It was announced on Monday that schools in England will be shut until at least mid-February. Despite the previous insistence that schools will remain open and exams will be continuing, it was confirmed that this year’s GCSE and A-level exams have now been cancelled.

Mr Grove has confirmed that teacher-led assessments will be used to ensure grades are fair, meaning it is important to keep the drive going and make sure students don’t take this news as a way out and a signal to reduce their efforts this spring term.

Many parents, of students of all ages but especially younger students, will be preparing to return to home-schooling monitoring their children’s schoolwork. The supervision needed to ensure that there are no technical issues and now having to structure their days to accommodate schooling, can often leave parents feeling overwhelmed and like they are being thrown in the deep end. Crescent Tuition can help by offering tuition for students at all ages, for all subjects, both core and more niche to ensure that no student is falling behind and to help reassure parents.

Here are some helpful tips that will assist in the move back to online teaching:

Have a Structure

Granted this is easier said than done. Set up a reasonable and manageable timetable acknowledging that students need breaks in order to maximise learning. Treat each weekday as a school day enforcing a routine, potentially mirroring the average school day, scheduling breaks and lunchtime. Whilst it may be tempting to stay all day in Pyjamas and loungewear, it is important for students to be able to separate their home life and school, allowing them to switch off when the school day is over.

Scheduling a tutor a couple of times a week can offer the motivation and structure needed to help students remain focussed and up to date with the curriculum. Online tuition in this third lockdown can also help go over content, covered by the class teacher during the week, to verify that all the relevant information has been taught.

Don’t Compare your Online Learning set up

It can be easy to feel that your online learning setup is inadequate in comparison to those all over social media. It is crucial to acknowledge that this is often staged and not an accurate indication of what is happening behind the scenes. It is understandably going to be a frustrating time for everyone, returning to lockdown with schools being shut and the novelty wearing off. So, it important to remember everyone is going through similar emotions and frustrations.

Utilise Resources

It is important to realise that parents often have responsibilities such as their own working life. As a result, it may be beneficial for parents to utilise other resources allowing time to recuperate and focus on their personal commitments.

The BBC is offering curriculum content on TV every weekday from Monday 11^th January. This may be a great resource to incorporate into the student’s timetable and allow parents to have a break from online learning or keep students occupied whilst they are working. The timetable is as follows:

Primary school level from 09:00 to 12:00 on CBBC (these include BBC Live Lessons and BBC Bitesize Daily)
Secondary school / GCSE level providing at least two hours of programming on BBC Two

Other resources can be found at the Oak National Academy (https://www.thenational.academy/) offering free online resources collated by teachers on a range of topics.

Crescent Tuition can also provide individualised and bespoke resources corresponding to the curriculum the student has been given. This will ensure the student is making the progress expected and that they fully understand the information presented.