To answer this question, I use an extract from Mr Pike's letter dated 31 March 2020. The full letter is available on D6 in the resources.

"I do understand that many of our pupils do not have access to the internet and will, therefore, be at a disadvantage. No child shall be left behind and I, therefore, wish to ask all parents to assist us in keeping their child stimulated either by completing the worksheets which have been placed online or by simply ensuring that their child does some form of Reading and Mathematics practice. Children should not be bombarded with four to five hours of work every day. A maximum of three hours of school-related activity per day is more than enough! Our pupils did not ask to be forced into this situation and parents should not feel pressured into becoming teachers.

Please set out a routine when it comes to school-related work. Ensure that there are no distractions such as television, music or other forms of distraction. Where possible, parents should be stimulating their child's thinking and not doing the work for them.

The present situation is new to all involved and the teachers are no different. We do not, however,' want the children or you, the parents to be stressed out about the work. Too much work given too soon will have a detrimental effect on your child's progress"

I hope this extract answers the question.

This is a suggested schedule for this week (6-10 April)

1. Always try and start the day by having breakfast together. Use this time to check on the emotional well-being of your son., but don't overdo the questioning.

Ask the following questions to check on this:

• Did you sleep well? If not, try and get to the reason by asking follow-up questions. Try and use a comforting tone when asking these questions.

• What can I do to help you today?

• How are you feeling about the changes that have taken place recently?

2. Sit down with your son and plan his work schedule according to the following suggestion. Always write a schedule on paper, even if it is roughly scribbled down:

• 30 minutes of IXL Mathematics practice. Follow suggested exercises that teachers have provided or complete revision exercises from the 1st term or previous grade.

• 30 minutes of Reading or Listening. This can be reading of magazines, books or online books/texts. It can also be a time where you read to your son and you can ask him questions to test his comprehension. Some teachers may provide reading that can be found in their Google Classroom.

• 30 minutes of physical activity. You can use the fantastic suggestions provided by our Head of Sport, Mr. Morgan. These resources are available on the D6 Portal and a link to the Morsport Facebook Page is found on this website. It is important for our children to remain active during this time. The old saying, "Healthy body, healthy mind", is still applicable and maybe even more so during this period of lockdown.

• 30 minutes for a break and a snack. It is also important during this time to make sure that your son is staying hydrated. He should always have a bottle of water with him.

• 30 minutes of using one of the online resources on this website. These websites are great for providing our children with diversified activities that are fun and cover topics that may not be covered by our curriculum.

• 30 minutes of other work that has been provided by the teachers on Google Classroom. It is important to go to the Stream and Classwork pages of each Google Classroom. This will show you if any new activities or material has been loaded.

• 30 minutes of IXL English practice. Follow suggested exercises that teachers have provided or complete revision exercises from the 1st term or previous grade.

3. Implement the schedule at a set time each day. A suggestion would be from 09:00 to 12:30. Always make sure that the work environment is free from distractions and that your son has all that he needs to complete the tasks for the day.

4. After your son has completed the suggested work for the day, sit down with him and have a time of discussion concentrating on the following questions:

• Which activity was your favourite?

• Which activity created the most stress? Why?

• What IXL activities do you think you should be tackling tomorrow?

• What is your favourite website that you have visited?

5. Remember that the feedback and discussion time is also a time to bond with your son. There are many other activities that you can do together during this time.

Please remember that the above schedule is only a suggestion. We don't want to overload the boys, but it is important that they do follow some sort of routine. We need our boys to be taking ownership of their work and to develop a positive work ethic.