Inclusion

Your child’s teacher and school can help you and your child while learning at home.

Schools will communicate directly with students and their parents about how and when they will receive learning materials and teacher feedback. This might include emails, newsletters, Facebook posts or other online tools.

If you don’t know how to contact your child’s teacher, contact your school and they will help you.

For more information, visit learning@home Advice for Parents.

You can talk to your child’s teacher and their school about how things are going for your child while learning at home including:

• what your child is achieving and what they are enjoying
• what your child needs more help with.

Teachers and your child’s school can help you and provide advice about a wide range of issues including:

• what curriculum materials your child should access at home
• tips to support learning including setting up a learning space and establishing routines
• how much supervision your child may require with their learnin
• adjustments that can be made to support students with disability with their learning
• how to use assistive technology as part of your child’s learning at home
• your child’s wellbeing
• additional support materials

Before talking to your child’s teacher or school it can be helpful to write down the issues you would like to discuss. This will help you during your conversation with your child’s teacher or their school, or when you are communicating via email.

Staying in contact with your child’s teacher and school is a great first step in supporting your child’s learning at home.

Some of the things you may like to consider are:

• Setting up a learning space
  
• Setting up a daily routine—your child may still get dressed and ready for school
  
• Setting a learning timetable—schools may provide a timetable for learning, which includes lesson times and breaks and can be adapted for your family’s circumstances and needs
  
• Deciding how much supervision your child needs—talking to your child’s teacher will help you to decide how much supervision and what type of supervision your child needs
  
• Using different tools for learning for example, some learning may involve technology and at other times print or hard copy materials
  
• Including yourself in your child’s communication with their teacher—talk to your child’s teacher about the best way you can be included in your child’s communication with them
• Determining how you will use assistive technology if your child needs it—more information about assistive technology is available on the learning@home website.
  
• Developing a reward system and set times for fun and recreational activities.

Students with disability will have different needs depending on their disability and how it impacts on their learning. Disability-specific advice is available on learning@home for children with vision impairment, autism, intellectual disability, physical impairment and students who are Deaf or hard of hearing.

Talking to your child about learning at home will help you to find out what your child is learning, what they are enjoying and what they might need more help with.

In the morning before learning starts you may need to take some time to check-in with your child and make a plan for the day. This may include going through the routine for the day (breaks and learning times), providing them with choices regarding the order of the learning activities and ensuring that all the learning materials are available/accessible.

Supporting your child to understand the instructions and expectations of their learning task will help them to participate and engage in them. Further information is available in the Building understanding fact sheet.

During the day, check in regularly to see how your child is progressing. The number of times you check in will depend on your child’s age and learning needs.

In the afternoon, you may need to take some time to check-in with your child, asking questions such as what did you enjoy learning today, what was something new you learned, or what did you find hard and/or need more support with.

You can get advice from your child’s school about supporting your child’s wellbeing.

There are also many things you can do to help your child during this time and helping them to stay connected to families and friends. Tips and strategies to support your child are available on the learning@home Wellbeing of students page.

Other strategies can be found on the learning@home Autism page.

For some children and young people, learning at home will be challenging with changes to regular routines, losing contact with friends and peers and being taught or supported in their learning by parents or other family members.

Keeping in touch with your child’s teacher and school team will allow you to discuss concerns you may have. This communication is important so that you can seek advice and solve issues quickly.

It is important to look after yourself during this time and continue to get the support you need. Try to take regular breaks to avoid becoming worn out and take the time to do something for yourself throughout the day. You can watch this animation for more information about accessing support. Transcript.

If you need help or support you can contact the following organisations for 24-hour assistance:

• For respite support (including in the case of an emergency), contact Carer Gateway on 1800 422 737.
• If you need counselling and support, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636.

Queenslanders with disability who don’t have carers, family or friends to assist them are encouraged to phone the Community Recovery Hotline on 1800 173 349 to request essential food, household items and medicines.

The Carer Australia website provides many resources including advice on a range of COVID-19 topics.

It is important to plan ahead in case you become ill and are no longer able to provide the level of care your child requires, or if it becomes difficult to access essential services. The Carer Gateway website has an Emergency Care Plan that may be useful to complete.

Parents of children with NDIS plans can keep up to date with the latest information through the NDIS website, and via Facebook and Twitter. See 'What community support services can I access for my child' tab below for further information about changes to NDIS plans.

Below is a list of services and organisations that can provide support to parents and carers, and carers from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds.

The current service delivery by these organisations is likely to have been affected by social distancing restrictions due to coronavirus (COVID-19). Please check their website for up-to-date information about services and programs available.

Community support services

If your child has an National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) plan:

• You can use their available Core Support funding flexibly to purchase additional supports and services in order to meet your child’s disability support needs.
• If funding for Core Support is running low, or you believe you need an early/urgent plan review you can call the NDIA on 1800 800 110 (select option 5).

The NDIA has a specialised team of planners who are available to help make urgent changes to plans during this time.

More information and frequently asked questions about using your child’s NDIS plan can be found on the NDIS website.

The process to access support from the NDIS has not changed. To access the NDIS you will need to complete and submit an Access Request by calling the NDIA on 1800 800 110 (select option 1).

Local Area Coordinators (LACs) may be able to assist you with the Access Request and connect you with local supports and services. You can find your local LAC on the NDIS website.

A range of community services, including disability supports to support with mental health and wellbeing, is available to help you and your child at this time. Below are some organisations that can provide you with advice and support for your child.