Katie Bell – Parent Governor
Toggle Content
Toggle Content
Toggle Content
Toggle Content
Supporting your child around upsetting events /content
Talking, and reassuring your child around real-life topics such as COVID-19, the war in Ukraine, or something more personal happening in your own family is very difficult. These topics can be hard for us, as adults to get our heads around.
Children can encounter news stories, images, opinions, and ideas on a daily basis via online platforms such as facebook, Instagram and tiktok, on the TV, or in person.
Below is some ideas on how you can reassure your child when there seems to be difficult and upsetting events happening around them.
1) Find out what they know
What do they already know about the news they have heard? Listen to what they have to say, and this will help you understand how much what they have heard has affected them already.
2) Time and a place
Think about when is most appropriate to start these kinds of conversations with your children. Try to find a time when they are relaxed, and have your full attention. Not when they might be stressed about something else such as a test, or if they are about to go to sleep. Also, think about the location, somewhere where your child feels comfortable, and feels safe, as they might get emotional.
3) Keep it age appropriate.
Keep the conversation general, and try not to go into too much detail, especially with younger children.
4) Emphasise hope.
Try to find stories of hope, generosity and strength related to the event you are discussing. Talk to your child about what they can do to help or support.
5) Monitor their reaction.
Be aware of their reactions and body language. Allow them to express their own emotions in a safe, non-judgemental space.
6) Consider your own emotions.
We, as adults can also find the events of the world around us upsetting. Children develop coping skills by mirroring people around them, so if you are able to regulate, and manage your own emotions, it will help support them through worrying times.
7) Set limits.
It is hard to manage screen time and content at the best of times, but even harder when there is an event going on (such as the start of the pandemic). It becomes virtually impossible to keep your child away from content around this, but at least we can limit their exposure by using parental controls, talking about the dangers of harmful content, and enforcing screen times.
8) Take things slow.
Try not to overwhelm your child with information. Explain things one-step at a time. The first conversation should just be a simple introduction to what is going on, and then maybe wait until your child is ready, or wants to talk about it again
9) Encourage Questions.
Allow your child to be able to discuss with you openly about what they saw, rather than being angry with them for watching it. Children are still learning that everything they hear in the real world, and online is not always accurate. We want our children to be able to come to us for information, without them relying on their devices.
10) Find a balance.
Remind your child that it is healthy to take a break from their phones, and sometimes from what is happening in the world, and focus on doing something more positive. This will prevent them becoming overwhelmed by negative news.
11) Build resilience.
While our instinct may be to shield a child from upsetting content, it’s important they develop the tools to be able to cope with this, as they get older. Make sure your child knows they can always talk to you, especially if they are upset, or have seen something upsetting.
12) Identify help.
Encourage them to open up to a trusted adult, and make sure they know whom these are. It’s important a child does not feel like they are alone, and that there is always help available if and when they need it.
CBBC Newsround is an excellent and trusted resource for news stories, and explaining them at a child friendly level. It also has links to several good mental health support resources.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround
Punctuality Pointers.
Be on time for quarter to 9! School opens at this time, and all children are expected to be in class and ready to learn at nine.
Get children their own alarm clock! Work out with your child how long it takes them on a morning, so they know what time to set it. Also, think about what time they are going to bed the night before. Recommended sleep time for Primary school aged children is between 9 to 12 hours, so 10pm would be too late, but 7pm might be too early.
Get everything ready the night before – uniform, packed lunch, PE Kit, etc…
Join us even earlier? We have a Breakfast Club provision that works out to be 40p a day. For this, your child will receive breakfast, and be able to socialise with their peers before class. Ring 01642 676768 for more details.
Set the alarm clock five minutes fast. This could be a good tip if you find yourself always arriving just after the gate closed.
Do not allow TV, electronics or Computer games on a morning before everyone is ready – if at all.
Children who arrive late can be unsettled, miss time to catch up with their peers, and will most importantly miss learning that takes place on a morning. It also disrupts staff duties, and can affect if your child is able to pick what they want for lunch.
All children are different, and we can understand that morning times can be very hectic. The above are some tips that do work, however look for what works for your child, it could be an incentive/reward chart, or your child might need a visual aid to help them on a morning, so they know in what order things need to happen. If you would like any further support around these, or any other issues effecting your child’s punctuality or attendance please contact Mr. Dixon, Parent Support Advisor, on 01642 676768.
Topic of the Month – supporting your child in school
“To parents, we can’t tell our kids to do well in school and then fail them when they get home. You cannot just contract out parenting. For our kids to excel, we have to accept our responsibility to help them learn.
That means putting away the Xbox and putting our kids to bed at a reasonable hour. It means attending those parent-teacher conferences and reading to our children and helping them with their homework”.
Supporting your child at home will have a massive impact on their educational progress. However, we appreciate this is not always easy. Sometimes the last thing your child wants to do after a full day in school is to sit and complete their homework, or practice their spellings. However, children who carry on their learning at home via homework, reading, practising their spellings, and use the world around them to learn massively increase their educational prospects.
This month’s topic of the month is around home learning, and will hopefully give you some useful tips on how to best support your child with this.
Homework
Homework at the Village is handed out on a Friday, and is expected to be returned on a Wednesday. (This might differ slightly in Nursery).
Homework should be set to support what your child is learning in school, and should be something the child can complete by itself, it should complement the work they are completing in school. If you have any questions around the homework that has been set, please speak to your child’s class teacher, and they will be happy to answer any questions you have.
Below are some top tips for setting up a homework routine
Spellings
Spellings at the Village are given out on a Thurs/Fri, and children are tested on them a week later. (This may be different in Early Years).
Different methods of learning work for different children. Getting your child to copy them out, and then test them is a tried and trusted method. Be inventive, leave post it notes with the spelling words all around the house. Quiz them at different times, i.e. ask them to spell a different word each time they enter the room.
Again, if spellings are a continuing problem, please seek out support and advice from your child’s class teacher.
Learning Apps
We encourage children’s learning to be fun by using apps such as the ones mentioned below.
For more information/ advice around these, please speak to the named teacher next to them
Reading Eggs (Early Years) – Mrs Ball
Times Table Rockstars – Mr Mansell
Reading Plus – Mr Davies/Mrs Nixon
These are our main apps we use. Ask your Class Teacher for others that might support your child learning.
Reading
We encourage all pupils to read with their parent/carer for 10 minutes a day, and for parents/carers to record this in their reading book. They can read either a book from school, or a book of their choosing.
Children who have more than three comments in a week in their reading record earn a sweet treat! We understand that some of our older pupils may prefer to read independently, and that is fine. This can be recorded. Maybe ask your child questions about what they have read? This will help clarify that they have understood what they have read.
Youtube.
Village Primary recently set up its own Youtube channel. This has allowed us to add content on to help with your child’s learning, with videos starring the Class Teachers and Teaching Assistants. For example if your Key Stage 1 child is struggling to count in 2’s, 5’s, and 10’s, we have a video starring Mr Mansell explaining how to do this. This is also useful, as it will teach you the methods taught in school.
Ways to help learn at home
Think of ways you can help and improve your child’s learning while they are at home.
These are just a few! I am sure you can come up with even more!
Questions to ask your child!
Do you ever ask your child about their school day, just to hear “yeah it was fine” or ask them what they learned, for them to answer “not much”?
If so, you are not alone! Some children don’t like to talk about school once it’s over,!
Here are some open questions you can ask your child to find out more about their day!!
This is not an exhaustive list, and you might still not get much more information out of your child! But asking a few of these each day, or coming up with your own might just get your child to open up about their school day a little more!
Who do I speak to?
First port of call should always be your child’s Class teacher or Teaching Assistant, as they understand your child’s learning better than anyone else.
Mr Dixon, Parent Support Advisor, and Mr Birtwhistle, Head Teacher are on the yard most mornings, joined by Mr Mansell, Assistant Head Teacher on an afternoon. They are always on hand to answer questions or point you in the right direction.
If you are unable to attend the school, you can contact us on 01642 676768, and request a call from your Class Teacher, or email us at enquires@thevillageprimary.org.uk
January’s topic of the month is Alcohol.
December is a busy and hectic time for a lot of us. It is also hopefully a time of fun and cheer, and opportunity to make memories with the people closest to us. Many people do over indulge at this time of year, and then look to slow down / get healthier in the New Year.
Dry January is popular for many people wanting to kick-start their new year in a healthy way, and it’s a chance to detox after a lively Christmas period. There is some information in the below link to the benefits of this.
https://alcoholchange.org.uk/blog/2022/benefits-of-dry-january-and-when-you-can-expect-to-see-them
To read more information regarding facts around Alcohol, its health effects, the law, drinking habits, behaviours, and how it can affect our relationships, please click on the link below.
https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/facts
If you would like support to help you track and monitor your alcohol use, click on the following link for information and advice around thedrinkaware app.
https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/tools/mydrinkaware-app
If you do feel like you need some support around alcohol, please click on the following links
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/alcohol-support/
https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services
If you feel you need support via Alcoholics Anonymous –
“ Millions of men and women have heard or read about the unique Fellowship called Alcoholics Anonymous since its founding in 1935. Of these, more than 2 million now call themselves members. People who once drank to excess, they finally acknowledged that they could not handle alcohol, and now live a new way of life without it” – click below for more informationhttps://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk/
They also offer a National Helpline you can contact free on 0800 9177 650, or email at help@aamail.org
Change Grow Live offer support and advice around understanding your alcohol usage, cutting down, and support for people trying to quit, or prevent relapse
https://www.changegrowlive.org/advice-info/alcohol-drugs
If you would like any more information or advice relating to the contents of this article, or any of the previous ones, please contact Andrew Dixon, Parent support Advisor on 01642 676768, or email at enquiries@thevillageprimary.org.uk
December’s topic of the month is financial support
Citizens Advice
Stockton and District Advice and Information Service is the local Citizens Advice for the borough of Stockton-On-Tees. They offer FREE, CONFIDENTIAL, INDEPENDENT, and IMPARTIAL advice, and provide help and information with a wide range of problems.
Their team of specially trained volunteers and staff offer advice on almost any issue – including –
Also, If you think your child might be eligible for free school meals you can apply at www.gov.uk/apply-free-school-meals to or call 01642 526606
COVID-19 Support
There is lots of support available for those who are struggling financially because of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as Test & Trace support, Council Tax support, Support for Council Taxpayers on low income, Welfare Support, and Housing support.
For more information, please click on the following link –
https://www.stockton.gov.uk/our-council/coronavirus-covid-19-housing-welfare-and-financial-support/
For any more information about any of the above, or any other issue you need support around, please contact our Parent support Advisor, Mr Dixon, on 01642 676768.
November’s Topic is Child’s Well Being / Mindfulness
We can all struggle with our feelings, and emotions daily. For a child still developing, this can be quite tricky for them to understand.
There are a whole range of resources available for you to support your Child’s Wellbeing. One of the more well-known is mindfulness.
Mindfulness means paying full attention to something. It means slowing down to really notice what you’re doing. Being mindful is the opposite of rushing or multitasking. When you’re mindful, you’re taking your time.Mindfulness has also been shown to increase a child or teen’s ability to regulate emotions as well as feel compassion and empathy. It also is widely considered an effective treatment for people of all ages that deal with aggression, ADHD, or other mental health problems like anxiety
The following websites have some great mindfulness techniques and exercises
https://www.mindful.org/mindfulness-for-kids/
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/10-mindfulness-exercises-kids
https://positivepsychology.com/mindfulness-for-children-kids-activities/
There are some brilliant smartphone apps aimed for children, around emotional well-being, and mindfulness, such as –
I have worked at the Village for 5 years and I am staff governor. I am passionate about supporting the school and strive to continually improve and provide a great environment for the children.
I have a daughter and I enjoy spending time with her and doing arts and crafts. We also enjoy for going days out together.