Ideas for helping your child learn at home

Reading with your child

Oxford Owl

BBC – CBBC

Stories to Grow by

Hungry Little Minds

Tiny Happy People

Look Say Sing Play

Reading Agency Hub

Book Trust home time

National Shelf Service
A YouTube broadcast running Monday to Friday at 11am each day, helping children and families discover new, diverse reading experiences with books recommended by librarians.

Visiting museums and landmarks around the world from your own home

Visit museums and landmarks around the world including:

• The British Museum, London
• Guggenheim Museum, New York
• National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul
• Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
• The Eiffel Tower, Paris
• Stonehenge, England
• The White House, Washington

Supporting children’s language development

Tiny Happy People

Early Years Talk Homework

Talk To Your Baby

I Can

National Literacy Trust

Ideas for activities

Activities on Pinterest

Science based activities

Classroom secrets

Talking to your child about coronavirus

Coronavirus booklet for children (PDF, 1.3MB)

How to talk to children about coronavirus

Free coronavirus book by Gruffalo illustrator Alex Scheffler
A free information book explaining the coronavirus to children.

Online Applications - Helpful guidance for parents and carers of young children on using apps

Home learning environment early years apps: parent guidance

Toddlers and tablets: Ten first steps

Smart parenting in the digital age

Exploring play and creativity in young children’s use of apps: A guide for parents

A guide for parents to the Early Years Foundation Stage

A guide for parents to the Early Years Foundation Stage (PDF, 2.9MB)

Help your child get ready for school

Help your child get ready for school leaflet (PDF, 1.1MB)

The Hug Support Group

The Hug is a community group focused on parents, we care about their wellbeing and mental health. It is a safe, non-judgmental, inclusive project where the aim is to cater to the needs of the attendees, allowing discussions and offering help.

We welcome any parent of any age group, Children are welcomed as well. Our group is mostly attended by mothers between 20 and 45 years old, their children are usually below 5 years old. 

We provide emotional and practical support. Signposting to services, individual support when needed. We listen and welcome parents’ problems, questions and concerns, we discuss about what parents feel relevant or we propose some discussion topics.

We use Zoom for now, but hope to welcome back parents at the Gascoigne Children Centre at some point in the future.

Every Monday at 11 am.
Participants can email thehugbarking@gmail.com to receive the Zoom link.

British Library's Discovering Children's Books

Aimed at primary school children, teachers and book-lovers of all ages, Discovering Children's Books explores the history and rich variety of children’s literature, through treasures from the British Library, Seven Stories, Bodleian Libraries and the V & A. It has a whole bank of creative activities for children of all ages, from creating your own comic to making a miniature book or inventing a superhero.

50-50 LAB

50-50 LAB is a successful attitude and effort enhancing, character skill based, personal development system.

Parent/carers use LAB Home with their children to embed social skills, improve behaviour, reduce anxiety and build confidence.

Video - Introducing 50-50 LAB to parents and carers:

Video - Introducing 50-50 LAB to young people:

How to sign up to and use 50-50 LAB for free (PDF, 1.8MB)

50-50 LAB website

Raspberry Pi Foundation - Learn at home initiative

Raspberry Pi Foundation have launched a new, free Learn at home initiative to support parents and young people with coding at home. You don’t need any coding experience to join in, and all of their resources and activities are free forever.

Every Monday, they release new themed code-along videos about projects designed for all levels of ability, and every Wednesday, they host a live coding session. They also provide support tutorials for parents interested in learning about coding tools such as Scratch and Python, and over 200 coding projects with step-by-step instructions that are accessible online at any time - all for free.

Sign up now to start receiving free activities suitable to your child's age and experience straight to your inbox.