admin.hrs@ebor.academy | 01904 806620
Haxby School Logo
EborAcademyTrustlogoWHITE_150

Letter to Parents

30 March 2020

 

Dear Parent and Carers

 

We know and understand that you will be feeling stressed, overwhelmed and under pressure by everything that’s happening in the world right now. We don’t want you to be overly concerned about the work being sent/put online for your child to complete. We wanted to give you our perspective on this. We hope this will go some way towards alleviating any worries you may have.

A few things:

What you are doing is not home-schooling. This is an unprecedented, emergency situation impacting the whole world and we need to keep some perspective.  What we send home are activities which will keep the children busy and should be straight forward.

You are, and have always been, your child’s primary educator. If you decide that your child isn’t going to engage with anything that has been set or sent home and is going to spend the entire time playing, drawing or watching T.V, then that is your choice. That is your right. There is nothing to stress or feel guilty about.

What we are sending are things we feel are of interest to the children.

It is absolutely not possible to teach your child the things they would learn in class and work from home at the same time. If you’re trying to do that, please give yourself a break. You can absolutely have activities where your child learns, but your focus is your job, and survival.

Answers to a few questions:

Q: My school has set lots of work, how am I supposed to get through it all?

A: You’re not, don’t try. It’s there if you need it. Some parents want a little and some want a lot – it is all optional.

Q: Someone else in my child’s class has already completed everything and we haven’t even started. Will my child fall behind?

A: Even if all were equal in terms of time, support and number of children (which it’s not) all children learn at different rates. In class there’s a wide range of levels in all subjects, there’s different paces and there are many children working at different levels and pace. Just do what is right for you.

Your child will not fall behind. If children could all learn new concepts without specific teaching we wouldn’t need teachers. The children will cover this work again – multiple times.

Q: How can I get three lots of work done with 3 children of different ages?

A: You can’t, stop trying! If they’re old enough try to get them to do little bits independently. Otherwise try to do something they can all engage with, reading a story together, some free writing, baking etc.

Q: What’s the bare minimum amount of work you would expect?

A: As much as you can manage, we are all in survival mode and need to prioritise staying healthy. Your child’s teachers are human too, we understand the challenges.

Q: If we can’t do much what would you prefer us to do?

A: – A bit of reading every day, either independently, reading to them or listening to an audio book.

Some free writing every now and again.

Practical hands on maths; cooking, cleaning, maths games etc

Fine motor work; lego, playdough, cutting, tidying away small toys etc

Physical exercise every day.

Some art/something creative. This doesn’t need to be guided.

If old enough, start a project. Research something and present it to the rest of the family.

If younger, lots of imaginative free play.

You are doing enough, you are loving your children and supporting them through this difficult time. Look after yourselves. Minimising stress is absolutely vital at a time like this for your own mental health. Don’t let this be something that adds more stress.

We are all in this together!

The Haxby Road Team!

 

About the Author