Standards in remote education: Inspections Clinic

The switch to providing “remote education” to pupils at home has proved challenging for all schools with particular concerns about provision for disadvantaged groups including children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Research carried out by Ofsted in the summer and autumn terms found the majority of schools in England felt they were successfully using remote provision to minimise the amount of learning children lost by not being in school.

About three fifths of teachers who took part in a survey said they were confident they were providing high-quality remote education.

However, the research, which included interviews with school leaders, remote education leads and teachers, found a mixed picture with wide variations in the remote learning on offer.

Previous research by Ofsted found the children most likely to be badly affected by disruption to education as a result of the pandemic were those that were already struggling.

Ofsted’s research on remote education highlighted some of the challenges in ensuring the most vulnerable pupils were catered for.

This included disparities in access to laptops and broadband that can make it harder for pupils from low-income families to take part in online lessons or use digital resources. However, Ofsted found schools had gone “out of their way” to ensure all pupils could access digital platforms.

“Most used parental questionnaires to identify where gaps in digital provision existed so they could provide targeted support to those who needed it,” says the report. “They were then pro-active in sourcing appropriate devices, typically computer laptops or similar, from the local community.”

Some schools had worked with local businesses and charities to get hold of devices while others had used Covid-19 catch-up premium funding – made available by the government to help children catch up on lost education – to buy digital equipment.

School leaders who reported access to digital provision was an “ongoing obstacle” were providing non-digital content for those children such as worksheets that matched the content other pupils were getting.

Additional tech

The research stressed that simply providing a device did not necessarily solve problems in accessing digital or other remote provision.

Some schools provided additional tech to address poor quality – or a lack of – internet connection while others that had difficulty in securing adequate digital access for their pupils opted to use paper-based learning resources.

Other issues included the fact siblings may be sharing devices or that the home environment was not conducive to learning.

As part of its research, Ofsted commissioned online surveys of parents and teachers by YouGov in late November and early December last year. Just over 1,000 teachers and 2,020 parents took part.

A key concern for both teachers and parents was pupils’ engagement and motivation.

When asked about the main challenges for children when learning remotely from home, 11 per cent of parents said access to an appropriate device was an issue. However, 40 per cent said they were most worried about their child’s focus on studying.

The survey found 59 per cent of parents of a pupil with SEND reported their child had been disengaged with remote education.

Schools were worried that learning gaps would be greater for pupils with SEND and the disruption of remote learning and loss of familiar routines would have more of a negative impact.

Many developed strategies to try to mitigate the impact on this vulnerable group. However, less than half – 46 per cent – of the teachers surveyed said their school offered additional remote learning arrangements for SEND pupils.

A checklist devised by the National Association for Special Educational Needs encourages schools to audit their remote learning provision for SEND pupils by asking a series of questions.

This includes looking at how they are ensuring SEND pupils are engaging in online learning, whether work is being pitched at the right level and the support on offer to families.

Examples of good practice featured in Ofsted’s report on remote education included schools providing training for parents to boost their confidence in using the specialist equipment their children needed.

Some schools had additional resources or equipment – such as sensory equipment and desks – delivered to families to help improve the home learning environment.

Others tried to create a timetable that mirrored what would normally happen in school to minimise disruption for pupils with SEND.

“Where pupils had a strong relationship with a teaching assistant, a learning support assistant or other adult, schools arrange for the adult to record voice messages for pupils so that they could hear a familiar and friendly voice,” adds the report.

Some children with SEND benefited from remote education including the ability to work at their own pace, take breaks when needed and work in a space with less distractions or “sensory overload”.

“The overall message was that the most effective solutions for pupils with SEND were bespoke, taking into account the specific needs and circumstances of each individual child,” the report concludes.

School re-opening

The hope is schools will start to re-open from March onwards with pupils able to return to face-to-face teaching in the classroom.

However, Ofsted’s research suggests school leaders are keen to retain some of their enhanced remote education provision. This could include using video lessons by specialists in a particular subject to provide cover when teachers are absent or when a school is struggling to recruit subject experts. Remote education could also be used to support anxious or excluded students off site while pre-recorded lessons could help those who have missed school due to illness.

In particular, the report flags up the potential for aspects of remote learning to continue to benefit pupils with SEND.

“Different platforms could be used to cater for different needs and overcome issues that may have previously excluded pupils from parts or all of certain lessons,” says the report.

“Pupils with sensory overload issues, for example, could be taught remotely for a portion of a lesson and then re-introduced to the main class later on when the environment had ‘calmed down’.”

REMOTE EDUCATION: 7 KEYS TO SUCCESS

1. Quality is crucial. Research shows the quality of teaching is far more important than how or when lessons are delivered. The fundamentals of good teaching – providing clear explanations, building on children’s knowledge, giving feedback and assessing progress – all continue to apply when providing remote education.
2. Stick to the curriculum. A common misconception is that remote education is somehow different to the content normally provided in schools. In fact, content should be aligned to the normal classroom curriculum as much as possible. Some topics are harder to teach remotely. Where that is the case, teachers should focus on the most important information or concepts pupils need to know.
3. Keep it simple. Don’t over-complicate remote education resources with too many graphics and illustrations that don’t really add anything. Make it clear how a particular lesson or activity fits in with other lessons or activities so pupils have can see the bigger picture. It is harder for pupils to concentrate when being taught remotely so it is often a good idea to divide content into smaller chunks.
4. Choose the right format. While much remote education is delivered digitally, this is not always the best format. Sometimes it may be more effective to use worksheets or a textbook. Teachers should be supported to consider which approaches are best suited to the content they are teaching and the age of their pupils.
5. Ensure access to technology. If content is being delivered digitally then it is vital to ensure all pupils have the technology and internet to access it. This is particularly the case for disadvantaged pupils who are more likely to lack the necessary tech. Schools also need to ensure teachers and pupils get support and advice on how to use specific platforms.
6. Encourage interaction. Interaction between pupils during remote learning has been shown to boost their motivation and improve results. This could include getting pupils to mark or give feedback on each other’s work, hosting chatroom discussions or live video debates.
7. Help pupils work independently. Pupils learning at home will often need to work independently. Research shows the importance of helping children learn strategies to do this effectively such as knowing what to do if they get stuck. The evidence suggests disadvantaged pupils in particular benefit from explicit support to help them work independently.

Sources: What’s Working Well in Remote Education, Ofsted, January 2021;Remote Learning: Rapid Evidence Assessment, Education Endowment Foundation, April 2020

INSPECTIONS SHORTS

SCHOOLS
Most Ofsted inspections of schools will be carried out remotely until 8 March at the earliest, the regulator has said. Ofsted will continue to undertake on-site inspections if there are immediate concerns about safeguarding, leadership or a failure to provide education to children.

SOCIAL CARE
A new framework for inspecting the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) is expected to be published this month. The framework, which will apply to inspections taking place after 1 April, was due out in February but has been delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The revised inspection arrangements follow a consultation by Ofsted on proposals including a new, shorter inspection of Cafcass as a national organisation and changes to the way the impact of leadership is judged.

HEALTH
Urgent and emergency care providers have found new and innovative ways to support children and young people who need their services during the pandemic, according to a report by the Care Quality Commission. The health and care regulator found children and young people coming into emergency departments in autumn 2020 generally had increased clinical, emotional and social care needs. Providers had devised new care pathways and admissions processes, set up emergency helplines and stepped up home visits to ensure young patients got the right treatment.

YOUTH JUSTICE
Adult prisons are refusing to take 18-year-olds when they need to move on from youth custody, according to a report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons. The report on outcomes for young adult prisoners aged 18 to 25 found some waited for a long time before a suitable placement was found. Inspectors raised concerns young prisoners were going to whichever establishment would accept them “rather than to the prison that best met their identified needs”.

SOCIAL CARE
The number of children’s homes in England is at its highest level in many years after the Covid-19 crisis saw an increase in registrations, shows data from Ofsted. The total number of children’s homes as of August 2020 was 2,592 – the highest number since at least 2012. Between April and August 2020, 176 new homes were registered with a small number of applications fast-tracked due to the pandemic. This compares with 136 new homes registered in the same period in 2019.