Case Study: Parent Involvement with Home Learning

Landmarks Specialist College have produced a case study about how parents / carers have gotten involved in supporting home learning.

Examples of how parents/carers have been involved in home learning

Our learners are all engaging with home learning in different ways and most rely on the support of their parents / carers to do so. This can put a lot of pressure on parents / carers who are having to take on the role of tutor, on top of their other roles! Landmarks are supporting parents / carers to hopefully ease this pressure and make the home learning experience a more positive one.

Some parents / carers have been joining the starter activities of online sessions with tutors, such as playing a word game or a Kahoot quiz; while some parents / carers have been joining whole sessions by supporting their young person to engage with ‘cook with me’ sessions, where the tutor cooks a dish with the learner and their parent / carer following along in real time.

Some parents / carers have supported their young person to complete activities in their home learning pack and called their assigned Learning Support Assistant when needed for further guidance, or to have the work marked. Alternatively, some parents / carers have been supporting their young person to complete independence-based tasks around the home to embed learning.

Similarly, some parents/carers engage with phone calls with their assigned Learning Support Assistant to talk about how things are going, even when the learner is not engaging with home learning, as it is important to ensure we are offering as much support as possible remotely.

Having positive relationships with parents / carers is important to the college but is especially crucial at the moment in ensuring our safeguarding procedures are being followed, so that we can respond appropriately to any concerns as soon as possible to be able to support the learner and their parent / carer.

A parent / carer with their young person playing an educational board game at a table

Parent feedback:

“I very much appreciate the support you are giving us at this time. I honestly wasn’t sure if I was able to give my daughter the support and stimulation she needs whilst at home in a lockdown situation. Through your support, I have been made to feel much more positive and am confident that help is there for either of us at this difficult time.

It was such a fight to get my daughter a place at Landmarks College and, whilst I have never been in any doubt that the fight was justified and the setting is an excellent one, the unique situation we find ourselves in now and college’s handling of it, just goes to confirm that my high opinion of the college and the ability of its staff to rise to the challenge, are above what I would expect.”

“We knew that the team at Landmarks were dedicated, caring and very supportive, not just for Harry but for us as a family, this was been reinforced during this very worrying and difficult time we are all going through. The team have shown yet again, what a great college Landmarks are and how lucky we are.

The support we have received from his Tutor over the past four weeks, including the Easter holidays, has been excellent. She has had Harry’s metal wellbeing at the forefront of her thoughts. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to give Harry the support he needed to continue his learning at home along with trying to help support him with his daily anxiety issues. However, his Tutor’s support has made me feel more positive and confident.”

A learner and their parent / carer give a big thumbs up