Home Learning

Welcome to our Home Learning Zone. 

Keeping In Touch

During this difficult time, we want to stay in touch with all of our families. We send out a lot of very important information via TheSchoolApp including details on how to access our live online sessions. It is important that as well as have the app installed that you have activated it. If the app isn't activated you will not receive these messages. For details on installing the app and how to activate it please click the link below:

The School App A Parents Guide

• The School App A Parents Guide

Teachers will be phoning families  to support you. If you are not able to answer the phone then please email your child's class teacher to arrange an alternative time. Please also use the email address should you have any queries on the work your child is doing at home. 

We would like you to share your child's learning and activities at home via the Parent Engagement Aspect of Evidence For Learning.

For further information on Evidence For Learning, including how to access it and log in details please contact Emma Eaton: - e.eaton@cherryoak.bham.sch.uk

HERE TO HELP... 

Please feel free to contact us regarding any additional support you may need throughout your child's home learning. 

Jacqui H-Jones - Sensory and Behaviour Support - j.hanna-jones@cherryoak.bham.sch.uk  

Jo Gavin- Physical Support - j.gavin@cherryoak.bham.sch.uk 

Lianne Saeed - Communication Support  - l.saeed@cherryoak.bham.sch.uk

Home Learning : School Topic Spring 2 2021

Please click on the links below to access a variety of resources

Home Learning : School Topic Spring 1 2021

Please click on the links below to access a variety of resources

Minibeasts

A Simple Idea That can Get Your Kids Reading

Hello, how are you holding up?

We take our hats off to you and all the hard work it takes to raise children in today’s bonkers world. Which is why we wanted to share this brilliantly simple idea with you – turning on the subtitles can double the chances of a child becoming good at reading. Incredible isn’t it?

So the next time your child is watching TV or the tablet, there could actually be an opportunity to improve their reading skills at the same time! In fact research has shown that it can double the chance of your child leaving school as a proficient reader. You can turn them on for the whole family or most streaming services will now allow you to do it just for individual children if you like.

Schedule For Interactive Online Learning Sessions 

Please check your messages in The School app for details on how to access these sessions

Some sessions are colour coded Red and Blue. As a parent, you can choose which you would feel is most appropriate for your child. The RED sessions will be very practical, focusing on exploring resources and opportunities for sensory and child initiated play. The BLUE sessions will follow a more formal structure and offer focused work opportunities and set tasks. Please feel free to join both sessions if you feel your child would benefit from both the formal session and the free flow session.

De-escalation Techniques

Sometimes our children can display challenging behaviour. Now more than ever, for some of our children, the world is a difficult place to understand. Their normal routines have become disrupted and they may be experiencing higher levels of anxiety.

Behaviour has a function, and there could be a number of reasons for it. These may include difficulty in processing information, unstructured time, over-sensitivity or under-sensitivity to sensory stimuli, a change in routine, transition between activities, or physical reasons like feeling unwell, tired or hungry. Not being able to communicate these difficulties can lead to anxiety, anger and frustration, and then to an outburst of challenging behaviour.

We have compiled a series of videos that you can access that may help with de-escalation and help our children to manage their own anxieties. We hope you find these useful.

Speech and Language At Home Packs

The packs contain ideas based around play and daily routine to help develop your child's communication skills.  They contain simple activity ideas along with some symbols to use together. New packs will be added weekly for as long as the school closures continue. 

Using symbols at home

• You can use the symbols attached to help your child understand what you are saying by showing them a symbol as you talk.
• You can keep the sheet whole and point to the symbol you need or cut them out and show a single symbol on its own.
• You can use the symbols to offer a choice. You can use the symbols to show what is happening now and next.
• You can place the symbols in an accessible place and your child can use them to show what they want.
• Remember like any new system this can take time to embed, be consistent and show your child how to use symbols by using them yourself. Do not expect them to use it right away.
• Attached are some symbols to get you going.

• Using Symbols At Home Starter Pack

Aided Language Display Board for Activities At Home

• An ‘aided language display’ is a symbol display where all the relevant words for a specific activity are displayed on a single page in symbol form
• Ensure that symbols are easily accessible in activities
• They can be used to supplement systems already in place such as Makaton, Communication books or with purely verbal communication as they are quick to make and easy to implement
• They are a useful tool to support students to communicate in a functional way, within various activities throughout the day
• Vocabulary is organised to help combine words and build simple sentences from left to right across the display
• Certain key symbols such as ‘more’ and ‘finished’, which frequently appear on displays, should always be located in the same place each time to help the learner’s understanding and use of them. At Cherry Oak these key symbols or ‘Core Vocabulary’ are located on the left hand side of the display in yellow boxes.
• When using an Aided Language Display, or ‘ALD’ for short it is important for the person communicating with the child to use the ALD as well.

Early Language Ideas for Home - Click to be taken to the free resource page.

This free early intervention resource was designed for speech therapists to share with parents, as a way to support parents to use language strategies during play and daily routines at home.

There are four play ideas, three daily routines, and two additional activities outlined in this resource, alongside 10 language strategies. The activities suggested have been chosen as they are common toys/activities that are done in the home environment, and can be easily supported through parent-coaching therapy.

Social Stories To Help Prepare For Transition Back To School

The Stories below will help our pupils to understand that school will be very different for a while. Please share these stories with your children to help prepare them and diffuse any anxieties they may feel have about why things are not as they remember them. 

Time Capsule

We are living through History in these extraordinary times right now. Below you will find a " Time Capsule" that you can create for your future self to look back on.

• My Time Capsule

Storytime

Below are a few story books and story magazines for you to enjoy with your children at home.

Home Learning Resources & Videos From Spring 2020

A Thank You From Cherry Oak Parents & Their Families To All The Staff 

Thank You For Being Brave.