Today’s message features a few recommendations around safeguarding…
Own It
We mentioned this yesterday, but it’s worth another mention today.
We reckon any child with a mobile phone of other device should be regularly using the BBC’s Own It app or website. It’s a really good start to helping your child lead a happy and healthy life online.
Thinkuknow: Summary of support and home learning ideas
With so much guidance and resources to support you in safeguarding children online and offline during COVID-19, it can be overwhelming to know where to start. To help make life a little bit easier, Thinkuknow have signposted key guidance and organisations.
They’ve also created some home activity packs that you and your child could use – this could be in addition to the teacher’s three home learning activities, or instead of one of them.
Video chat during isolation: new for parents and carers
Many of you have mentioned to us that your child (mainly those in Y5 and Y6) is using video-chats as a way to work with classmates during the home learning:
- maybe to share ideas at the start
- to take a break and motivate themselves mid-way through the home learning
- once done, to review their work (like checking answers, for example)
Of course, video-chats right now are a good way to stay in touch with friends and family, too (lots of teachers meet up online on Wednesdays for an online quiz!).
Two new Parent Info articles look at some of the things parents and carers should think about to make sure their child’s experience of video chat is safe and fun:
- Video chatting: a guide for parents and carers of primary school-age children
- Video chatting: a guide for parents and carers of secondary school-age children
NSPCC resources
The NSPCC has created some resources to support you during this difficult time. Topics include:
- talking to a child worried about coronavirus
- parents working from home
- children staying home alone
- lockdown and separated parents
- how to cope with tantrums and other difficult behaviour
What children are saying to Childline about coronavirus
You might be interested to read more about what children have shared with Childline during this pandemic.It might help you to consider what support your child might need at this time.
And finally today…
In our recent messages, we’ve included a lot of writing from our older children across Sphere Federation. Here’s just one of lots of examples of extreme reading that happened over Easter… This clip is of a younger pupil at Moortown doing some impressive reading and hula-hooping!