The past year has affected each and every one of us, but it has been particularly challenging for our children, with school closures and being apart from their friends making this a very difficult time.
Although schools are physically closed to most students, teachers are still working extremely hard to provide remote learning programmes to their students, whether that is through providing resources or holding online video lessons.
As families begin a new week of home learning, it is important to remember that help is out there to support young people to learn effectively and safely at home.
Learning resources - your child’s school will be providing learning programmes each week so that students can continue their curriculum-based work. However, there are many educational and fun learning resources online - here are just a few:
- BBC Bitesize has lessons and quizzes for children from Early Years to over 16s, which cover a wide range of subjects- https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize
- The Oak National Academy was created in April 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The resources are created and delivered by teachers, and cover Reception to Year 11- https://classroom.thenational.academy
- There’s more to home learning than just English and Maths! The curriculum covers a variety of subjects, including art, music and PE. Joe Wicks’ online PE sessions are a great way to take a break and keep children moving- https://www.youtube.com/c/TheBodyCoachTV/videos
Northumberland County Council has also provided a list of online learning resources (https://www.northumberland.gov.uk/coronavirus/Northumberland-schools.aspx#helpwithhomeschooling-coronaviruscovid-19), including these brilliant slides which are packed full of fun home learning ideas-
Key Stages 1 and 2: https://www.northumberland.gov.uk/NorthumberlandCountyCouncil/media/Document-store/COVID%20resources/New-Home-learning-for-KS1-and-KS2.pdf
Key Stages 3 and 4: https://www.northumberland.gov.uk/NorthumberlandCountyCouncil/media/Document-store/COVID%20resources/Secondary-Version-Home-learning-Pack.pdf
Online safety - now we’re all working online more than ever before, it’s so important to ensure that children are able to access the Internet safely. Here are some useful resources to help you talk to your child about online safety:
- Northumbria Police Safety Advice: https://www.northumberland.gov.uk/NorthumberlandCountyCouncil/media/Document-store/Online-Safety-Advice.pdf
- NSPCC Online Safety Advice: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/
Access to devices and the internet
If you do not have access to a laptop, tablet or the internet to assist with remote education, you should contact your child's school.
The government has made a significant investment into remote learning to ensure children can continue their education through the pandemic. More than 560,000 laptops and tablets have been delivered for disadvantaged children.
The Department for Education has also worked in partnership with mobile operators to help schools support disadvantaged pupils who rely on a mobile phone signal for internet. Schools can request a free uplift in data for most of the main mobile network providers. You can find out more here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/get-help-with-technology-for-remote-education-during-coronavirus-covid-19#get-internet-access-for-disadvantaged-children
Mental health - many children will be understandably worried about the coronavirus and being away from their friends and school may have an impact on their mental health. Here are some resources designed to help children who are feeling anxious:
- This brilliant book is designed to help children understand the coronavirus and the effect it is having on their daily lives- https://nosycrowcoronavirus.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/Coronavirus-ABookForChildren.pdf
- The NSPCC has advice for parents on how to talk to their child if they are worried about the coronavirus- https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/childrens-mental-health/depression-anxiety-mental-health/
For more resources and advice on remote learning, visit- https://www.northumberland.gov.uk/coronavirus/Northumberland-schools.aspx#TOP