What every parent needs to know - headteachers give their top tips for home education during coronavirus crisis

WITH SCHOOLS closed indefinitely to limit the spread of coronavirus, many parents are now having to juggle the demands of working from home with the daunting challenge of trying to support their children with home learning.
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With the vast majority of schools posting lessons online to follow children’s normal timetable, two of the region’s headteachers have been speaking about the importance of maintaining learning from home while at the same time offering advice to parents to support this process.

Headteacher at Horndean Technology College, Julie Summerfield, said: ‘While children inevitably won’t get the same input as they do in the classroom, it’s really important for them to continue their academic learning.

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‘It’s unclear how long schools will be closed and students’ academic development is imperative for their future performance particularly in public examinations. If children have not continued with their studies then it’s going to be really difficult for them to make that time up.’

Crofton School headteacher, Simon Harrison, feels it is important children maintain as much progress as possible while schools are closed.

Picture: Loughlan CampbellCrofton School headteacher, Simon Harrison, feels it is important children maintain as much progress as possible while schools are closed.

Picture: Loughlan Campbell
Crofton School headteacher, Simon Harrison, feels it is important children maintain as much progress as possible while schools are closed. Picture: Loughlan Campbell

Crofton School headteacher, Simon Harrison, added: ‘This situation is going to be challenging for parents and children but it’s important when we do return to school that pupils have continued to maintain as much progress as possible. To help support parents we have created a home learning guide.’

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University of Portsmouth expert gives ten top tips to help children deal with co...

SIMON’S TOP TIPS

1 Be Realistic

Horndean Technology College headteacher, Julie Summerfield, feels it's important children stick as best as they can to their school timetable. 

Picture by:  Malcolm WellsHorndean Technology College headteacher, Julie Summerfield, feels it's important children stick as best as they can to their school timetable. 

Picture by:  Malcolm Wells
Horndean Technology College headteacher, Julie Summerfield, feels it's important children stick as best as they can to their school timetable. Picture by: Malcolm Wells

Parents are not teacher and children aren't expected to learn as they do in school. In most cases parents won’t have the specific subject knowledge and it’s important parents are fair to themselves and know what they can or can’t do.’

2 Team up with older siblings

‘Try to get older children to help teach younger siblings. Many older children will have already covered the topics and teaching it to a younger brother or sister is also a good learning experience for them.’

3 Physical activity

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‘Build some form of physical activity into each day. This could involve getting out into the garden or making use of one of the many online fitness workout videos.’

4 Incorporate normal household tasks

‘Try to incorporate normal household tasks into children’s learning. This could be something like baking cakes or learning to prepare a family meal.’

5 Share the load

‘If there are two parents at home then split the day into two or three hour slots and take turns so parents can do their own work.’

6 Daily plan

‘Create a plan for each day and involve children in this process. It’s a great opportunity for them to manage their own time and it will give them ownership. Stick plans up on the wall so everyone knows what they should be doing and tick activities off throughout the day.’

7 Reading time

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‘Set aside some family and individual time for reading. Just small amounts each day can have a big educational benefit.’

JULIE’S TOP TIPS

1 Timetable

‘It’s important children have structure to their day and where possible try and stick to their school timetables. This should include starting the day at the normal school time and including break periods.’

2 Bedtimes

‘Just because children aren’t physically going into school it’s important they go to bed at their normal time so they get enough sleep and are prepared for the following day. It’s also important children are not using phone or video screens before they go to bed.’

3 Work space

‘Where possible, try to create a dedicated work space where children can have their resources and books.’

4 Learning opportunities

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‘Use this time to look for learning opportunities of activities you may have wanted to do with your children but never had time. This could be things like dance, making music, yoga and meditation.’

5 Familiarise yourself with online learning

‘Parents should familiarise themselves with online lessons set up by schools. This will help keep a check on whether children are completing the work they should.’

FREE ONLINE RESOURCES

In addition to school’s own online lessons, the internet is awash with free interactive educational resources to help parents and children learn at home. Below is a flavour of websites to use.

National Geographic Kids – activities and quizzes

Duolingo – learn languages

Mystery Science

The Kids Should See This – interesting educational videos for children

Crest Awards – lessons leading to science awards from home.

Method Maths

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BBC Bitesize – primary and secondary lessons linked to the National Curriculum

Seneca – revision tasks for GCSE and A level

The Body Coach – daily physical education workouts

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