10th November 2020
Dear Parent/Carer,
As you may be aware, schools are required to have a remote learning plan in place so that any child who cannot attend school because of COVID-19 does not miss out on their learning.
This letter and the accompanying documents explain our plans for remote learning for children who have to self-isolate, or where local or national restrictions mean that children need to stay at home.
Our remote learning plan
Our remote learning plan is explained in the document Home Learning 2020 and has been made with our pupils and their families in mind. We believe that this strategy will work best for the children at our school.
We will provide home learning packs to include crayons, pencil, pencil sharpener, pen, whiteboard, child’s current English and Maths books plus any additional sensory equipment that the children may need. This will enable all children, irrespective of whether they are able to access IT devices to undertake school assigned work.
We would expect children to spend no more than 1-2 hours each day learning and we will feedback daily via Microsoft 365.
All classes now have webcams and it is our intention that sessions taking place in the classroom will be recorded and, as we move forward we hope to be able to live-stream some sessions. These will be available for parents/students to access via Microsoft Teams. Class teachers will provide parents with login information and details of how to access the remote learning environment.
Sessions that are recorded or live-streamed are for school use only and will be stored within the class Microsoft Team environment. We will take every care to ensure that where parents have expressed a wish that their child is not included within photographs these children will not be visible within the camera range.
What you’ll need at home
Children should have everything they need for manual tasks within the home learning resource packs that the school send home.
A suitable space such as a dining/kitchen table at which to work. Please take note of our Remote Learning Policy and parents should be mindful that during any live sessions, pupils and adults within the class may be able to see into your home.
Pupils can access Rowan Gate Primary School’s Microsoft for Education account on any device that can access the internet such as a laptop, ipad/tablet or desktop computer.
If your child does not have any of the above, please let us know as soon as possible so that we can support you.
What we expect from your child
It’s important that your child engages with home learning. If they aren’t engaging with the learning, we’ll use the following strategies to provide additional support:
- Phone call home
Increased feedback
What you can do to help
We appreciate that if this situation arises, it may present some challenges for you. We kindly ask for your support so that we can continue to provide high-quality education for your child during this time.
Younger children in particular may need support in accessing online materials and staying focused with their remote learning. We ask that you help them as much as you can.
It would be really helpful if you can take an active role in your child’s learning by supporting them throughout their learning.
Our top tips:
- Try to encourage your child to be ready and dressed for the start of the school day, and to keep to their timetable
- Plan breaks and exercise into the day to help keep your child active
Please keep in touch with us and do let us know if you’re having any difficulties with remote learning, or if you have any questions.
You can contact school leaders as follows should you need to:
Early Years Foundation stage = Mrs Maxine Anthony-hill by emailing
Key Stage 1 = Mrs Jane Rhodes by eamailing
Lower Key Stage 2 = Mrs Sue Morris by emailing
Upper Key Stage 2 = Mrs Natalija Zemcugova by emailing
Thank you for your continued support.
Yours faithfully,
Laura Clarke
Headteacher