Home learning

Remote Learning Guide

At St Anne's Infants' we aim to support your child with their education throughout the most uncertain times.  It is our aim that whether at school or at home, your child will continue to have access to a high quality education.  As the Coronavirus pandemic could potentially cause disruption to school life for a number of months, we would like to ensure that no child falls behind due to absence from school.

 

We understand that each family circumstance is different and we would like to work with all our families to help them overcome any problems or barriers to home learning.  In the 'Home Learning Guide' you can find information on what to expect if your child can not attend school because:

 

• They are at home awaiting a coronavirus test result for themselves or a family member
• They are at home self isolating because a family member has tested positive for coronavirus or they have been requested to via NHS Track and Trace
• They are at home alongside their school bubble because of a positive test within the bubble
• They are at home due to a local or national lockdown and the school is closed

 

Please remember that your child should only engage in home learning if they are feeling well enough to learn.  If you have any questions regarding information in the guide, please contact your child's class teacher or the school office.

 

Take a look at what parents have said about our remote learning offer and find the answers to the following questions below:

• Why isn’t the work sent weekly so we can organise the week to suit us?  
• Why can’t we have fewer, longer Zooms? 
• Why do you use two different platforms for Reception and Key Stage 1? 
• Why hasn’t my child had any interaction with their teacher? 
• Why is there a deadline on Google Classroom activities? 
• My child isn’t getting enough challenge – can we have more work?  
• It is a lot of work and it is making me anxious that we don’t get it all done. 
• Can I come and get reading books for my child? 

Videos from staff

Take a look at the Video Resource Centre. Here you will find lots of videos of staff reading their favourite stories for the children as well as helpful videos about phonics, maths strategies, letter formation, early reading and of course the actions to our school song, Reach For The Stars! 

Tips on doing jobs or playing with your children

We wanted to share a tool with you to help your child think and talk about the world around them. The TRUST approach can be used when you are talking with your child, such as when you are reading, doing jobs together or playing:

 

Take turns to talk about what you are going to do. Say things like: “I’m going to wear my red jumper today. What colour jumper would you like to wear”

Recap the plan as you are working. Say things like: “Why do you think that happened?”

Use lots of encouragement. Say things like: “What great ideas… Let’s see what happens!”

Share what you know to help your child. Say things like: “Have you learnt about…at school?”

Tune-in and be interested. Say things like: “I didn’t know you knew so much about…!” 

Reading

We know reading regularly can make a massive difference to children's progress but it isn’t always easy to fit it in day-to-day. Here are some easy ways you can make reading a part of every day: 

1. Don’t worry about how long you read for. Every minute spent reading makes a bigger difference than you realise!

2. Don’t worry about what your kids are reading: recipes, cereal packets, Argos catalogues… It’s all useful! Keep books and other reading materials close by.

3. Reading to kids of all ages is helpful. If your little one isn’t reading by themselves yet, read with them.

4. Ask lots of questions: Who, what, where, when and why and ask them to summarise when you’ve finished. 

Maths

We know maths can feel like a difficult subject to cover at home. The good news is that you don’t need to set aside a separate maths lesson or activity. Your child can learn maths during normal, everyday activities! Here are a few tips for how you can support maths learning every day:

 

• Board games like Snakes and Ladders or other games with numbered spaces can be great for maths learning. You can even make your own!
• Meals and snack times can be great to teach lots of concepts, like sharing, talking about time, counting how many carrots you have, estimating the number of beans or comparing sizes of potatoes. 
• Use maths words in conversation and play. This can include talking about size (“Which is bigger?”), order (“Which is first?”), shapes and more.
• Stories can be great opportunities for maths learning. One great free resource for maths stories is https://www.mathsthroughstories.org/recommendations.html but you can use other books too!
• Use manipulatives like bricks or toys of different sizes or amounts. Measuring items, scales, construction materials, puzzles, sorting and pattern materials are also great sources for discussion!