We have included thoughts from the Ministry's Youth Advisory Group, a diverse group of students aged between 14 and 18 years, who all have Internet access, to help your thinking and planning. Check out Voices from schools and Voices from early learning also.
Checklist for planning
1 Agreeing a schedule with teachers - school leaders
- Be mindful of teachers' workload. Agree reasonable expectations for contact time and non-contact time. See example guidelines for staff [Word, 65KB]
- Discuss and agree to expectations around the use of emails, text messages and other communication tools with children, young people, parents and whānau.
- Create a daily work plan to guide teachers. This may include setting work, contacting families, preparing learning, engaging with children, young people, parents and whānau, and giving feedback. See our sample teacher schedule for ideas [Word, 18KB]
2 Timetabling learning - early learning centres and teachers
- Create a timetable for teachers to share with students, parents and whānau. The learning day be balanced with down time and fun activities.
"We can do a couple of hours at a time max on a device - we'll be sharing our computers and tablets with other people, like siblings or parents." —Youth Advisory Group
"We'll do our best, but we want teachers to be flexible with us so since we have chores and have to help around the house." —Youth Advisory Group
- For all age groups (ages 0 – 18), if you are working online, your plan or routine should include a broad range of learning activities. For example, project-based activities, reading for pleasure, and exploration using home settings. You should create these timetables to share with parents and whānau. See our sample schedules for ideas:
- To help you make sure your routines cater for students with additional learning needs, you may phone the parents and whānau of individual students. Here are some questions you can explore [Word, 16KB]
- A visual timetable can be helpful. Use pictures to show what happens and what happens next. Follow this example to help break the day into manageable blocks [Word, 61KB]
- Learning Support remains available, including Resource Teacher Learning and Behaviour, Resource Teacher Literacy, and Ministry of Education supports. If you haven't been contacted, please get in touch with your regional Ministry office or liaison Resource Teacher Learning and Behaviour if you need support.
- Timetables or weekly plans can be used by learners, parents and whānau to record and celebrate what they have done each day. See our Learning at home classroom check in for ideas [Word, 16KB]
"We learning through conversations with others. We need to know how to ask questions and check our understanding. We want teachers to care about our wellbeing - how we're going with all of this - not just talk about school work and learning." —Youth Advisory Group
- Think about families who do not currently have access to online learning. Identify these students in your school and discuss with your regional Education Advisor.
3 Getting guidance on tools and platforms
If you're just getting started with distance learning, stick with things that you already know or are doing. Remember, if you need further support, a helpline is available for distance learning. Call 0800 700 401 for English, or 0508 294 462 for Te Reo Māori.
"We want to use the same platforms across our classes so we don't have to learn lots of new things, particularly for secondary school." —Youth Advisory Group