A letter to parents and carers

Dear parents/carers,

Firstly, thank you for all the positive and supportive comments and emails that many of you have sent to the school over the past week. The current health crisis is certainly a unique situation for schools and we are glad to be able to work closely with you to enable students at THS to continue with their learning and not allow large gaps to develop in their knowledge and skills during these tricky times.

Here are some tips that we hope you will find useful. However, we also impress upon everyone to follow the latest government advice, which is currently:

  • to go out only if absolutely necessary (you may go out and exercise once a day e.g. walk in the park if it’s not busy) and not meet with other children or adults who live outside of your family home.
  • Observe social distancing and stay at least 2 metres away from other people.
  • Remember to wash hands frequently and for at least 20 seconds.

Working from home

Trying to keep a routine is important where possible. However, we appreciate this might be difficult to do for older children. For younger ones, they may find it helpful to have a rough timetable to provide some structure for their day.

What can you do to help your child?

We would like your child to complete learning activities on each day that they would normally be at school. Your child’s teacher has set work for them to complete via GO 4 Schools and there are additional learning resources on the homepage of our website (see the ‘Coronavirus resources’ section).

The most important thing in home schooling is family relationships. Many siblings will not be used to being together all day, and it is a great opportunity to build and strengthen your family relationships where possible. Take time to slow down, as you do not have to rush around or juggle different commitments. There may also be a few bumps in the road, but if things are not going well, don’t worry too much. Go for a walk to break up the day (if symptom free and in line with advice from the government).

It is important for parents who are at home to think about their own mental health. Children are looking to us to lead the way and provide them with stability and we know that can be tough. If you need some time out, have 5 minutes to yourself. Use Skype or WhatsApp to keep in touch with loved ones who you cannot see in person.

Look after yourselves, keep healthy (and washing hands), and be kind to each other. Thank you, once again, for your support.

Best wishes from all the staff at THS.