Social media is currently being flooded with a constant stream of advice, blogs and free programmes about how to assist your children with learning at home. It can be incredibly overwhelming and may leave you wondering exactly what to do and expect at this very challenging and unique time in our world.  As a mother and an educator, I draw on my knowledge of child development and experience. In my conversations with friends and colleagues, feel reassured that we are all grappling with the realities of home learning and I want to help settle any concern that you may have.

The Junior School team have worked extensively over the past few weeks to create a programme of learning that is accessible to all students online. The offerings in the programme are directly linked to your child’s next steps in their learning sequence and are reflective of the scope and sequence of learning our programme follows. We are proud that these experiences provide excellent skill development, are easy to access and are enjoyable for our students to engage in. Thank you for your positive feedback.

Whilst our programme of learning is important for your children to engage with, I want to reassure you and emphasise to families who have multiple children, perhaps working from home, or simply are struggling to assist their child, that the learning your home environment can provide is equally as enriching. Play and discovery, cooking a meal together, building a Lego model, cutting, making structures and models, playing with siblings and reading a book are all rich learning experiences.

It is important that during these times you are guided by the following:

1. Emotional wellbeing of a child is incredibly important right now
2. Let your child lead their learning
3. Participate in the set online programme, for one to up to three hours a day, depending on the age of your child
4. Remember that learning is achieved through play
5. Don’t put pressure on yourself

I want to assure you that doing your best at home is simply enough. The mental health of your family is vital and this is the priority right now.

We will continue to provide you with advice and useful links to support your child’s learning at home. Please use this excellent Learning from Home resource from the Department of Education, which will be helpful for you as you establish a new routine for your family.