If you are struggling in finding new ways to support your children during homeschool, we have got your back! Our Online Saturday School sessions are designed to assist children & young people, Key Stages 1-4 in Maths, English and Black History.
Lockdown have brought additional challenges to parents having to home school their children. So, in an attempt to respond to the frustrations of our users, IRIE! decided to create an online space where local families could engage in general studies and local Black History, in preparation for going back to school, after a long Spring and Summer at home. Now we are in a third lockdown and with uncertainty about the future, the Online Saturday School sessions are even more important.
“Brilliant! I had to ‘force’ my son to start the English and Black History sessions, but he’s loving them now and looks forward to them on a Saturday ☺️. With the Black History sessions in particular, my son is asking many more questions around his heritage, which is fantastic to see. The online sessions are such a fantastic idea – please continue the amazing work”. Parent
Laura Dwyer, Project Support and Administrator at IRIE! dance theatre shares insight about the programme. This journey with Saturday School has been a very fulfilling experience for, participants, teachers and the company as a whole. As a parent myself, I have seen first-hand the impact that this past eleven months has had on young people. After the initial excitement of not having school had worn off, my daughter started to miss her friends and her confidence with her academic work definitely suffered.
Laura reinforces that the sessions are equally important for parents. She says, as parents we are not always able to provide the education that our children are missing out on, despite our best efforts. Information available online can be overwhelming and I certainly didn’t anticipate the challenges faced by homeschooling a 9-year old! So, when IRIE! successfully raised funds to deliver a Saturday School online, I was very excited to be part of developing the programme. Being able to offer education support as well as a platform where young people are able to socialise was something that was desperately needed. It was very reassuring.
I was amazed by how quickly the sessions were booked up. We are very lucky to have a fantastic team of tutors delivering the sessions. In December we held a virtual parent evening. Feedback from parents and the young people was amazing.
“The sessions have been valuable to enhance my sons learning”. Parent
“Malakai has been with Irie! Saturday School from October. Initially it was just KS3 English with Rachel but then Maths was added to the mix. We as a family have been enjoying the sessions immensely…To see my child engaging and eager to participate brings me joy. Thank you Irie for putting this together”. Parent
“Excellent. My daughter loved the book and got the whole family engaged. Saw her grow in confidence too”. Parent
In my role as Project Support it’s truly a pleasure to be involved with the programme. The online Saturday School sessions are available free of charge until the end of March. If you would like to take the opportunity to support your child’s homeschooling, you can register to book a place for the next round of sessions. Just check our What’s On page on the website to find out more about the programme and how to book. We are looking forward to welcoming you