Learning at Home

During this unprecedented time of exceptional school closure our planned home learning activities offer  opportunities to focus on key concepts, knowledge and skills. They involve a balance of on-screen and off-screen tasks that create memorable, meaningful learning experiences that link to previous learning and the current curriculum. New tasks will be added by teachers through your child's Google Classroom account.

If you have any queries regarding work set you can contact your child's class teacher via the School Office or the VLE. Please note that teachers will endeavour to reply to your email as soon as possible during the working week. 

 

Some tips to make home learning successful

Establish a daily routine to support your child's learning.

Identify a comfortable, quiet space for them to work effectively and successfully.

Allow your child to complete activities as best they can.

Send copies or photos of work that they are especially proud of to their teacher via the VLE.

Take breaks, play and be active.

Contact teachers at school if you need support or help.

Supporting your child to stay safe online

Agree boundaries

Be clear what your child can and can’t do online – where they can use the internet, how much time they can spend online, the sites they can visit and the type of information they can share. Agree with your child when they can have a mobile phone or tablet.

Explore together

The best way to find out what your child is doing online is to ask them to tell you about what they do and what sites they like to visit. If they’re happy to, ask them to show you. Talk to them about being a good friend online.

Put yourself in control

Install parental controls on your home broadband and any internet-enabled devices. Set up a user account for your child on the main device they use and make sure other accounts in the household are password-protected so that younger children can’t access them by accident.

Use airplane mode

Use airplane mode on your devices when your child is using them so they can’t make any unapproved purchases or interact with anyone online without your knowledge.

Stay involved

Encourage them to use their tech devices in a communal area like the lounge or kitchen so you can keep an eye on how they’re using the internet and also share in their enjoyment. 

Talk to siblings

It’s also a good idea to talk to any older children about what they’re doing online and what they show to younger children. Encourage them to be responsible and help keep their younger siblings safe.

Search safely

Use safe search engines such as Swiggle or Kids-search. You can save time by adding these to your ‘Favourites’. Safe search settings can also be activated on Google and other search engines, as well as YouTube.

Check if it’s suitable

The age ratings that come with games, apps, films and social networks are a good guide to whether they’re suitable for your child. For example, the minimum age limit is 13 for several social networking sites, including Facebook and Instagram. Although sites aimed at under-10s like Spotlite (Formerly Kudos) also have social networking elements.

 
West Sussex Mind 
 
If you are struggling to cope, support can be given through West Sussex Mind.
 
Click on the link below to visit their website.
 
Staying Positive 
 
A collection of resources to help adults and their children through school closures and lockdown can be found below:

Where can I go to get support to help keep my child safe online?

 

There is a lot of support available to keep your child safe online. Below are some useful links to help parents and carers:

  • Thinkyouknow (advice from the National Crime Agency to stay safe online)
  • Internet matters (support for parents and carers to keep their children safe online)
  • Parent info (support for parents and carers to keep their children safe online)
  • LGfL (support for parents and carers to keep their children safe online)
  • Net-aware (support for parents and careers from the NSPCC)
Google Classroom
Have a look at our parent guide showing how to access and use Google Classroom at home.