parent/carer Guide
Learning from home
To provide learning continuity for your child, it is important they have as much routine and certainty as possible. School plays a large role in your child’s routine. To support learning at home, you’re not required to be a subject expert or educator. Your role is to partner with school to support your child’s home learning. You will be provided with a carefully considered balance of online and offline activities.
Teachers will be available during school hours to support home learning. Please contact them through appropriate channels for assistance. Please remember to check in with your child's teacher via Seesaw if your child is working from home.
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School Responsibilities
School responsibilities include:
communicating with you and students about what students and parents need to do
communicating with you and providing learning activities for students to do at home
using their normal communication tools such as the school newsletters, emails and other online tools
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Parent/Carer Responsibilities
Parent/carer responsibilities include:
establishing routines and expectations
providing a comfortable space for students to work in
providing a level of supervision appropriate to each student's stage of development
monitoring communications from teachers
seeking out and communicating with school staff as different needs arise and helping students communicate proactively with teachers if they cannot meet deadlines or require additional support
beginning and ending each day with a check-in
taking an active role in helping students process their learning, whilst not actually doing tasks for them
encouraging physical activity and/or exercise
checking in with students regularly to help them manage and pace their work
monitoring how much time students are spending online
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Student Responsibilities
Student responsibilities include:
establishing and/or following a daily routine for learning
identifying a safe, comfortable, quiet space in their home where they can work effectively and successfully
regularly monitoring digital platforms and communication (Google Classroom, Seesaw, email, etc.) to check for announcements and feedback from teachers
completing tasks to the best of their ability, ensuring all work is the students own
doing their best to meet timelines, commitments and due dates
seeking out and communicating with school staff as different needs arise and communicating proactively with teachers if they cannot meet deadlines or require additional support
collaborating and supporting their classmates in their learning
complying with the school's ICT Code of Conduct
complying with the Department of Education's ICT policy
Establishing routines and expectations
It’s important that you set routines and expectations as soon as learning from home begins.
This includes:
Start and end each day with a check-in
Encourage regular exercise breaks. Options could include exercise apps, dancing, floor exercises, yoga, walking around the garden or using home exercise equipment. For example, a stationary bicycle, basketball hoop, or other sporting equipment
Encourage healthy eating habits and drinking enough water
Keep normal bedtime routines for younger children. Expect the same from your older primary children too
Managing screen time and online safety
It’s important you keep a balanced approach to home learning. Time spent using digital devices for learning should be broken up with physical exercise and offline learning tasks.
It’s also important that during this period of remote learning that we maintain safe and responsible use of information and communication technologies.
This includes:
the appropriate use of digital platforms, privacy and information protection
respectful online communication
Message from our counsellor
Wow, the world sure has had some big changes lately and you may have found yourself stuck at home more than you would have liked to be... or not. Take this time to ask yourself, how are you feeling about all these changes?
Maintaining good mental health is more important than ever during these uncertain times but thankfully there is plenty of help out there and ways you can help yourself too!
Whilst I can’t see you in person at the moment, I am more than happy to provide "tele-school counselling" (telephone and videoconferencing).
Our staff are busy calling students so if you would like to get in contact with me, please let your teacher know via Seesaw. You can also call the school on (02) 4443 4251 and ask to be put through to me or email sally.willmott@det.nsw.edu.au and I’ll be in touch!
Here are some resources that might help.
Free online and telephone support and counselling to young people 12-25 and their families and friends.
Online mental health organisation for young people and their parents. Provide practical support, tools and tips.
Telephone counselling, information and referral service for parents of children ages 0 to 18.
department of education
Find out more about remote learning on the Department of Education's website.
