As students settle into their first weeks of the new school year, the Turnbull Government has launched a new resource for parents and families to help bring school lessons to life at home.
Minister for Education and Training Simon Birmingham said the new website, Learning Potential Resources was filled with hundreds of ideas, activities, games and videos to assist parents of primary school children get involved in their child’s learning.
“Once the flurry of books, school uniforms and lunchboxes are taken care of, we know that parents turn their attention to how best to support their child’s learning at school. That’s where Learning Potential Resources comes in,” Minister Birmingham said.
“This new website gives parents access to the resources that teachers are using in the classroom, adapted for the home environment.
“Learning Potential Resources shows how to turn everyday activities like cooking, watering the garden or walking the dog into a fun and interactive learning opportunity.”
Minister Birmingham said parental engagement is a key factor in enhancing a child’s learning, supporting the vital work teachers do.
“Parents are their children’s first teachers and a high level of engagement in their education is absolutely critical to success in the classroom,” Minister Birmingham said.
“The most important things that parents can do include having high aspirations for their children, reading together, talking with their children, exploring things their children have learned at school, and demonstrating that they value education.”
Learning Potential Resources supports the Australian Curriculum for primary school and contains three main sections, which include:
- 41 ‘every day ideas’ to show parents how to practice literacy and numeracy skills with their child during everyday life.
- 80 ‘practice together’ articles to guide parents on how they can reinforce literacy and numeracy skills their child is learning at school.
- 80 ‘practice online’ activities, including internet games and videos that parents and children can do together to practice these same skills.
Minister Birmingham said the new website complemented the popular Learning Potential app, which has been downloaded more than 119,000 times since it was launched in August 2015.
“The Turnbull Government is committed to making use of ever-evolving digital technologies to provide engaging ways for children to access information and to learn,” Minister Birmingham said.
The Learning Potential Resources website was created by Education Services Australia with support from the Turnbull Government.