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.
