As school holidays return, parents look to homeschooling once again Leading EdTech firm MyTutor discusses top tips for parents who have found themselves back in the teaching role

The October half-term is sure to be like no other due to the impacts Coronavirus has had on education. The latest figures from the Department of Education show that 21% of secondary schools are now counted as not fully open, as pupils have been sent home in the wake of Coronavirus cases within their classes or bubbles. In light of this, many parents are looking to supplement their children's learning by homeschooling throughout the half-term.
However, parents may be concerned about the process of setting up an environment that is conducive to their child's learning process. So how can parents make sure they're on hand to help? For those who may be apprehensive about having to effectively supplement teaching at such short notice, MyTutor, the UK's leading online tutoring platform has tips to help reassure and prepare parents:

1. Set up a Space
The first thing to organise is a desk in a quiet corner of the house. Here your teen can keep their laptop, textbooks and notes – they’ll find it much easier to focus and the rest of the family can continue life as normal. Also, schools normally provide things like flashcards, exercise books and planners, so be ready to supply these yourself if necessary.

2. Keep Healthy Screen and Social Media Habits
Teens spend a lot of time on apps speaking with their friends anyway – and isolation will only increase their desire to communicate socially. While some communication will be positive for their mental health, the opposite is true when social media fuels feelings of isolation and anxiety. You’ll need to set some ground rules for how phones are used during the day, and keep an eye on your child’s mood.

3. Help them Structure their Days
Without the structure of the school day, and without the engagement of peers, motivation and energy can take a dive. Help your child set up a timetable that’ll work for them and covers the subjects they need. Divide up periods of study with active breaks. Make sure your child moves, goes outside, eats meals at the appropriate times and has offline conversations.

4. Find some Online Learning Resources
You’re likely to run into situations where your child doesn’t understand some of their course content and you’re unable to help. In these situations, having some resources ready is wise. Look up the subject specifications for the exam boards your child is studying and bookmark any online resources that can help you out. We have lots of free online study resources for kids to use – 10,000 answers for GCSE, A-Level and IB questions to be precise! Save My Exams and S-Cool are also great resources for marking schemes and past papers.

5. Look for Online Support
Self-study is an incredibly hard skill to master and secondary school pupils may struggle without someone actively explaining concepts to them. It’s worth finding an online tutor who can help your child fill in any gaps in their knowledge. MyTutor is an online learning platform offering one-to-one tuition at GCSE, A-Level and IB. Handpicked tutors give personalised learning in over 40 subjects including online English, maths and science lessons.
Online lessons are like having a face-to-face Skype call with a tutor but with an interactive whiteboard on the screen too so students can upload documents and make notes. A tutor can keep students on track with the syllabus and give them a much-needed boost of confidence in what is a confusing and challenging time.

6. Keep an Extra Eye on their Mental Health
If you have to homeschool your child, don’t panic. We’re more set-up than ever before to manage a situation like this. Remember, lots of parents (about 50,000!) choose to homeschool their kids regardless of Coronavirus. What is important is to look out for signs that your child isn’t coping mentally with a home set-up. Despondency and withdrawal or anger and higher-than-usual levels of irritability can all point to stress. There are lots of great services you can call on for support such as Kooth and YoungMinds.

www.mytutor.co.uk

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