School plans for phased re-opening June 2020
Please see the letter below which outlines our current plans.
Phased Re-Opening of School June 2020
Online-Learning: Summer Term 2020
As the lock down and school closure continues, we aim to support you by providing recommended activities for the day for all classes from Nursery to Year 6. See links below for: BBC Bitesize, Oak National Academy and Hungry Little Minds.
BBC Bitesize – Free content
As you’ve probably seen, BBC Education’s new education service – BBC Bitesize Daily – launched on Monday this week.
There are 150 online lessons for Years 1-10 in English, Maths and other core subjects on the BBC Bitesize website. And there are also new Bitesize Daily programmes broadcast on BBC iPlayer and via the BBC Red Button.
There’s a guide to everything the BBC is doing to help young people study at home here. A simple guide to home learning with the BBC
There are 150 online lessons for Years 1-10 in English, Maths and other core subjects on the BBC Bitesize website. And there are also new Bitesize Daily programmes broadcast on BBC iPlayer and via the BBC Red Button.
Oak National Academy
Today has seen the launch of the Oak National Academy, this is a website that provides free lessons for all pupils, with no log-ins or passcodes required. We are now recommending that all pupils follow the daily activities on this website. There are three hours of learning per day, which can be completed at any time during the day, however, the lessons are in sequence so please be aware to always start on a Monday and work through.
Some of the activities require work sheets, we are currently working on putting together packs of these resources for collection: further information to follow.
Here is a copy of the plan for Week 1. OAK Curriculum Overview Week 1
Please follow the link below:
Nursery Activities: Children 2 to 4 Learning at Home
How to help young children learn at home
You can help your child to learn through the little things you do with them, for example:
everyday conversations
make-believe play
games with numbers or letters
reading together
involving them in the things you are doing, such as household chores, and talking with them about it
Find ideas for new things you can try at Hungry Little Minds. Click this link.
You do not need to set separate time or plan complicated activities dedicated to learning. These activities can be incorporated into everyday life and play.
You know your child best. Avoid forcing them into lengthy planned activities if they naturally respond better to a mix of shorter activities. This can stop them getting bored or frustrated and keep them active, interested and learning through things they enjoy.
Keeping active
Young children should be active for at least 3 hours a day in total.
It is also good to get some fresh air every day. If you do not have a garden and are taking children outside to exercise, make sure you follow the rules on social distancing.
While inside, there are plenty of things you can do to keep children active, such as:
playing hide-and-seek
seeing who can do the most star jumps
making an obstacle course
playing music and having a dance-off
Television and using digital devices
There are lots of ways to help your child to learn such as reading together and make-believe play. You can also use what children have watched on television or the internet to help their learning. Talk with them about what they are watching or use their favourite TV characters in other games and activities.
Digital devices such as a laptop, desktop, tablet or smartphone can help some children learn. If your child does use them, try downloading some apps that will help them learn.
Set age-appropriate parental controls on any devices young children are using and supervise their use of websites and apps. See advice on keeping them safe online.
Try sharing things your child makes with your friends and family online and encourage others to do the same. Your child might enjoy seeing things they have made on the screen or seeing what other children have done.
You can also visit Hungry Little Minds for ideas of activities to do together without using a device.
Adam Bushnell Storytelling on Youtube
For the past few days, Adam Bushnell has started posting live storytelling on Youtube. This is at 2:30pm every day this week. He’s including fun activities for primary school aged children to do afterwards with their families at home.
The link to his Youtube channel is here. Adam Bushnell
Free Daily Resources for Children
Advice, support and resources for parents teaching from home
Please click on the link to see advice.
Looking After Yourself Looking after your children
Dear Parents / Carers,
Whilst children are away from school, staff have prepared packs of work for your child to work through. The work packs are a mixture of English reading, writing and SPaG; Maths and various other tasks relating to the wider curriculum.
In addition to these work booklets, there are many useful online games and resources for you and your child to access, such as:
Curriculum Help websites
Keeping Active websites
Get Children Active – Jump Start Jonny
Joe Wicks The Body Coach Active 8
Although children will not be in school until further notice, we never stop learning! We have provided the learning packs and online resources so your child can continue their learning outside of school. In addition to this, we have been informed that the BBC is producing daily programmes for schools linked to specific year groups.
As soon as Government guidance about schools changes, we will inform you as quickly as possible via text and our school website.
As always, thank you for your continued support. Take care and our very best wishes to you all!
Yours sincerely,
Mr A. Farnell
(Head teacher)
Useful Advice and Information
View the Durham County Council Coronavirus section for latest news, updates and guidance.
