Educational resources to support children and young people in Leeds during lockdown

We hope you are all keeping well during this unprecedented time, and are coping with the changes to normal life as a result of COVID-19. On this post you will find educational and fun learning resources for all ages. If you are looking for our ultimate guide with fun activities and creative ideas, competitions, guidance and advice, please click here.

Lockdown learning with BBC Bitesize! From their lessons full of videos, quizzes and practice activities all free on their website. BBC are TV – programming for primary school pupils will be on CBBC between 09:00 and 12.00 every weekday. Programmes for secondary school pupils will be on BBC Two, between 13:00 and 15:00.

My Learning offers free National Curriculum-linked resources for teachers and learners, inspired by the collections of arts, heritage and cultural organisations.  Learning resources across many varied subjects for children, young people and adults and the site is managed by Leeds Museums and Galleries.

A range of creative ideas, craft activities, videos and online learning resources to bring our museums and galleries into your homes.

Khan Academy are a nonprofit organisation with the mission to provide a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere. From educational resources for primary and secondary, a FREE app for the little ones to draw, learn and play, it really has something for everyone. Download the Khan Academy Kids app here.

Explore the National Geographic Kids Primary Resources! The primary resources support core subjects like English, Maths, and Science, while also covering the wider curriculum with resources for Geography, History, Art, and Culture.

Here at Leeds for Learning, our teams been collating a range of fantastic resources which cover home learning and support for Early Years, Primary and Secondary curriculum areas.

Leeds Libraries & School Library Service have put together lots of resources to support with school and home learning. From online events to free eBooks, eAudio books and eComics.

As well as the structured home learning and live teaching provided by class teachers, there is wealth of further support if needed. Along with this ultimate guide of learning resources, some we may have missed and that have been doubled checked by teachers is this list by Swillington Primary School.

Children’s Mental Health Week is taking place on 1-7 February 2021. This year’s theme is Express Yourself. Place 2 Be have many free resources  which will help children and young people to explore what it means to Express Yourself.

Supporting your children’s education during coronavirus (COVID-19). The government have put together a page of information, guidance and support for parents and carers of children who are learning at home.

Lots of free reading resources including audio books by Leeds Year of Reading. Whether you’re looking for something for the under 5’s or school-aged children, there is something for everyone.

Healthy Schools in Leeds have published PSHE & SEMH resources for schools, as well as a resource to pass on to parents/carers including information about online safety and wellbeing.

Active Leeds has designed a resource pack to encourage children, young people and families to be more physically active whilst promoting mental health and wellbeing. Under 8’s toolkit is called Ready Set Rainbow and The over 8’s Active Leeds toolkit is called Get Active Stay Active. They also have a fab competition for all to enter 🙂

At the Leeds Youth Voice Summit 2020, 114 young people put forward their ideas for tackling the climate emergency and the action they wanted to see. A new toolkit for young people has been created that’s full of all these ideas along with resources to put these ideas into action, tackle the climate emergency and #LeedsByExample.

If you are looking for resources for home schooling, Young Leaders Award by The Archbishop of York Youth Trust have a whole hub that is free for parents/carers and teachers to access. The resources cover character education and leadership development, and are designed specifically for key stages 1, 2 and 3.

Future Learn has something for everyone. Free to access 100s of courses, only pay to upgrade if you need a certificate in your name (own account from age 14+ but younger learners can use a parent account).

Leeds Building Society have put these fantastic activity sheets to learn about finance, money and develop numeracy skills. It’s important for kids to learn about money. That way, they can start understanding how to make good financial choices early on. Check out the activities for Key Stage 1, 2, 3 and 4 here.

Welcome to Earth School! Embark on 30 adventures – or Quests – that will help you understand and celebrate our natural world, while learning about how dependent we are on our planet. With these lessons, learners of all ages will be able to explore how to live greener and cleaner lives individually and in their communities.

ArtForms is the music and arts service, working with children, young people, families and schools. Home Learning*  During the ongoing coronavirus situation we are sharing free Arts and Music online resources that can be used at home.  Please click on your section name to find resources to help you with your music learning at home.

The Leeds Local Offer brings together information about all the services available in the city for children and young people aged 0-25 who have special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities. For regular updates and resources, please join the Leeds Local Offer Facebook group here.

SNAPS (Special Needs And Parent Support) provides leisure support services for children with special needs of all kinds, and their families. At SNAPS we are thinking of ways to keep you engaged and active with your families. So we are looking at creating an online resource of educational and at home activities that you can enjoying doing with your families.

We know young people in Leeds are especially passionate about climate change. That’s why to mark Earth Day 2020, we’ve created a toolkit of at-home activities, books and videos especially for young people to keep you busy and help you learn more about global climate change and sustainability.

My Bright Kite have released twelve brand new personal testimonial films made by children and young people in migration who attend Lawnswood School, Leeds.

The films include themes such as reasons for leaving home, migration journeys, first impressions of the UK, settling into school, challenges and ways to stay strong, bullying, feeling welcome and supported, key messages for students and teachers, future hopes and aspirations.

The Happy Newspaper is a platform to share happy and wonderful news stories and promotes positive wellbeing. They have 3 resource packs for children that can be downloaded for free.

We know that mental health and anxiety are big concerns at the moment and so we have shared this A to Z of mental health services and resources with you again. This document, which is also available via the School Well-being team’s website provides a summary of the broad range of mental health support and resources for children and young people across Leeds, including support available via text, telephone and online. 

The Feel Better Coronavirus Support Guide was developed following local research with young people, which found 16-19-year-olds would like more wellbeing support. The guide features tips for getting through self-isolation, including ideas for staying active, making a daily plan and looking after mental wellbeing. It also offers information on where to get a test for COVID-19, and how to access local support.

Baby Week has gathered updates and resources on free to low cost services available from mainstream, third sector and grassroots organisations for parents, carers, families and professionals to access during lockdown. From their resource page to the informative blogs, they have something for everyone looking for services, fun groups and how to get help.

Sign Language is a visual means of communicating using gestures, facial expression, and body language. Fingerspelling is a method of spelling words using hand movements. More details and resources here.

Click the image for links to fun and creative ideas for families during lockdown.

Want to enter our monthly competition to win a tablet? Click the link above to find out more…

As we’re in lockdown 3.0, below are some links to guidance, health advice and support.