From the announcement on Thursday 16th April, we know schools will remain closed for the next three weeks. Whether we are closed for just this half term or the full term, it is important that we support families with the home learning process.
As a leadership team, we have discussed and evaluated the structure we have implemented so far; we believe that we have not over-complicated things, knowing that working at home is very different to what can be done in a school. We have really appreciated the positive feedback from families who have engaged in what we have done. However, we have also identified where we could help make things easier for families, particularly where they have more than one child. Therefore, we will be continuing with the general structure we have created with some slight changes.
Daily Activity
Children need constant practise of basic reading and maths skills. To support this, we will continue with the use of the following programmes each day:
Lexia or Reading Plus – 20-30 minutes
Mathletics – 20-30 minutes
All children have login details to access these programmes.
Read, Write Inc (Reception and Year 1) – daily phonics via YouTube (Phase 1, 2 or 3 depending on child). Click here
Topic
Rather than having different children with different topics, we have realised that it would be easier for families to have the option of one theme for all. Consequently, we have created a ‘Summer’ theme which has a range of ideas for families across the curriculum. The attachments below provide the Theme overview, an Appendices of resources which can be used to support, and a Time Capsule activity pack.
2020 Covid-19 Time Capsule Sheets
There is no expectation about how many of these activities families will do. We also understand that they might simply provide inspiration for different activities to be done instead.
Additionally, families may find that their children are interested in something specific and they would rather follow these interests (e.g. The Olympics, The NHS, Rainbows etc.)
Basically, at this time, it is not the topic itself that is important but the process of learning. Although we know that it can be challenging to ‘home school’, all children should have the capability of doing some daily schoolwork in line with the limited amount we have provided so that when they come back to school, they have not fallen behind their classmates. If parents/carers are finding difficulty with this, they should contact the class teacher.
Reading for Pleasure
We know that, as time has gone by, children may have exhausted their books at home. Reading for pleasure is still an activity we would encourage, daily. To support this we have access to two resources which are basically online libraries.
For children in Reception to Year 3, we would encourage using Oxford Owl which has a wide range of books to choose from, organised by age. You will have to register to access it, if you have not done so already, but this requires a few simple details.
For children from Year 3 to Year 6, we now have access to a new resource called myON. There are thousands of books available and although you can’t narrow the selection by age, children have the opportunity to choose by interest. The books can also be heard as audio books which allows children to follow along with the text.
Please encourage your child to access some of the texts available to them but also feel free to read along with them.
Early Years
The expectations on the youngest with regard to what they can do through home learning is very different to older children. Nursery and Reception aged children learn through their everyday experiences and particularly through play. which allows them to develop new skills in a meaningful way. The guidance below will help families understand the types of activity they can do with their children during their normal lives which will have a huge impact on their child’s progress. It must be emphasised that what underpins all of this is the development of communication and language as well as reading. Please keep in touch with teachers through Tapestry who will be happy to provide further guidance.
