We wanted to do something positive to ease the burden on schools and families during this undoubtedly worrying time. So, we asked the community to send in links and ideas for free home learning and the response has been phenomenal!

Whether you're a teacher of any age group who is making plans for home learning, or a parent/carer needing some ideas so you can plan ahead, hopefully, some of the links below will help. 

All links to google drive documents were shared publicly for re-use by others.

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This list was last updated - 8/1/2021

Announcements

English/Literacy

  • Stuart Prike - ‘Remains’ in Word/PDF format - 5 booklets for 5 of the poems plus guiding students on how to compare in an essay
  • Online Gruffalo workshop, and lots more. Plus stories read by Tony Ross, author - 7 stories, Facebook 
    • Elamentari - Write and code interactive stories - free access during school closures
    • Gutenburg - Download free books, e.g. Shakespear, Edgar Allen Poe, Frankenstein, etc.
    • Solomon Kingsnorth - Free books in PDF, Word and audiobook format - Alice in Wonderland / Wind in the Willows / The Railway Children / The Jungle Book / Peter Pan / Black Beauty
      • Reading aloud - Children can listen to stories being read aloud - YouTube
      • Hoopla - Public library online
      • Trugs - Phonic reading games for all children, including those who cannot read or have dyslexia. Email: trugs@readsuccessfully.com for 20% off using cv2020 
      • CrickerSoft - Reading and writing software for all abilities - Free during this period
      • Driver Youth Trust - over 50 free resources, designed to help teachers get *all* of their learners engaged with reading, writing, communication
        • Jane Considine "If schools in the UK close, I will be delivering daily English activities by video for pupils to complete at home. More details to follow. If you’re interested in your children getting involved"
        • Peter Wharmby - Teaching resources - mostly audio of me talking about an aspect of English Language or English Literature - YouTube
        • No Red Ink  - builds stronger writers through interest-based curriculum, adaptive exercises, and actionable data
        • Carter's Yard Phonics - Free access to Augmented Reality phonics cards - phonics and reading - images, text and ‘Zap codes' to view online and to print at home.
        • The Reading Realm - Free home learning packs/book and library challenges/quizzes/discussion guides/games and stories written by children for children! You can also now draw/write your own stories, poems, reviews, diaries etc, in the app too
        • IXL - All ages, database of resources
        • Epic - Free 30-day trial - instant access to a range of books (age 12 and under)
        • Nessy - Help for children with Dyslexia - free trial
        • Chris Grabenstein has given permission for teachers to video themselves reading his books online - royalty free
        • CLPE - Free plans, videos, teaching notes for all year groups in primary
        • EAL
          • EFL - Rivet - Free app recommended for those learning English
          • Audible - Free - Available in 6 languages

        Credit: Do-It Solutions

         Maths

        • Third Space learning - Primary resources for schools, and parent/carers guides to learning at home/support/advice/resources
        • The Maths Mum "I’ll be running daily ‘live’ tutorials on my FB and IG feed covering maths topics and setting work for all primary school years. Also, regular Q&A sessions to help with any questions/problems"Maths Genie
        • Prodigy - Curriculum aligned maths platform - Free
        • Bond Bonanza - Free App helping children to move away from counting numbers up to 20 to turn them into instantly recallable number bonds
        • Manga High - Full, free access at this time - Game-based learning
        • First 4 maths - a few free worksheets (Yr 4/Yr6) to help engage children in maths at home - no login and all free
        • My Mini Maths - (Yr 3, 4, 5, 6) Home learning packs ready to download
        • Parallel - Weekly 15 minute maths challenges – interesting, fun and challenging material that goes beyond school maths
        • Dads WorksheetsFREE printable worksheets, online calculators, games, puzzles and tools such as a timer and converter

        Sciences

        • Imperial College - Free online science resources for pupils, & guides for teachers/parents
        • CGP app - Revise for AQA Science
        • 23 equations - Learn your GCSE equations wherever you are
        • Astro Quest - Complete online quests to help Australian scientists understand how galaxies grow and evolve
          • CogSciSci - A range of biology, Chemistry, and Physics resources
          • Chemistry resources - Integrated instructions, chemistry revision sheets; quiz cards, KS3 retrieval roulette, Freyer models find and fix and collated biology slop - By Louise Cass 
          • NASA for KidsGames, latest news about the satellite launches, photos from the space and interviews of astronauts
          • Education Place - Lesson plans for topics including - plants/energy/space/nature
          • ICell - Explore cells - App or online
          • UEN - Interactive science activities 
          • Edhead - Virtual learning online
          • Royal institute - Christmas lectures. A series of lectures presenting scientific subjects to a general audience in an entertaining manner.

          Modern Languages

          • KooBits - 10 Free websites for language learning
            • Duo Lingo - A fun way to learn a range of languages

            History

            • BBC - Free curriculum mapped videos
            • University of Alabama - Free online archaeology and Egyptology Uni courses (create an account to log on)
            • Future Learn
              Explore the architecture and history of Rome, walking around a 3D digital model of the ancient city, with this free online course.
            • Teaching history - 100 objects from museums across the UK with resources, information and teaching ideas to inspire interest in history
            • Open Culture - 6000 digital history books for children to read online 

                Geography

                • Tutorful - Top Geography websites, YouTube videos, and resources 
                • Virtual Tours  /  Aquarium - Virtual online tours - including zoos, landmarks in foreign countries, etc.
                • BREEF - Coral reef virtual tour
                • Seterra - Free world geography, online quizzes 

                Arts and culture

                • Parlia - The encyclopedia of opinion - mapping the worlds thinking
                • Walter's Museum - houses the highest artistic achievements from nearly every corner of the world
                • Black history - Telling the story of the black British experience

                Computing/I.T

                • A tutorial resource guide to photography and editing - Adobe
                • Code.org - One hour tutorials in 45 different languages. -no experience required
                • EraseAllKitens - Ages 8-14 - provides knowledge of terminology and develops thinking skills
                • Tinkercad - Free software tools that help you to think, create and make 3D models online. MineCraft, Lego, and others
                • ICompute - I.T. Learn Programming and Computational Thinking resources
                • Tynkler - Coding for kids - Free premium access 
                • Blocky games - Games to help beginners learn computer programming skills
                • Scratch - Beginners computer programming games/projects

                Music

                • Music GurusFree resources that everyone can use for the next 30 days
                • @musicwithdrew - Free, daily music lessons for children on Instagram

                Movement and exercise

                • Dance Syndrome - plans to provide inclusive online dance lessons during this period 
                • iMoves - Free, fun activities to get children moving

                Life skills

                • Real-life learning - Resources to support functional and life skills for children and young people during school closures

                SEND specific resources and information

                • ChatterPack
                  • A list of FREE Speech, Language, communication, Occupational therapy, and SEND resources for schools and parent/carers
                  • ADHD and Me - a book for children and young people to help them understand what ADHD means to them as a unique individual

                Now available as a digital download. Find out more here

                • Simpson Millar - are holding a daily SEND Q&A session to answer any questions in the Education Matters group on FaceBook
                  • CrickerSoft - Reading and writing software for all abilities - Free during this period
                    • Down Syndrome - A list of resources to support learners with Down Syndrome and their families
                      • Kim Griffrin, Occupational Therapist - Daily fine motor activities families can follow along to at 11am on Facebook - the videos will also be available on Griffin OT-YouTube
                        • SEN resources blog - Advice, learning activities and recommended toys, books, and resources for children with SEND
                          • Tobiidynavox 10 weeks of free content, leveled and thematic units created with Boardmaker - books, communication supports, speech/language activities for students with communication difficulties and SEND
                            • Accessibite - Free apps to support students who are blind, visually impaired, deaf, have reading difficulties
                              • Journey for peace - An online project with a visual impairment awareness focus through the medium of comics
                                • SENDcast - Podcasts on sensory processing and dyslexia 
                                  • ALN Home School - Resources for parents of children with additional needs 
                                    • EasterSeals - Free visual timetable resources - to help with school closures  
                                      • Autcraft - A modulated and monitored, online site for autistic children and young people
                                        • Reader Pen - A pen scanner for those with reading difficulties - that reads text out aloud in English/Spanish/French - Free 14 day trial - Sign up here
                                          • APD support - Information and links about Auditory processing disorder

                                            Books for SEMH, EAL, SEND - Credit: @EstAyo_Psych

                                            Websites offering resources for multiple subjects

                                            • EYFS and Primary
                                              • The School Run - Free resources for parents - English, maths, science 
                                              • Academics - Games based on a range of subjects 
                                              • Kialo - Critical thinking resources
                                              • CrickWeb - Free, online educational resources and games 
                                              • Kapow  - Art, music, IT, languages, relationships, wellbeing -14-day free trial
                                              • TTS - Free downloadable primary packs covering a range of subjects
                                              • Teach Starter - Free month subscription plus learning from home packs (Maths, English, science, wellbeing) 
                                              • ABCYA - Free educational games
                                            • Secondary, GCSE and A-levels
                                                • Stairway - Maths, Biology, Physics (by exam board)
                                                • Massolit - Offering a free subscription during this time
                                              • Higher education
                                              • All Ages
                                                • BBC is announcing a daily educational show for key stages and year groups on iPlayer, expanding BBC Bitesize, educational podcasts etc and BBC Four doing shows on A Level and GCSE curriculum
                                                • Seneca - English, Geography, Maths, History, Biology, Spanish, French 
                                                • Actively learn - standards-aligned assignments in ELA, science & social studies are now free for teachers through the end of the school year. 
                                                • Teacher starter - Over 14,000 pages of curriculum-aligned content created by teachers + learning from home packs
                                                • TES - A range of free resources  
                                                • Twinkl - Free access to all Twinkl resources for schools and parents for a month

                                              Miscellaneous learning resources

                                              • Boromi - Sign up for free daily play emails - an offline, home play activity using everyday materials sent daily (+ printable) - EYFS teachers/parents/ carers
                                              • Adapt - Free revision app - available from Google Play and App Store
                                              • Kidztype Games to improve typing skills
                                              • Open Learn - Free, online courses, Open university 
                                              • ChatterPack  - Free resource - Developing children's vocabulary
                                              • T.K.S.S.T - Smart videos for curious minds of all ages
                                                • Fun at home - Learning videos on a range of topics/ages
                                                • iDEA - An international programme that helps you develop/demonstrate your digital, enterprise and employability skills for free
                                                • Expeditions App - Free virtual Reality Augmentation app for all ages, to take virtual trips around the world to hundreds of destinations.

                                                For families - ideas for activities, advice and learning tools

                                                How to make an insect hotel - nature activity

                                                • Rocket kids club - Everyone can watch and be part of our Rocket Kids Club Shows broadcasting live every Friday
                                                • Non-screen activities to do at home - Pobble
                                                • Learning activities for the garden - Nature detectives - Woodland Trust
                                                • 50 ideas of activities to do at home - ABC Does
                                                • Build your own game - or play games with others onlineRoll20 
                                                • Supporting learning at home - Dr Janet Goodall - Pinterest 

                                                  DoIt - low cost Ideas for learning activities at home

                                                  Credit: Do-It Solutions

                                                  Credit: Sensory stuck at home

                                                  Credit: Thebestideasforkids.com

                                                  Inclusive anxiety/emotional support for children 

                                                  • FREE weekly webinars from Studio III  on managing behaviour/stress/autism among other topics. Email admin@studio3.org to book & to find out what's coming up this week. 

                                                    Image of well being advice and emotions images to use alongside

                                                    Credit: Julie Rayner, Irish Psychotherapy association

                                                    Credit: Mike Arminger - Download PD 

                                                      Image for children about staying safe during the Coronavirus outbreak

                                                      Credit: Wicklow Triple A Alliance

                                                       

                                                      Emotional support for children during Coronvirus outbreak

                                                      Credit: Wicklow Triple A Alliance

                                                       

                                                      Emotional support for children during Coronvirus outbreak

                                                      Credit: World Health Organisation  

                                                       R.E and Prayer resources

                                                      *Check the location/time zones of live-streamed masses to calculate the UK start time. Time Zone calculator

                                                      • NATRE - KS1, KS2, KS3, KS4 - Free resources

                                                      Other lists containing links to useful websites

                                                      • Seomra Ranga - Hundreds of free downloadable resources available
                                                      • Padlet.org - Hundreds of links to information/resources for schools and families planning for home learning
                                                      • E-Parenting - Free resources for GCSE, A-Level, STATs, 11+ 
                                                      • Kids Activities - A list of American companies offering free subscription at this time
                                                      • Engage Education - Free resources and information for parents/carers and school staff

                                                      For teachers and other school staff: Advice, information & learning tools

                                                        • CPD - Information and training on ADHD, autism, SLCN's, Dyslexia, Sensory processing, Working memory, ABI and other areas of special educational needs and disabilities - list compiled by Jarlath O'Brien
                                                        • Free CPD & Webinars - on Dance, PE, Pilates for kids, Mental Health & Wellbeing in schools 
                                                        • A daily SEND Q&A session to answer any questions in the Education Matters group on FaceBook - Simpson Millar 
                                                        • Tom Sherrington - Five videos of one-day Rosenshine Principles Masterclass - 2 1/2 hours of free CPD
                                                        • The School Bus - Free resources to help teachers organise school closures
                                                        • Socrative apps - Free access - Fun and effective tools to gauge student understanding in real-time. 
                                                        • Ed For Learning - Free access to curriculum-aligned lessons and assessments across the subject areas. Content is carefully scaffolded
                                                        • Britannica - free access for the whole time your school might need it. Teachers can set packs of content, create lessons, send/receive homework online
                                                        • Diagnostic Questions - An assessment tool that provides detailed insights into student understanding - Free trial

                                                        A HUGE! thank you to everyone who helped out creating this list. There's far too many to name, but I'm sure the whole community is very grateful to you for taking the time to send links and ideas over. 

                                                        You can join the education community and the SEND community on Twitter via these hashtags #CoronaEdu #TeamSEND 

                                                        Please stay safe and reach out if you need help

                                                         

                                                        Written by ChatterPack

                                                        Comments

                                                        Hi!
                                                        The list is super puper!!! Very healpfull.
                                                        Thank you!

                                                        stela on Sep 18, 2020

                                                        Also consider posting https://bestedlessons.org/. This home learning resource site making available lots of freely available educational lessons, worksheets, activities and textbooks for easy viewing and downloading.

                                                        Scott on May 22, 2020

                                                        this is amazing work and very comprehensive, i am new to online learning for my child and am searching which app or website is the most popular for KS1 national curriculum specifically? i dont mind paying

                                                        can anyone recommend?? many thanks

                                                        raza hussain on May 22, 2020

                                                        A treasure trove to keep returning to! Thank you!

                                                        Tim Rawsthorne on May 13, 2020

                                                        This is AWESOME! Thanks! Been struggling to figure out what to do with the kids bored at home. This list is a great help. I think you should also add this site I found recently. They got a ton of resources you might wanna add to your list too. Check it out: https://alldigitalschool.com

                                                        Evoque Mwaura on May 08, 2020

                                                        Well-done such lovely resources

                                                        Joy Ketebu on May 08, 2020

                                                        I would also recommend www.revisionnova.com for GCSE Science resources

                                                        chi on Apr 14, 2020

                                                        Fantastic list of helpful resources that will make a massive difference to my schools. Can’t thank you enough

                                                        Dawn Platt on Apr 04, 2020

                                                        Stuart Pryke also shares amazing KS3 and 4 resources on his Dropbox (https://www.dropbox.com/sh/gks5rf4alvf3lew/AACXNU0lD76eXIyAcgJrTyTea?dl=0)

                                                        This includes a Macbeth, A Christmas Carol and An Inspector Calls booklet designed for this very crisis!

                                                        P Collins on Mar 27, 2020

                                                        That is a great job. I really appreciate what you have done here. Thanks.

                                                        samur on Mar 27, 2020

                                                        Amazing !!!
                                                        Why hasn’t anyone done this before?

                                                        Safdar Khaliq on Mar 22, 2020

                                                        This is absolutely fantastic. I’ve been tasked to add online resources links to our website for our local authority’s CLA and although I have many, I had already seen your tweet and knew this would be my main go-to! Am already signed up to your Newsletter! Thank you and keep up this wonderful work!

                                                        Anu Jain on Mar 22, 2020

                                                        What an excellent resource list. Well done.
                                                        This collaboration is the positive side of the pandemic.

                                                        Jo on Mar 22, 2020

                                                        I COULDN’T FIND ANY WORD IN MY MIND DICTIONARY TO SHOW MY GRATITUDE.
                                                        tHANKS A zILLION!!!!

                                                        JATIN on Mar 22, 2020

                                                        Absolutely wonderful! Many, many thanks :-)

                                                        Kirsteen Keir on Mar 22, 2020

                                                        Splendid, just splendid. Thank you so much.

                                                        Marguerite on Mar 22, 2020

                                                        You are just wonderful …

                                                        Barbara Lutterloch on Mar 22, 2020

                                                        Wow! What a great comprehensive list of ideas
                                                        I’m going to have to self isolate for a year or more

                                                        Denis Kearney on Mar 22, 2020

                                                        What a fantastic resource, thank you. As a mum who is having to self isolate with 2 boys this is amazing.

                                                        Claire on Mar 22, 2020

                                                        Wow oh wow! I’ve never found something so comprehensive. This is amazing and you should be so proud of yourselves. Thank you so so much. I’m so excited to get going helping my son with Downs. X

                                                        Debbie Hamilton on Mar 17, 2020

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