Home learning – advice for parents and carers

26th March 2020Andrew Gray

Home learning – advice for parents and carers

Routine is important…

  • Continue to get up and eat breakfast at the same time and make sure all children get dressed before starting their “school day”
  • If possible, ensure your child has a place to work and a plan of what they are going to do each day; this should include a clear break for lunch and at other times too
  • Continue to distinguish between weekdays and weekends, to separate school life and work life
  • Most teachers and departments are sharing work via Google classrooms on a weekly basis; the amount shared will reflect how many lessons of each subject they would normally have had each week
  • Some students may find it helpful to follow their normal school timetable; if this is possible for them and the rest of the family, following a familiar routine might be comforting for them
  • However, for many students this will not be possible, especially if they are supporting you in caring for younger siblings. An alternative would be to create their own timetable using this template to organise their time in a way that works for the family

But be realistic…

  • You are not expected to be teachers and your children aren’t expected to learn in the same way they do in school; simply providing your children with some structure is enough to help them adapt to this new way of learning. Teachers are planning work in such a way that students can complete it without the help of parents and carers.
  • Check in with your child and see how well they are sticking to their timetable but be flexible. In school, lessons are only 60 minutes long and then they’d get up and move to another lesson so it’s okay for them to do as much as they can on a particular activity then move on. On the other hand, if they are really enjoying a particular activity then they can always change their timetable and catch up on other work on another day.
  • Accept that your child will probably want to watch more TV and spend more time on their phone than usual, especially if they are missing their friends; agreeing some screen time limits together would help 

Look after your family’s physical and mental wellbeing too…

  • This will be new for your entire household, so give it time to settle and accept that things won’t always go to plan. 
  • Progress leaders, AEN key workers and welfare staff are available by email if you need help or support for students or parents get in touch. A Google classroom has been set up for Year 11 students who may need some support and ideas for wellbeing and keeping an active healthy mind. 
  • We have some great resources on our website: http://www.burnsidecollege.org.uk/students/support-services/mental-health/
  • All school counselling arrangements still stand and the counsellor will offer sessions via email. If you feel you may need support email your progress leader.
  • We also have access to an online tool (Kooth) which can be found here 
  • Make time for exercise: do Joe Wicks’ PE lesson at 9am each day, spend time in your garden if you have one or go out for a walk or jog together (households can exercise together as long as they remain 2 metres away from others)
  • Involving older children in household chores can help them too by giving them some responsibility; involve them in planning and cooking meals, keeping the house clean and tidy or helping younger children with their work

Other FAQs…

  • Who do I contact for support with home learning? Students should email their teachers if they have questions. If you have more general questions then please contact homelearning@burnsidecollege.org.uk 
  • How do we access the lesson slides? Students will have instant, automatic access to everything they need either via email or their Google classrooms. In the majority of cases where they don’t have access it is because they are still signed in to their parent/carer’s email account. 
  • My child isn’t sure if they are in a Google classroom or not; how do they find out? Students automatically received email invitations to their Google classrooms in September and many teachers have re-invited them in the last few weeks. However, the best person for them to contact if they think they need to be invited again is their classroom teacher.
  • I have a child in Year 10; what exam boards do you use so I can support them with additional work? Please find here all exam boards in use for the current Year 10s.

 

 

Free School Meals

26th March 2020Andrew Gray

Whilst we explore alternative options packed lunches for students eligible for free school meals will still be available today from school between 11am and 12 noon.

Home Learning

25th March 2020Andrew Gray

The Home Learning section of the school website has been updated. It now includes a list of FAQs from parents and more subject-specific guidance for students. We have been so impressed with how well students have engaged with their home learning and look forward to sharing some excellent examples in Friday’s bulletin.

Resources for Students working from home

 

Message for Free school meal students

24th March 2020Andrew Gray

Wednesday 25th March – lunches for students eligible for free school meals will be available to collect from school between 11am and 12 noon.

Kooth: New COVID 19 Response Poster and Information

24th March 2020Andrew Gray

Kooth.com is a free online counselling service available to any young person who loves in North Tyneside between 11- 25 years of age. Their services may be particularly helpful at this time. Not only does Kooth provide counselling services but there are also live forums, which are supported by qualified mental health professionals, and lots of information on topics relevant to young people.

Resources

Poster

Online Statement

Free school meals update: 24.03.2020

24th March 2020Andrew Gray

Packed lunches will be available to collect from school today between 11.30am and 12 noon for students currently eligible for free school meals.

Packed lunch for those students eligible for a free school meal

23rd March 2020Andrew Gray

We will make available a packed lunch for those students eligible for a free school meal.  These can be collected from the school office between 12.15pm and 1pm.  In line with government guidelines, if you are self-isolating please do not come to school and instead arrange for someone to collect the lunch on your behalf.  We are not able to provide dining facilities and request that people are sensible about social distancing and therefore do not remain around the site to socialise.

Coronavirus Update: Key Workers

20th March 2020Andrew Gray

As you will be aware, the government has directed that all schools will close from today.  This is due to the public health risk of school continuing to remain open in light of the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).

The government has asked schools to try to remain open to a small number of vulnerable children and the children of key workers who have no other childcare options and whose children need supervision.

We should stress at this point that the government are still clear that:

If it is at all possible for children to be at home, then they should be.

We currently have very low staffing levels due to those ill or self-isolating, or staff that fall into vulnerable groups and so are social distancing.  We are however intending that a small skeleton staff will be in school each day next week to supervise these children. We will work to keep this in place for as long as possible but need to advise at this point that this will depend on staff continuing to be available (especially the key staff required to open such as safeguarding leads and first-aiders).  In the event that the school is unable to continue to operate even with a skeleton staff, the local authority will provide alternative arrangements.

Some parents who are key workers have said that they are concerned their child may miss learning, particularly older children if they do not come in.  Just to clarify, this is not a reason to send your children in and if it is at all possible for children to be at home, then they should be.  This provision is for children who “cannot be safely cared for at home”:   

  • Normal teaching will not be taking place whilst the school is closed 
  • The national curriculum will not be followed during this time 
  • Students will be engaged in activities in groups with children of other ages 

The school has already contacted parents by text yesterday to identify who the children of key workers are and whether they need supervision.  If you did not receive this message please get in touch to update your contact details. If you have filled in this form someone will be in contact directly to confirm arrangements.