Tag Archives: schooling

How to Keep Your Child Motivated to Learn at Home

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homeschooling, home learning, lockdown, lockdown three, lockdown 3, remote learning, schooling, education, coronavirus, covid 19, After parents stepped into the shoes of a teacher in the first lockdown, there was a sigh of relief as children were finally welcomed back through the school gates in June.

But, as the virus has rapidly spread over the Christmas period, millions of primary school children will not return to education until after the February half-term, meaning it’s time for parents to re-tackle home learning once again. 

The Office for National Statistics found that the majority of British children struggled to learn from home during the first lockdown, with three-quarters of parents giving a lack of motivation as the reason why. So how can we keep our children focused this second time around? 

The team over at Essential Living have worked with Counsellor Kerry Quigley on this handy guide for parents to help keep your children motivated whilst learning from home. Kerry Quigley has been a counsellor for over 17 years, here she offers tips on keeping children mentally engaged and helping them to learn under difficult circumstances. 

 

Start and stick to a routine

 

A routine is extremely important, as not only does it give structure to your day but is also mentally beneficial. A recent study found that children feel safer and more secure when their lives have a predictable routine. 

 

Having a routine can also have a positive impact on mental wellbeing, no matter what your age (cause we’re still talking about kids here right).

 

Counsellor Kerry Quigley, who is accredited by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy said: “Children learn better in a structured routine. Where possible maintain a consistent sleep pattern, meal times and regular breaks. This will help to support your child’s concentration and energy levels.”

Your routine should be similar to a normal school day, including going outdoors, different types of skills learning and regular breaks. Here is an example you can follow: 

Or if your child’s school uploads tasks for them to complete every day, ensure they know what they have to do and that they have the equipment to complete them.

Create a rewards-based system

 

A rewards system is a great motivational tool used by teachers to encourage children to do something they may not enjoy by rewarding them for hard work and good behaviour.

 

 

Not only does it motivate but also helps improve behaviour. By deducting points for bad behaviour, this is a good alternative to another form of punishment like being sent to the naughty step. All this does is interrupts your routine and distracts workflow.

 

Counsellor Quigley believes, “It is important to remember to praise and reward their achievements. This will build upon your child’s self-esteem and encourage independence.” 

 

Unsure where to start? Here is a tutorial example with parental tips for creating a rewards system for your child: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQqGUCguWyY&feature=emb_logo 

 

Young children can benefit from sticker charts and it’s a good idea to get them involved with creating and keeping the chart up to date. Allow your child to decorate a piece of paper themselves to use as their own personal rewards chart. Let them choose different coloured stickers and give them a target to achieve per day. Giving daily targets will help increase a sense of self-confidence and motivate them to reach their goal. 

For older children, try offering other types of incentives such as an extra hour of television or a small gift for their efforts.

Introduce cooking

 

Younger children love to help out around the home, and take pride in seeing something they have helped to create. So, take pride in seeing something they have helped to create. 

 

Often we focus on one learning area like maths or science, but we forget that we can choose activities that incorporate several learning concepts.

 

Choose a recipe every day including different ingredients like flour or eggs. Use scales and ask them to weigh out different measurements. This will help them to understand concepts such as weights and fractions.

 

Through cooking, you can also teach a number of other skills such as:

  • Hygiene skills issues such as the importance of washing hands 
  • Reading labels for nutritional information
  • The importance of a balanced diet and the different food groups
  • Basic safety skills such as preventing burns from hot pans and the stove
  • and making sure food is not spoiled or contaminated by reading the labels

 

Counsellor Quigley believes: “Whilst it is important to give clear instructions and expectations, this will help motivate your child and build upon your child’s self-esteem and encourage independence.”

 

Here are some Lockdown friendly recipes for kids to help you get started: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Kydl6dQIBk&feature=emb_logo

Encourage your children to stay connected to the outside world

Your child mustn’t become too disconnected from the outside world. During the first lockdown, parents became increasingly concerned that not attending school or social events would hold back their child’s development at such an early age. If your child is still struggling to adjust to this new, isolated environment reassure them that it is temporary. 

 

To help provide normality, allow them to interact online with peers. Try scheduling regular calls with a school teacher or a member of the family to discuss the progress of learning and other activities during their day. Knowing they will be speaking with someone on the outside world can give them that boost they might have needed. 

 

Counsellor Quigley said: “By empathising with your child’s feelings this will help them to feel heard and understood, and also support a positive relationship between you and your child.”

 

For any more advice or guidance from Counsellor Quigley, you can contact her through the Glister Counselling website: https://glister.uk.com/contact-us/

 

Thanks to Essential Living: https://www.essentialliving.co.uk/

 

Has Your Child Regressed Academically? Try The LeapFrog LeapStart

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As millions of children return to full time education this month, a new poll of parents suggests the extent to which the nation’s children have regressed academically, following months of being at home.

leapfrog leapstart

Despite the best efforts of hard pushed parents to homeschool, 45 percent said their child had lost out on their overall education, with 44 percent saying they found it hard to keep their child concentrating on school work in the home environment.

In fact, 45 percent say their child’s handwriting has deteriorated and a further 44 percent claiming their child’s spelling had got worse, according to the findings.

I was excited to review the Leapfrog LeapStart.  I am always looking for ways to educate my children and help them learn. I find teaching children is about sparking their imagination. They get bored easily and you always have to come up with new ways and angles to keep them learning. 

The Leapfrog LeapStart is a brilliant interactive learning system.  There are different books you can buy to put in the LeapStart and help your child learn. The books click in easily and the system is easy to use. It supports your child from preschool to primary school. The stylus is perfectly designed for children to grip. 

The system comes with a preschool sampler book but there are plenty more books to buy. There are over fifty key school and life skills it teaches your child. From maths, music, and reading. The LeapStart really engages your child. This is a innovative system and I cannot recommend it enough. 

According to the survey, of 1,000 parents with children between the ages of two and seven, commissioned by educational toy brand LeapFrog, as many as 49 percent fear their child’s social skills have suffered following six months without nursery or school.

A further 39 percent said they had not managed to get their children to regularly read, with 34 percent claiming their child had lost all interest in reading since schools shut – and 33 percent admitting their child had barely picked up a book this year.

 

In fact other important skills have suffered too, as 40 percent of parents said their child’s maths had deteriorated, causing them concerns about how they will understand basic number work this term.

 

Overall, 41 percent of parents have major concerns that their child is currently academically behind where they need to be during this term.

 

Worryingly, more than one in ten (12 percent) said their child had completely lost interest in learning.  And following almost six months without attending nursery and school, it’s no surprise that both parents and children are struggling to maintain focus and find new ways of engaging in the curriculum.

For parents who are concerned their children may be behind in their development, there are plenty of resources available, including the LeapFrog LeapStart, an interactive learning system for children from  2-7 years.

The interactive LeapStart is recommended by 97% of teachers[1][1] and can help provide learning for children at home. With over 30 activity books available, children can learn a variety of subjects including maths, science, reading and writing, making learning at home both educational and fun.

 

Mike Lynch, Senior Brand Manager at LeapFrog, who commissioned the survey commented: “It is unsurprising to see that our research indicates the majority of parents surveyed feel their children may have regressed academically during the closure of nurseries, pre-schools and primary schools this year. Despite parents’ best efforts, home schooling can be challenging.

 

At LeapFrog, we are passionate about supporting children’s learning and development in the early years. Our LeapStart interactive learning system engages children through colourful, imaginative activity books, complete with a magic stylus that triggers audio. Designed to build key skills such as counting, problem solving, reading and writing, the LeapStart is an essential home learning tool.”

Research by leading educational toy brand, LeapFrog, has revealed that six in ten parents believe their child has regressed academically this year due to schools closing because of COVID-19.

Recommended by 97% of teachers, the interactive LeapStart is great way to combat this, boosting learning through play at home, while supporting the national curriculum in the early years. With over 30 activity books available, children can choose from a variety of subjects, including science, reading, writing, problem solving and more. Add to this little ones’ favourite characters, including Mickey Mouse, Elsa, Peppa Pig and Paw Patrol’s Chase, learning at home has never been such fun!

Annabelle Boto, KS1 and KS2 teacher, commented: 

“The LeapStart is a fantastic way to spark curiosity and love of learning in children throughout the primary age phase. The technology is simple yet stimulating, capturing children’s attention, and then allowing them to use their intuition to access a plethora of entertaining and educational resources. The stylus is useful for the development of fine motor skills, and is an excellent tool allowing the child to navigate through the books.  

Each book provides a different experience, LeapStart is successful in finding the correct balance between entertaining the children, and educating them. Several options of tasks means there is something on offer for everyone. The activities help children to work on their problem solving abilities, as well as building their confidence in an educational situation, and increasing their ability to concentrate on the task in hand.  

The books largely reflect the KS1 curriculum, therefore providing an excellent way for children to prepare and consolidate what they are learning in school. Early years children love the LeapStart, it provides a fantastic opportunity for children to familiarise themselves with problems over all different subjects, inspiring them to give things a go and recognise how fun and exciting learning can be.”  

 

The LeapFrog LeapStart is available here.

How School Bosses Spend Your Millions

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Exeter_High_School_(New_Hampshire)An investigation by Channel 4 Dispatches can reveal that some bosses of academy schools are spending taxpayers’ money on luxury hotels, top-end restaurants, first class travel and executive cars.

The Academies programme may have started under Labour, but it was pushed through a rapid expansion by David Cameron. In just five years the numbers have grown from 600 to more than 5000, they are now controlled by trusts and run like businesses. Over 3,000 of these schools are part of chains known as multi-academy Trusts, which are in control of millions of pounds of taxpayer’s money.

Expenses:
More than £14 billion of public money now flows directly to Academy Trusts. For the first time, the expenses of some of those running thousands of Britain’s academy schools can now be disclosed following a raft of Freedom of Information requests.

Dispatches looked at the expenses of more than 100 Academy Trusts, they reveal:
• The chief executive of another Trust spent almost £1000 on hotel bills, including a £245 stay at a luxury golf resort in Cheshire
• The executive principal of a Trust spent more than £1400 on two hotel bills including £909 at the Park Plaza in London
• One Trust pays a monthly Broadband bill for executive principal’s home in France
Research by Dispatches shows that largest 40 Academy Trusts have spent more than £1m of public money on executive expenses since 2012.

One of the most notable uses of taxpayer’s money is by Ian Cleland of the Academy Transformation Trust in Birmingham, which runs 22 schools. Mr Cleland is paid £180,000 per year. The Academy’s expenses reveal that he spent 3,000 on first-class travel and over £1,000 on restaurant bills. The Trust also pays for the use of his XJ Premium Luxury V6 Jaguar car including around £3000 on items like new tyres, a vehicle health check and insurance for himself and his wife. His expenses include a meal at Marco Pierre White totalling £471 and Bank totalling £703.45.

The Academies Transformation Trust said they are “committed to being… transparent” and to “achieve value for money”. They confirmed the credit card is only used for business purchases, including work-related expenses for other members of staff. The most efficient rail fare is booked wherever possible, his role “requires significant, regular travel… hence the car maintenance costs…” which are paid for by the Trust. He is “reimbursed for his business mileage only”.

Margaret Hodge, former chairman of the Public Accounts Committee said: “This money is supposed to be there for the education of our children… the governance system is inadequate, there ought to be proper oversight so these things don’t happen.”

The Department for Education said academies are “subject to stricter oversight and accountability than council-run schools” and that it “proactively oversees academy governance and… spending.”

Salaries:
Dispatches has found that more than half of largest 50 chains pay their chief executives more than the Prime Minister (£143,000).

Last year the chief executive of the Aspirations Academies Trust which runs 12 schools trust pays its chief executive and Founder Stewart Kenning a total package of £225,000 and his wife Paula Kenning £175,000 as executive principal and Founder.

The Co-Founder and President of the Aspirations Academy Trust, Dr Russell Quaglia is based in the USA. In the past three years the US organisation that he founded was paid more than £200,000 by the Trust. Dr Qualiga’s standard rates show that an average visit to the UK costs $8,300 for travel, hotels and meals, consultancy rates start at $8,000 per day and rise to $15,000. When added together it equals $190,000, approximately £114,000. He says that he gives the Trust a substantial discount, only charging around £90,000 per annum.

The Aspirations Academy Trust said, “Dr Quaglia is a highly respected figure in International Education.” The figures quoted “represent value for money” and ignore the free support that is not costed. “The amounts charged are significantly below cost” and “in line with the Department of Education rules.”

On Mr and Mrs Kenning, the Trust said, “The Kenning’s pay is not “out of line” with their previous earnings as “principles of outstanding schools” and “reflects the responsibility” in running a £33m organisation “with over 500 staff”.

Related Party Transactions:
Dispatches have discovered that Academy chains have spent millions of pounds of public money with business deals which are in some way connected to the Trust.

Out of 100 Trusts Dispatches surveyed, around half had paid money to directors, trustees or their relatives through business deals or even direct employment. In one year these related party transactions added up to more than £9 million of taxpayer’s money. These deals are permitted as long as they take place at cost, and the parties involved do not make a profit.

Examples uncovered by Dispatches include:
• One Trust awarded a £123,000 two year contract to the chairman’s daughter for clerking services.
• Another Trust spent more than £100k over two years to a recruitment firm owned by the Trust’s managing director.
• One trust spent £695,000 in one year on IT services from a firm majority owned by one of its members.
Margaret Hodge told Dispatches: “The Department for Education should be much tougher on them, should not allow them to take place… I just think it’s wrong.”

The Department of Education said these transactions “can save money” and “must be disclosed” in academies’ published, audited accounts. “In the vast majority of academies’ transitions” no concerns had been raised, but where they are they “will investigate” and “take swift action”.

HOW SCHOOL BOSSES SPEND YOUR MILLIONS: CHANNEL 4 DISPATCHES – Monday 25th July, Channel 4, 8pm