COVID-19 guidance and resources from SVS (Surrey Virtual School)

Contents

Official guidance during the coronavirus

Resources for home learning

BBC TV to be broadcasting lessons

The BBC have announced that they will be broadcasting lessons on BBC Two and CBBC to help children keep up with their studies during the latest lockdown.

BBC Bitesize

BBC Bitesize has published a selection of resources, activities and support to help parents supporting children with SEND.

Youth Work Support

Youth Work Support is a strand of the National Youth Agency which have created some great resources for young people to use during COVID-19.

The resources cover a range of areas including skills and careers support, activities and a workbook to help manage anger and frustration at home (particularly through lockdown).

Home learning and support resources

The Surrey Local Offer website has a list of resources and guidance around home learning and support available. It also lists mental health resources and advice around SEND.

Check the BBC website for details of the daily programmes to help parents and children with schoolwork at home during the lockdown.

And Network Rail also has a selection of educational resources for children.

Libraries from home for children and young people

Check out Surrey Library Service's page, which is full of links to fun and educational activities for children and young people – all possible from home.

Family Learning

Family Learning provides free online parenting courses for parents and carers, including grandparents, who lack confidence or are struggling to support their children with school, homework or behaviour issues.

Guidance for looked-after children and care leavers

A young person's guide to looking after mental health and emotional wellbeing during the coronavirus outbreak

Looking after your mind as well as your body is really important. At the moment, because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, we are all dealing with a lot of uncertainty and frustration. It's easy to feel a bit overwhelmed and worried by everything you're hearing about COVID-19, and that's completely normal.

NHS East Berkshire CCG have put together a Young Person's Guide on Coping which can be found on their website. This contains lots of resources, websites and apps for looking after your mental health.

Online learning platform to boost workplace skills launched

Free courses are available through the new online platform, the Skills Toolkit. This platform signposts to free, high-quality digital and numeracy courses to help people build up their skills, progress in work and boost their job prospects and confidence whilst at home.

Courses on offer cover a range of levels, from everyday maths and the use of email and social media at work to more advanced training. All courses are available online and are flexible so that people can work through them at their own pace.

Access the Skills Toolkit

How to support young people who don't seem to care about staying in and staying safe

Dr Helen Kirkaldie, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, has written a blog post on keeping young people safe when they don't want to stay in. This is just one person's view, but is an interesting read.

Need support and advice?

To all foster carers, adoptive parents, residential placement workers, previously looked-after children and looked-after children:

SVS (Surrey Virtual School) is here to help, advise and answer your questions on learning and study.

Please contact our team:

  • Email: virtual.school@surreycc.gov.uk
  • Call: 0208 541 7761

Other contacts

  • Helen Hale – EYFS/Key Stage 1 – helen.hale@surreycc.gov.uk
  • Stacey McCabe- Key Stage 2/3/4 - Stacey. McCabe@surreycc.gov.uk
  • Anna Maclean – Key Stage 5 – anna.maclean@surreycc.gov.uk

1:1 Coaching available for care leavers

Care leaver or care experienced? Looking for support, coaching, information, advice and guidance (IAG)?

Book 1:1 coaching with Career Matters (eventbrite)

Coronavirus updates for non-English speakers, and links for children

We want to ensure that the guidelines around COVID-19 are reaching all of our young people.

A range of leaflets including the Prime Minister's speech on 23 March 2020 have been translated into a variety of languages and can be accessed via Big Leaf.

This also includes an audio option where required. Additional languages will continue to be added.

For more information (and new translations being added), visit the Big Leaf Foundation website.

Explaining the coronavirus to children

Mindheart have a child-friendly explanation of the coronavirus available on their website.

Big Leaf have been working closely with BBC reporter Rachel Wright, Tribal London, forced migration expert Ahmad al Rashid, Fiyaz Murgal OBE, and World Service reporters to create several films, which highlight the prevalence of false information around COVID-19 online, guidelines on how to spot it, and an emphasis on why it should not be shared. The films are currently available in ten different languages.

Translated guidance for coronavirus self-isolation and social distancing

The government has translated the guidance for self-isolation and social distancing into the following languages:

  • Arabic
  • French
  • Mandarin
  • Cantonese
  • Polish
  • Welsh

Resources for schools

This Surrey Healthy Schools Self-Evaluation Tool provides Surrey schools with the opportunity to reflect upon, capture and develop practice which actively promotes physical, emotional and mental health and wellbeing.

It provides an evidence-based framework for schools to co-ordinate, develop and improve their provision.

Guidance for Department of Education (DfE) laptops

Family Information Service

Please visit Surrey County Council's Family Information Service for a directory of services and information on things from family activities to registered childcare and support groups in your local area.

Surrey Arts

SVS is delighted that Surrey Arts provide a range of services for looked after children and care leavers, including those who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) or youth offending. Surrey Arts believe that music can be an incredible tool for boosting self-confidence and the ability to process emotions. Their services can encourage integration and social cohesion while providing a safe and creative environment to have fun and meet new friends. All this can reduce isolation and anxiety, improve mental health and emotional well-being, and improve numeracy and literacy learning skills.

COVID-19 guidance and resources

Covid-19 guidance and resources