that the virus can spread and infect vulnerable individuals in wider society.

Schools are, therefore, being asked to continue to provide care for a limited number of children - children who are vulnerable and children whose parents are critical to the Covid-19 response and cannot be safely cared for at home.

Vulnerable children include children who are supported by social care, those with safeguarding and welfare needs, including child in need plans, on child protection plans, ‘looked after’ children, young carers, disabled children and those with education, health and care (EHC) plans.

Many parents working in these sectors may be able to ensure their child is kept at home. And every child who can be safely cared for at home should be.'

The list of critical key workers published is:

Health and social care

This includes but is not limited to doctors, nurses, midwives, paramedics, social workers, care workers, and other frontline health and social care staff including volunteers; the support and specialist staff required to maintain the UK’s health and social care sector; those working as part of the health and social care supply chain, including producers and distributers of medicines and medical and personal protective equipment.

Education and childcare

This includes nursery and teaching staff, social workers and those specialist education professionals who must remain active during the COVID-19 response to deliver this approach.

Key public services

This includes those essential to the running of the justice system, religious staff, charities and workers delivering key frontline services, those responsible for the management of the deceased, and journalists and broadcasters who are providing public service broadcasting.

Local and national government

This only includes those administrative occupations essential to the effective delivery of the COVID-19 response or delivering essential public services such as the payment of benefits, including in government agencies and arms length bodies.

Food and other necessary goods

This includes those involved in food production, processing, distribution, sale and delivery as well as those essential to the provision of other key goods (for example hygienic and veterinary medicines).

Public safety and national security

This includes police and support staff, Ministry of Defence civilians, contractor and armed forces personnel (those critical to the delivery of key defence and national security outputs and essential to the response to the COVID-19 pandemic), fire and rescue service employees (including support staff), National Crime Agency staff, those maintaining border security, prison and probation staff and other national security roles, including those overseas.

Transport

This includes those who will keep the air, water, road and rail passenger and freight transport modes operating during the COVID-19 response, including those working on transport systems through which supply chains pass.

Utilities, communication and financial services

This includes staff needed for essential financial services provision (including but not limited to workers in banks, building societies and financial market infrastructure), the oil, gas, electricity and water sectors (including sewerage), information technology and data infrastructure sector and primary industry supplies to continue during the COVID-19 response, as well as key staff working in the civil nuclear, chemicals, telecommunications (including but not limited to network operations, field engineering, call centre staff, IT and data infrastructure, 999 and 111 critical services), postal services and delivery, payments providers and waste disposal sectors.

In the event, that we do not have the number of staff to run the facility due to self-isolating or illness then we may need to limit the places we offer or work with the LA on combining schools. This may be something that the LA look at anyway over 

We will update parents on the plans for opening next week later today and ensure those who are identified as being eligible for childcare are contacted. 

Last updated: 19.3.20 (4.15pm)

I would like to begin by thanking parents for their support and patience during what has been a very busy week. 

A letter has been sent home tonight [see below] which provides more information about the school closure.  If you have any queries please email the school office on info@rickletonprimary.co.uk.

Please be mindful we are experiencing a huge number of calls and emails and the admin team are working tirelessly to try and respond as quickly as possible.

The Government are, at time of writing, yet to define who is classified as a 'key worker' and whether both parents have to be within these roles in order for a child to access childcare at school.  As soon as a clear definition has been published we will update our website page.  Thank you to all parents who indicated to the office if this might apply to you.  A letter has been sent home to these families requesting further details around whether you would be requiring childcare at school.  Please see below if you require a copy of the letter.

Final plans for how childcare will work from Monday for these children will be shared with parents tomorrow.  

Together for Children has announced that all identified pupils who are eligible for free school meals (this does not include universal infant free school meals) will be provided with a packed lunch daily.  An example packed lunch will comprise of a sandwich, crisps, yoghurt, fruit and a bottle of water.  If this applies to you, the admin team will telephone to see if you would require this service.  If you have not received a call and believe you qualify then please call the school office on 0191 4155050.

Plans for how packed lunches will be distrubuted will be shared with parents tomorrow.

Class Dojo to share work with pupils at home

We are working hard to ensure that all parents are connected to Class Dojo and also so those already connected are able to access work and upload evidence. If the attached guidance doesn't help, please contact the school office tomorrow.

Last updated: 18.3.20 (7.45pm)

Tonight the government has announced that schools should close for the foreseeable future to all pupils who are not classed as vulnerable or have parents who are key workers.  The definition of a key worker will be shared by the government tomorrow.

Therefore RPS will close for most pupils from 3.30pm on Friday 20th March.

A text has been sent tonight asking parents to inform the school office if you are in the category of needing childcare provision.  As soon as I get information from the local authority or DfE about how the provision will be organised, this will be shared with parents of those affected.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff at RPS for their hard work and support.

Mrs Price

Last updated: 18.3.20 (5.45pm)

Following the latest government advice given to schools, Rickleton Primary School will close from 3.30pm on Friday 20th March 2020 until further notice.  Rickleton Plus and other after school clubs will still take place on Friday.

Rickleton Plus Easter Club will not be running and we will organise reimbursing parents as soon as possible.   

At present, we are unclear about provision for children of key workers.  As soon as we have any guidance or updates we will inform parents.  

Please only contact the school office to inform us about new absences/self-isolation as we are experiencing a large number of calls.  

Thank you to all parents and carers for your ongoing support.

Last updated: 17.3.20 (4.15pm)

The latest government advice given to schools today states:

New guidance for households with symptoms

Yesterday, the Government introduced new guidance on whole household isolation in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak:

The symptoms are:

The full stay at home guidance for households with these symptoms can be found here:

Last updated: 17.3.20 (2.30pm)

In response to the latest government advice, we are taking the following precautions:

- all school trips [including the Y3/4 visit to Ford Castle] have been postponed until further notice

- all competitive sporting fixtures against other schools have been cancelled/postponed

- Nursery lending library has been cancelled until further notice

- non-essential external visitors have been cancelled or postponed

If children are in self-isolation, work will start to be uploaded onto Dojo from Thursday.  In the meantime, we encourage children to read books of their interest, write creatively and access learning websites [see class pages for recommendations].

In the event of a school closure, Dojo will be the platform used to share work.  Please ensure you have signed up.  If you need support with this, please contact Mr Baker via the school office.

As you can imagine the school office is currently inundated with telephone calls.  Please refer to the websites below for guidance around self-isolation prior to calling as relevant information can be found.  

Thank parents for their continued support.  

Last updated: 17.3.20 (12.30pm)

In light of the current COVID-19 situation and latest government advice, I have made the decision to postpone the Year 3 and 4 Ford Castle trip. The wellbeing and safety of the children and staff is my utmost priority.

The visit has been re-scheduled for Monday 7^th September 2020 until Wednesday 9^th September 2020. More details will follow closer to the visit but the majority of the visit, such as timings and activities, should remain as planned.

Mrs Price

Last updated: 16.3.20 (7.40pm)

In light of tonight's Government announcement, we have made the decision to postpone all parent evenings until the summer term.  We will re-arrange alternative dates shortly.  

*Note that all school, competitive sporting fixtures (Girls' football Tuesday and all Boys' football fixtures on Thursday) have now also been postponed as recommended by the FA.

We are currently reviewing the school calendar and may postpone other events but will inform parents of any changes via the website.  

For Y3/4 parents, Ford Castle is still going ahead at this point in time.  We are in regular communication with them and will advise parents of any changes. * Several parents have questioned why Ford Castle is being treated differently to other events. We will be speaking with Ford Castle tomorrow. Any decision must be made in conjunction with Ford Castle to protect our families from financial loss. The safety of our pupils is our main priority and we will update parents as soon as we have further information.

Parents please check the school website before calling the school office with a query relating to COVID-19.  All relevant and updated advice can be found on this page.

Please note the latest advice is that pupils and staff should self-isolate for 14 days if anyone in their household has a persistent cough or fever.  Please inform the school office via email or telephone call if your child is going to be absent. 

Last updated: 16.3.20

In response to queries from some parents in regards to Ford Castle, there are currently no plans to cancel the trip.  We are in regular contact with Ford Castle who are also ensuring that they are taking all advised precautions.  If the Government advice changes, we will inform parents immediately.  We would like to reiterate that:  

The School remains fully open with all learning areas being used as normal.

No activities are currently planned to be altered or cancelled. 

Last updated: 13.3.20

In response to requests from some parents, and in light of the international coverage of the corona virus pandemic, we would like to share the following information. We will update this page as the situation develops and where government advice changes.  We encourage you to check our website regularly for these updates.  

The School remains fully open with all learning areas being used as normal.

No activities are currently planned to be altered or cancelled. 

The School’s approach remains to continue to monitor the situation closely, adopting a calm, measured and informed response and following the advice being issued and updated by the Department for Education, Public Health England and other relevant bodies. 

Our priority remains to ensure the health of our whole community, including pupils, staff and families.

Current Government Advice

We are guiding parents to follow the most recent government advice below:

To support the delay of the spread of the virus, the Department for Health and Social Care has asked anyone who shows certain symptoms to stay at home for 7 days, regardless of whether they have travelled to affected areas. This means people should stay at home and avoid all but essential contact with others for 7 days from the point of displaying mild symptoms, to slow the spread of infection.

The symptoms are:

You do not need to call NHS 111 to stay at home. If your symptoms worsen during your stay at home period or are no better after 7 days contact NHS 111 online at 111.nhs.uk. If you have no internet access, you should call NHS 111. For a medical emergency dial 999.

 

Current advice remains in place: no education or children’s social care setting should close in response to a suspected or confirmed COVID-19 case unless advised to do so by Public Health England.

The Chief Medical Officer has advised that the impact of closing schools on both children’s education and on the workforce will be substantial, but the benefit to public health may not be. Decisions on future advice to schools will be taken based on the latest and best scientific evidence, which at this stage suggests children are a lower risk group.

COVID-19 travel guidance for the education sector

The Government has issued new travel guidance for the education sector. This advises against all overseas education trips for children under 18. This does not apply to domestic trips, or overseas trips which are already underway.

In relation to the advise above, the Y3 and 4 Ford Castle visit will currently still be going ahead but we will continue to take advice on this.

SUPPORT OFFERED BY SCHOOL:

Staff in school are currently, and always do, promote the following areas of hygiene with children:

- regular hand washing with soap, particularly before eating and after break times

- use of sanitising gel which is available throughout school

- use of tissues for coughs and sneezes (catch it, bin it, kill it!)

- keeping hands and objects away from mouths and faces

- that pupils refrain from sharing food, snacks and water bottles

Our cleaning staff are, as always, carrying out thorough cleaning of the premises on a daily basis.

Other equipment which is handled frequently also goes through a regular sterilisation process.

SUPPORT REQUESTED FROM HOME:

We would ask that parents and carers support school at all times by:

- working with the children to develop good hand hygiene routines, especially linked to toileting and eating times

- ensuring pupils' bodies and clothes are thoroughly washed and cleaned when attending school to limit germ transfer in to school

- sending children to school with tissues, particularly if suffering from a cold

* Can we please ask that children do not bring alcohol based sanitising gel in to school. Gel suitable for all children is provided throughout school.

GOVERNMENT ADVICE

The Department for Education and Public Health England have issued guidance for educational settings.  You can read the latest advice and follow updates on the gov.uk website 

There is also further public information and advice on Coronavirus updated daily at

https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/coronavirus-covid-19-uk-government-response 

And NHS guidance here:

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/