This page provides resources for parents/caregivers to support their children in Years Preschool-6 with flexible learning
Click the categories below for further information:
How you can support your child
Students need routine and certainty. You can support your child by:
- creating clear routines and expectations
- providing a safe and quiet space to work in
- supervising them at a level appropriate to their development
- checking in with them often to help manage and pace their work
- monitoring how much time they spend online and balancing this with physical activity
- checking communications from teachers and staying in contact with your child’s school or early learning centre.
Setting up a learning environment at home
Every home is different. A quiet and comfortable learning space will help your child learn.
Space and environment
Some students may have usual places where they do their homework. This space might not be suitable to study or learn at for a long time.
The best learning space is:
- a shared family space, such as a lounge room or dining room (not in their bedroom)
- a place that can be quiet at times
- near a strong internet or wifi signal
- somewhere that an adult is present and monitoring the learning
- near the items your child needs for learning, including stationery and power points
- free from trip hazards
- open, with natural light and without glare
- set up with a comfortable chair and desk or table.
Routines and expectations
Setting up expectations and routines will help your child learn. You can do this by:
- maintaining normal morning and evening routines
- structuring the day with regular mealtimes and bedtimes
- setting up the day based on their regular schedule or timetable
- starting and ending each day with a ‘check-in’
- encouraging regular food and drink break times throughout the day, as well as small breaks for stretching or to move around
- checking in with them throughout the day to help keep them focused and on track
- following their usual school timetable
Communicating with your child
You can stay involved with your child’s learning by asking them questions. This helps them to manage the instructions they receive from the school and to set priorities for their learning.
At the start of the day, ask:
- What are you learning today?
- What are your learning targets or goals?
- How will you be spending your time?
- What resources do you need?
- What support do you need?
At the end of the day, ask:
- What did you learn from today?
- What did you enjoy about today’s activities?
- What was challenging? How can we work through the challenge?
- What went well today? Why were they good?
- Are you ok? Do you need to ask your teacher for something?
- Do you need help with something to help tomorrow be more successful?
Wellbeing
Learning from home for a long time can cause stress and anxiety. Here are some tips to help you look after your child’s wellbeing. Make sure everyone understands what’s happening. Talk openly and calmly to your child and the entire family about what is happening. Understanding the situation will help to reduce anxiety.
Exercise regularly
Encourage regular exercise. Some ways you can do this are:
- physical activity apps
- dancing
- floor exercises
- yoga
- walking around the garden
- home exercise equipment
- playing with the family pet
- playing ball games or playing with other sporting equipment.
Exercise is proven to help with stress and depression.
Connect with family, loved ones and friends
Encourage your child to keep in regular contact with loved ones, family and friends via telephone, email or social media (where appropriate). This will help them to feel connected and not isolated.
Eat and sleep healthily
Keep regular healthy eating habits and normal bedtime routines.
Listen carefully to your child
Respond to and answer your child’s concerns or worries by listening carefully and asking questions before responding. This will help you to work out what’s wrong and respond clearly. Make sure you meet their problem with sympathy and care. Answer calmly and confidently. If this isn’t possible, and you need time to step away from the situation, let your child know that you need some adult thinking time and will come back to their question.
(information taken from https://www.education.sa.gov.au/our-learning-sa/advice-families/setting-up-home)
Student Wellbeing Leader
Our Student Wellbeing Leader, Michelle Lee, is available via phone and email if you need any further assistance. Call 83292300 or email: Michelle.Lee215@schools.sa.edu.au
For more wellbeing resources, visit our page here.
Timetable
Preschool
Preschool educators are expected to program and deliver learning experiences related to the five learning outcomes, from the Early Years Learning Framework. Educators will offer a suggested daily schedule for their normal preschool days and post on Seesaw the relevant activities.
Primary School (R-6)
Teachers are expected to deliver student learning in each of the 8 curriculum areas through mainstream and specialist teachers. Teachers will offer a suggested timetable and will provide relevant resources on a daily and/or weekly basis.
While we encourage students to work within the scheduled timetable we can not expect this, therefore lesson expectations should be such that students can determine their own timetable. Work set will be expected to be completed in the weekly timetable unless otherwise notified by the teacher.
Curriculum
PRESCHOOL
● Early Years Learning Framework: Educators will design and deliver learning experiences aligned to the five learning outcomes, and the Literacy and Numeracy indicators. Educators may need to change your child’s individual learning goal to suit their new learning environment.
● Students receiving speech support: Children receiving support will be provided with resources to assist their learning at home. Educators will deliver elements of intervention programs to support individuals with their learning and goals via Google Hangout Meet.
PRIMARY SCHOOL R-6
● Core Subjects (English, Maths, Science, HASS, Technologies, Visual & Media Art): For these subjects, work will be designed and delivered by the classroom teacher in line with the timing allocated in the provided timetable. This may also be achieved through inquiry or interdisciplinary approaches where subjects are combined together. This will be delivered via a combination of online and physical resources and will include differentiation.
● Specialist Subjects (Arts, HPE, LOTE): For these subjects, specialist teachers will design and deliver units of work for each year level of school in line with the timing allocated in the timetable. These will be delivered via Seesaw, physical resources and/or Google Classroom.
● Intervention and Support: Students receiving support will be provided with resources to assist their learning at home. SSOs will deliver elements of intervention programs and teachers will direct SSOs to support individuals with their learning and goals via Google Hangout Meet. Information and resources for Term 2 will be sent home to families before the commencement of Term 2.
Assessment
Assessment in a flexible learning model should be frequent and varied, focusing on the learners’ achievement in terms of instructional goals and objectives. Therefore, through technology teachers can facilitate the process of assessment effectively and efficiently. Teachers must choose appropriate assessment opportunities that allow the teacher to monitor progress and the student to receive timely feedback on their progress. (Kim, Smith & Maeng, 2008).
PRESCHOOL
Formative Assessment: Educators are to work with families on a shared observation model based on the Early Years Learning Framework Outcomes and the Literacy and Numeracy Indicators.Educators will support parents by analysing the posts uploaded to Seesaw from home and providing formative feedback and questions to deepen learning.
PRIMARY SCHOOL
Formative and Summative Assessment: Teachers will continue to provide tasks that provide opportunities to make formative assessments to assist in planning and programming as well as summative tasks.
Assessment Expectations
Teachers are to:
● Set tasks at the beginning, during and end of a unit of work in line with A-E standards
● Share success criteria and/or A-E rubrics with students
● Use the data to inform planning and next steps
● Provide timely feedback to the student on submitted work
● File the submitted assessment tasks in Seesaw under the relevant assessment folder for Evidence of Learning
Students are to:
● Complete given tasks in allocated time frame
● Submit tasks as instructed by their teacher to Seesaw journal or Google Classroom
● Review feedback given
Parents are to:
● Support and monitor student completion of tasks
● Assist with uploading tasks to journals
Technology Platforms
PRESCHOOL:
Seesaw is to remain the primary technological platform for learning programs and family communication by all educators.
Use of Google Meet will be used to support our speech intervention program. For children who will be required to use Google Meet, instructions will be sent home on how to access this from home along with any necessary resources.
PRIMARY SCHOOL:
Seesaw is to remain the primary technological platform for learning programs and family communication by all Primary Teachers. Teachers will provide work in a variety of modes, Seesaw being one of them.
Use of additional technological platforms will be utilised to support learning and intervention programs. This includes Google Classroom and Google Meet. Google Classroom is already being utilised by many of the students who will be accessing this platform. For students who will be required to use Google Meet, this has been added to your iPad interface and instructions will be sent to you if applicable.
Please take note of the section below (Contacting the School) that outlines Seesaw messaging.
Contacting the School
During a period of flexible learning, it is crucial that open communication exists between students, teachers and parents.
For general queries, your child’s teacher is the first point of contact. The preferred method for this communication is via Seesaw message.
ICT support will continue to be provided through the existing channels. Please call the school as per normal for support or email dl.1907.ICTadmin@schools.sa.edu.au For those who have limited or no access to the internet at home a solution will be negotiated. Please contact the relevant Assistant Principal if you need support with this.
In the event that you aren’t receiving a response, please contact the school on 8329 2300 for the query to be passed to the relevant level of school Assistant Principal.
PRESCHOOL:
Educators will be available to contact throughout the week in allocated time slots as outlined by their communication with you. They will make regular contact with families throughout the week in a range of different ways. This may be through feedback on their posts on Seesaw, a phone call or an email.
Please note that during this time educators will be working with children who are at preschool, planning, making observations, providing feedback and performing regular duties. Whilst they will endeavour to be available to answer questions, it may not always be immediate.
PRIMARY SCHOOL (R-6):
Teachers are expected to be available for student contact throughout the week in allocated time slots as outlined by their communication with you. Teachers will make regular contact with students and families throughout the week in a range of different ways. This may be through feedback on their learning, Seesaw messages, a phone call, email or Google Classroom.
Please note that during this time teachers will be working with students at school, planning, assessing work, providing feedback and performing regular duties. Whilst they will endeavour to be available to answer questions, it may not always be immediate. To assist us in reducing the number of notifications and messages teachers are receiving at this time, we ask you to assist your child in the first instance, try alternative tasks first and group questions in one message.
Online Resources/Extension Activities
The Our Learning SA Website produced by the Department for Education has a growing range of additional resources and extension activities that are categorised by learning area.
In addition, the importance of reading cannot be underestimated and it’s recommended that students complete Daily Independent Reading Time (DIRT) in order to improve their reading fluency. Reading aloud is important as well and you are encouraged to schedule a time to listen to your child read on a daily basis.