Schools in the UK have now officially been shut since Friday 20^th March, and many parents have found themselves having to take on the role of teacher as well as parent as they attempt to home-school their children.

Some parents are feeling overwhelmed, and MyTutor – the UK’s leading online tutoring service – want to help reassure parents and help alleviate some of the pressure being felt. Remember: it is impossible to be a full-time teacher, especially for working parents. Kids aren’t learning for every second of the school day either, so the most helpful thing for parents to do at this time is help structure the day for children. Here are MyTutor’s top tips for doing just that:

1 Set good habits around phone use and have honest conversations

Teens spend a lot of time on apps speaking with their friends anyway – and isolation will only increase their desire to communicate socially. While some communication will be positive for their mental health, the opposite is true when social media fuels feelings of isolation and anxiety. You’ll need to set some ground rules for how phones are used during the day and make sure to have honest conversations with them about their mood.

2 Organise your days (and make sure to go outside!)

Without the structure of a work or school day, and without the engagement of peers, motivation and energy can take a dive. Create a timetable that’ll work for both you and your child, covering their subjects and your own workload. Divide up periods of work and study with active breaks. Make sure that you and your child keep active, go outside, eat meals at the appropriate times and have offline conversations.

3 Look for online support

Self-study is an incredibly hard skill to master and secondary school pupils may struggle without someone actively explaining concepts to them. If you feel unable to help your child study while also dealing with your own workload, it is worth finding an online tutor who can help your child fill in any gaps in their knowledge. Online lessons are like having a face-to-face skype call with a tutor but with an interactive whiteboard on the screen too so students can upload documents and make notes. A tutor can keep students on track with the syllabus and give them a much-needed boost of confidence in what is a confusing and challenging time.