"Expect great things of your children and yourselves. This method of teaching will give your child strong foundations for learning and inspire a love of lifelong learning to come. It may seem hard work at times but the rewards and the learning taking place are more than worth it."

Wolsey Hall parent

Creating the right environment

When home learning it is useful to distinguish between different times of the day. When are we in 'home' mode? When are we in 'homeschool' mode? By having an area that is always used for homeschooling, and keeping all your child's homeschooling equipment stored in the same place each day you are helping to create the right homeschooling environment for your child.

It is important that they know when homeschooling is starting and finishing. Turn off and remove all distractions to help them know that their lessons are starting, and keep the area they work in tidy. If possible you can decorate the area with useful learning information - there are lots of things available on the internet to print out. For example, you could display the alphabet, numbers, vocabulary they are using in their courses, their timetable.

Planning ahead

To help your child stay focused and to ensure your home learning runs smoothly be sure to look through the lesson plans and resources in the week before the lessons will take place. This will allow you to:

Understand the lesson before sharing it with your child.
Ask your SPM or Tutor if you need any support or explanation.
Check that any links to videos are working on your device.
Look at any videos and worksheets ahead of the lesson to make sure you understand.
Make a list of any equipment you may need to prepare, and organise this before the lesson takes place.
Print any materials that you will need for the lesson.

10 Steps to Developing an Engaging Lesson Plan

Structure

Young learners benefit from having a structure to their day. Wolsey Hall provides a suggested timetable for the courses that your child is taking, but most children also have other commitments outside of their Wolsey Hall courses, such as sporting opportunities, instrumental lessons, creative or visual arts, as well as times for socialising with others. It will help your child to know how their day is structured - young children are often keen to know what is coming next. Creating an overview of their day including all of their learning and activities is a helpful tool. It helps develop a routine at home, as well as helping your child to understand sequencing and time.

How to support your child's online learning - Children's Health

Breaktimes

Regular, short breaks can help a student to focus, increase their productivity, and reduce their stress levels. The younger the student, the more breaks they may need throughout the day. A break can be as short as 3-5 minutes in length and involves giving their brain a break from learning. During a short break, you may choose to do some exercises, play a quick game or have a quick snack. During longer breaks, you may choose to play, go for a walk or some other kind of exercise, have a meal or provide 'free time' for your child to choose what they would like to do.
Lego says playtime benefits parents as much as your kids

"It takes a bit of time to get used to the pace, but you will get there."

Wolsey Hall parent

Useful documents:

Managing English lessons

Marking and Feedback guide for parents

Advice for English as an additional language learners