Healthy Waterford Wellbeing Campaign - Young People and Education

Brian Partridge – Home School Liaison Officer in Saint Saviours School

Dia duit, my name is Brian Partridge and I’m a home school community liaison co-ordinator in Waterford city. I’m based in my school Saint Saviours N.S. My job is to help the parents of our students in all areas of education and general wellbeing. Usually this means we run courses for parents, help them to get back to education themselves and to organise class activities like cooking for fun where the parents and teachers and students all work together.

In these strange times where our schools are closed myself and my colleagues are busier than ever. Parents find themselves in the unusual position of been the sole educators of their children for a prolonged period of time. Assistance through online platforms and the post is coming from all the teachers. This is a stressful time for parents and children especially in built up areas. With everything going on and the difficulties the emergency has presented parents also have to replicate a school environment at home. This is difficult for teachers in a school and much more so for parents at home. Many parents don’t have access to computers and internet and will feel the pressure. we have also been ringing parents and listening to their concerns and fears . Here are some tips on how to make it less stressful.

• Firstly, trying to do a school day is not going to help your sanity so don’t. instead do forty minutes to an hour. Any longer and you will lose the kids attention, and this will become stressful.
• Concentrate on small chunks of work in maths and English. Don’t try to do too much. If you have online access, try use Khan academy (excellent site for parents and children).
• If they are mad for screen time and this is becoming an issue disguise their screen time with educational screen time. YouTube has many great videos for kids of all ages in the subjects of science and history and geography. If there’s no internet rte. are running classes daily.
• With the Irish language don’t be afraid of it, pick a phrase and learn it that week or just sit down and watch TG4 kids programmes for a few minutes and see if they recognise a word or such. Always try to make something fun and not get worried if it isn’t sticking.
• In these strange times there is opportunity to spend time with your children and do things which they will never forget and will cherish for the rest of their lives. Baking a cake, planting flowers, learning a song, doing a home workout or some yoga, saying a prayer and so on.

To sum up now is the time to spend time with your kids, not to replicate school but create memories that they won’t forget and will pass on to their kids someday.

Listen to the full interview below.

For more information on Healthy Waterford and other services listed on this page, see waterforddirectoryofservices.ie.