Home Learning - Whit Half Term and Beyond
All Saints C of E
Dear Parents/Carers
As we approach the end of another half term and a very strange and tough one at that, I wanted to update you on home learning and our intentions after the Whit half term break.
As with the Easter holidays, the teachers won’t be adding or marking tasks in Google Classroom. They have all been working flat out at home as well as in school looking after the children of critical workers and vulnerable pupils. With guidance changing regularly, they need a mental and physical rest to recuperate from their huge efforts so far and to prepare for whatever comes in the final half term (on top of reports to parents, new transition arrangements etc).
If you do wish to continue supporting your child with home learning during half term then we have lots of links and ideas on our website to help you. Our advice for priorities at home are:
Make sure your routines allow for time to spend time together having fun and relaxing.
Playing, making with your child and continuing to develop their listening, attention, language and personal skills, this is particularly important for the younger children.
Reading, reading, reading. Read to your child, support them with their reading, ask them questions. Listen to audiobooks or stories online and also use instructions etc to make things. There are thousands of ebooks on myON.
Learn anything - keep the mind active. It could be a new skill, hobby, project - anything.
The links below will take you to some excellent resources.
The first priority is of course the safety and health of children, staff and families, but we are also aware that there is a possibility that some children may not be in school for at least 5 months and we want to do all we can to limit the damage this will cause to their academic progress. When we have finalised our preparations for a possible return to school we will explain how we intend to blend together learning in school and at home. We need to ensure that what we provide is appropriate for the age of the children and is manageable for the teachers. We now have about 2/3 of the children in a Google Classroom, which is a fantastic achievement in a short time, but there are still a number of children to sign up and also a number of children who are yet to complete any tasks. It has been challenging for everyone to start using a new platform remotely and we want to help anyone who needs it, or see if an alternative is required. Please get in touch.
I know I have said this many times, but I feel it should be repeated. Thank you. Thank you to all the staff, families and children for the care, positivity and patience everyone has shown. It is very much appreciated and sets the school up well for the future, whatever that future looks like. We all work in this school because we are passionate about the futures of the children, but also because they brighten our day, make us laugh and provide us with a huge thrill when they learn something new. We are all missing them very much.
Please take care of yourselves over the half term break, keep sending us news from home and we will keep you informed as quickly as we can when we know more.
