Best Guide To Online KS2 Educational Resources

Helping your child do schoolwork at home can be tricky during school closures, but the internet is your friend, with plenty of free access resources to help.

Some lovely folk have been busily beavering away in the background coming up with some fantastic free online resources to engage kids aged seven to eleven in learning. There's a whole host of resources online to help you - whether you're finding maths a mystery, science a struggle or not having fun with phonics.

For more lockdown learning ideas, check out our list of online classes and educational TV shows. so you can let them sit in front of the telly guilt-free.

Maths

Maths is the subject that apparently we parents find the trickiest to help our kids with. Unless you are familiar with BODMAS, chunking and partitioning, you may find it hard to help your child with their maths work without confusing them (and you) in the process.

Here's a couple of our favourite maths resources, but you can find even more here.

Third Space

This hub for maths teaching is used by parents and teachers and support staff alike. There are loads of worksheets, maths games and more to download, many of them are free.

You'll find sheets for practising mental maths, SATs papers to try and for parents who are a bit rusty, some short videos that break down how various aspects of maths work these days. You can also sign up for one-to-one tutoring and personalised lessons, starting at £9.99 a week.

Sum Dog

If your child loves gaming, they will love Sum Dog's online learning games. Answer the maths questions to stop the junk piling up too high in the junkyard, or get the maths questions right to boost your car around the city and beat the other racers!

You can play six different games for free, and to access the rest of the games, as well as spelling and literacy games, family membership is £4 per month per child.

Literacy

English with Holly

An English teacher from Leighton Buzzard has been propelled into the limelight thanks to her daily English lessons. Mostly aimed at KS2-3, with some special classes introduced for GCSE students, Holly's lessons are on YouTube every weekday at 11 am.

Because the lessons are quite quick, and divided into shorter segments, Holy will particularly appeal to children who struggle to focus.

BBC Bitesize

BBC Bitesize was a superb resource before the COVID-19 crisis, but now it offers more than ever. Each day, new lessons are added to the site for children to follow.

For instance, a lesson on proofreading starts off with a short video clip, some proofreading tips, and then a few activities to check that the children have understood the lesson and are able to practise what they have learned.

Oak National Academy

Another website that you should explore for all subjects on the curriculum. Set up by a group of volunteer teachers, the lessons are divided by year group and subject and, like BBC Bitesize, new lessons are added each day.

The video lessons have been specially created for home learning, and unlike most other sites, you get to know your teachers - we really love Mr Mac and his fun, energetic personality.

Kids Classroom Secrets

Perfect for reluctant readers and writers, find literacy learning online, with spelling games and reading comprehensions that are completed on the screen. A great way for the less-keen literacy student - but fun for all. There are loads for free but if you want more, it costs £4.83 per month.

Project Learning

Robin Hood MAT

Lots of primary school work is done through projects that incorporate cross-curricular learning. The Robin Hood Multi Academy Trust has compiled weeks' worth of project resources with subjects such as Under the Sea, and the Area You Live in.

Each collection of lesson plans includes maths, science, and literacy tasks, and offers great ideas for art and crafts, discussion subjects and loads more.

PSHE

Learn and get moving with the BBC's Supermovers! Fun songs and dance routines that will get your kids moving - ideal if you have young learners who find it hard to keep still. Also check out the maths videos - fans of CBBC show The Next Step will get a treat!

Science

Edinburgh Science

Lots of resources available for hands-on science experiments that you can do at home with items you (probably) already have - make a magnet maze or frictions ramps. Downloadable pdfs, plus lots of links to other related activities.

Natural History Museum

Learn about dinosaurs (of course) as well as living things and their habitats, evolution and other natural history subjects with learning plans and free resources. There's also a section on crafts, experiments and other activities to try at home.

Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust

This charity, based at Slimbridge, is adding a new session, linked to the science curriculum, each week, so there's always something new to explore. Each session includes indoor and outdoor activities, which introduce some variety to your learning day.

Quizizz

Play online quizzes created by teachers. Test your knowledge on anything from human space exploration to the food chain. Do more quizzes to level up, and challenge your friends to play against them. Covers other topics including maths, computer science and languages.

History

Children's University of Manchester

Put together by PhD students at the University, the history projects cover Ancient Greece, Black History and Ancient Egypt. There are quizzes and videos to watch, as well as games to play. Once you have done everything you can print off a certificate.

Twinkl

This is the most amazing resource - it's designed for teachers but it offers free access for parents too. It covers the whole National Curriculum, but here we talk about its history offering.

Click on KS2, History and then choose your topic - you will be presented with a number of free resources for home learning. Sign up for the next level - at £4.49 a month - and you will be able to access powerpoints, worksheets, information sheets and lots more.

National Geographic kids

Discover Queen Victoria, Rosa Parks, Georgians and more with downloadable pdfs and activity suggestions. The pdfs are presented in a fun magazine/cartoon style that will appeal particularly to the younger end of Key Stage 2.

Geography

Oxfam

Football fans will be engaged in The World Cup, A Fair Game? This collection of resources covers geography and reveals how Brazil is fighting poverty and inequality. Also includes learning links for English, maths, citizenship/PSHE and PE.

Seterra

Download maps for labelling and colouring in, and then let the kids complete online quizzes to improve their knowledge of the countries of the world, their locations and capital cities.

3D Geography

Great site for sourcing facts and figures for projects on geographical subjects such as volcanoes, glaciers, earthquakes and more. Lots of great images and videos - but note you will have to pay for worksheets.

#ThisisPE

Watch these short videos to get great ideas for primary PE activities you can try at home - from improving ball skills and agility to creative movement and the intriguingly named Sock Wars!

SEND

Brain Parade

Aimed at children with autism and special needs, this visual instruction resources app features flashcards and picture-choosing games.

Sensory App House

Discover a number of apps suitable for children with Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties (PMLD) or Severe Learning Difficulties (SLD). Lots of opportunities for them to get interactive, without the need for coordination abilities.