Home Learning
HOMEWORK and SCHOOL CLOSURE!
In the event of a school closure, home-learning will be accessed through our online learning platform- Showbie. Your child has their own login details for this. They must attend any live lessons available as well as registration twice daily. They must also complete the day's learning that will be set by the teacher.
We appreciate that home learning can be a challenge.
Be realistic about what you can do
- You're not expected to become teachers and your children aren't expected to learn as they do in school. Simply providing your children with some structure at home will help them to adapt. Use the tips below to help you make this work for your household.
- Experiment, then take stock. What's working and what isn't? Ask your children, involve them too
- Share the load if there are 2 parents at home. Split the day into 2-3 hour slots and take turns so you can do your own work
- Take care of your own health and wellbeing and ask for help or advice from your child's class teacher.
Keep to a timetable wherever possible
- Create and stick to a routine if you can. This is what children are used to. For example, eat breakfast at the same time and make sure they're dressed before starting the ‘school’ day – avoid staying in pyjamas!
- Involve your children in setting the timetable where possible. It’s a great opportunity for them to manage their own time better and it’ll give them ownership
- Check in with your children and try to keep to the timetable, but be flexible. If a task/activity is going well or they want more time, let it extend where possible
- If you have more than 1 child at home, consider combining their timetables. For example, they might exercise and do maths together – see what works for your household
- Designate a working space if possible, and at the end of the day have a clear cut-off to signal school time is over
- Stick the timetable up on the wall so everyone knows what they should be doing when, and tick activities off throughout the day
- Distinguish between weekdays and weekends, to separate school life and home life
Make time for exercise and breaks throughout the day
- Start each morning with a PE lesson at 9am with Joe Wicks
- If you have a garden, use it regularly. If you don’t, try to get out once a day as permitted by the government (households can be together outdoors but 2 metres apart from others)
- Get your children to write in a diary what they did each day – this can be a clear sign that the ‘school’ day has ended
Other activities to keep children engaged throughout the day
- Where you have more freedom in the timetable, make time for other activities. Add some creative time or watch a dance video from Go Noodle to get the heart-rate going
- Get your children to write postcards to their grandparents or to pen pals
- Ask grandparents to listen to your children read on FaceTime (or ask grandparents to read to younger children)
- Give them chores to do so they feel more responsible about the daily routine at home
- Ask them to help you cook and bake
- Accept that they'll probably watch more TV/spend time on their phone – that's ok but you might want to set/agree some screen time limits and use this as a treat at the end of the school day.
- The BBC has launched an education package across TV and online, featuring celebrities and teachers, helping to keep children learning at home and supporting parents. BBC Bitesize can be accessed here.