Home Learning

Home learning can be a challenge for all families whether it is when accessing weekly home work, isolating for a few days or for the entirety of a school closure. 

We hope the weekly homework and daily work set each day during school coloureds on Google Classroom will allow your child to continue on their learning journey and provide support for you as parents at home.

The Emotional well -being page on this website provides further avenues of support for children and parents who may need it during school closures or at other challenging times. 

Here are some practical suggestions to help you set up a learning space at home for your child to complete homework and other remote learning tasks.

1. Choose a location based on your child’s learning preferences. If they prefer silence, a spare room or their bedroom could be good options. If they enjoy some background noise, consider choosing a spot in the kitchen or near your office space if you’re working from home. If there are several location options, you can have your child try each one to see which works best for them.
2. Eliminate distractions. Ask your child to turn off the TV or other devices they don't need when they’re learning.  You can experiment with playing instrumental music to block other sounds or to break silence. Some find this helpful and others do not.
3. Make it comfortable—but not too comfortable. Choose a chair that your child can comfortably sit in for long periods of time, and ensure they have a table or other flat surface that can accommodate their books, laptops, and other learning resources.  We do not recommend using a bed as learning space; you don’t want your child to fall asleep in the middle of their work and doing things besides sleeping in bed can lead to trouble falling and staying asleep at bedtime. Bed should be a place to relax and switch off!
4. Ensure the learning space has good lighting. This can include natural lighting from windows or light from lamps.
5. Have all of your child’s resources—pencils, paper, for example—easily accessible in their learning space. Encourage your child to keep their space tidy and clutter-free. Perhaps you could incentivise them with a small reward each week if they successfully keep their space clean!
6. Encourage your child to personalise their learning space by adding decorations, artwork, or anything else that might help them to stay motivated and be inspired.
7. If possible, the learning space should only be used for learning and doing homework. If this is not possible, and you’ll be using a shared or multipurpose space, do what you can to signal to your child when it’s time to learn. Clear away all other materials from that space, have your child’s resources s at hand, keep it tidy, and ensure there is no distractions. Having decorations that are only used when learning could also help signal to your kids that it’s time to learn.

If you have several children  and limited space, try staggering the use of the shared space by giving each child a timetable for using the space. Give each child a box to organise and store their resources . They can take this box and set up in various spaces as needed.

When accessing home learning for a long period of time, be sure to include time for breaks, meals, and physical activity in your timetable. Be generous with the number of short breaks during learning time, especially with younger children!

Remember that as parents you are not teachers, you will be doing your absolute best to support your child in home learning whatever the circumstances. Make sure you take time for yourselves as adults and tell yourselves you are doing an amazing job!