17 min
Schools across the globe are responding to the outbreak of the Coronavirus. In some cases schools have closed or are making preparations for a potential closure.
At Twinkl, our mission is to help those who teach and we are therefore taking steps to support continued learning at home, by offering the teachers and parents of children in schools which are closed, or facing closure, free access to all Twinkl resources for a period of one month in the first instance. Due to continued school closures, this has now been extended.
We’ve put together a simple, step-by-step guide about this offer of help, for teachers and schools to use. This guide is not designed to supercede or replace any official guidance, but is intended to advise on using the Twinkl website during this period.
If you've already set up your free access, scroll down to section 3.
Step 1: Go to www.twinkl.co.uk/offer
Step 2: Enter the code you have received, or CVDTWINKLHELPS if you have not yet been given a code
Step 3: Share the offer code and website link with anyone who could benefit
No need to do anything - we’ll automatically extend the free access for you.
Yes! Choose the method that works best for you. Email, text, or WhatsApp the code to parents. Share it on class blogs, school social media pages, or publish it on your school website with a link to Twinkl. Print out stickers and stick these into reading diaries or learning journals. Pop a slip of paper into book bags. We don’t mind how you do it - but we do want to help as many schools and families as we can, with your support.
Make sure you direct parents to www.twinkl.co.uk/offer. This will be the quickest and easiest way for parents to get set up.
We have a number of really helpful guides, designed for parents, for different areas of the curriculum. You can direct parents towards our dedicated Parents’ Hub which contains hundreds of educational activities designed for use at home. Or, browse this area yourself and hand-pick individual resources to share.
For parents with children in EYFS, take a look through our EYFS for Parents area to find some really useful guides and activities to share.
For primary-aged children, take a look at our 5-11 area. Again, this was created with parents in mind so it’s filled with guides and information about what children should be learning in each year group, for each curriculum area.
For parents with secondary-aged children (for ages 11 to 16), take a look at the Beyond area of the website. Resources are available for English, Maths and Science, as well as languages, art, humanities and other curriculum areas. Lots to keep older children occupied.
Our Parents User Guide and general Twinkl Membership guide are both useful documents to refer to for general information about the site, our content and how to find it.
There are a number of simple ways you can curate and share content from the Twinkl website, as well as many useful areas that parents can easily use.
We have put together Home Learning Packs from Year 1 to Year 6.
Our EYFS Home Learning Packs can be found here.
Our KS1 Home Learning Packs can be found here.
Our KS2 Home Learning Packs can be found here.
Our Secondary Home Learning Packs can be found here and here.
Our SEND Home Learning Pack is available here.
These packs are available as ZIP files. For guidance about how to download and open this type of file, take a look at our FAQ.
We're also putting together Interactive Learning Links resources. These are interactive PDF resources which link to other helpful materials on the Twinkl site that you can use without a printer:
EYFS -- Year 1 -- Year 2 -- Year 3 -- Year 4 -- Year 5 -- Year 6
We've also added a new feature to our app, where you can annotate PDFs in the app with any info you like.
Share a resource directly using our sharing tools, found at the top-right of a resource preview. You can share to a class Facebook group or send via email to multiple addresses. Or simply copy and paste the URL and pop it into a class blog. Use our Save For Later feature to organise resources into folders on site to make sharing resources linked to a topic or theme easier.
Google Classroom is designed to upload resources, create deadlines, mark work and start discussions with your class online. This way they’re still learning and not falling behind whilst not in school. We’ve made it easier for you to work with Google Classroom by including a Google Drive Button next to all our resources, where available. This allows you to download the resource straight to your drive, which can then be uploaded into Google Classroom.
Read our guide to Google Classroom here.
Twinkl Go! is a really useful tool that can be used to curate our interactive content. Within the Twinkl Go! area of the site, you can find online games, self-marking comprehensions, audiobooks and more.
If you’re teaching a particular topic or area of learning, you can group together all related activities in a lesson, then share this lesson with parents using a code. It’s really easy to do and a very efficient and effective way to create online lessons for your pupils. Again, lesson codes can be shared through class blogs, email, your website or printed out to send home at the end of the day. A video tutorial for how to do this can be found here and we also have a Twinkl Go! user guide for further information.
We've also put together a selection of lessons within Twinkl Go! for different age groups. Check them out here. Really useful, really simple and available to anyone who has full access to the site.
Parents may feel more comfortable and confident in using books as a starting point for learning. Our Twinkl Originals books were created to encourage a love of reading and enhance curriculum-wide learning through accompanying teacher-created resources. Each book is available in different formats - PowerPoint, eBook or audio book (available through Twinkl Go!) - and has been written using age-appropriate vocabulary and themes. Books are available for EYFS, KS1 and KS2 and each comes with ready-made resources to support writing, maths and other curriculum areas. Once you’ve found a book within the Twinkl Originals page, click to see all supporting resources. If you’re covering a particular topic at school, this is a great way to continue this learning at home.
Twinkl Imagine gives you a different photo every day with a range of activities for KS1 and KS2 children designed to be done independently or with an adult.
Activities cover English, Maths, Art and Design, research challenges and engaging discussions. There are also topic webs with ideas on how each topic can link to a child's learning across different subjects.
With over 400 photos to choose from, there are lots of different topics to explore.
For parents who may prefer a topic-led approach, we have a fantastic range of lapbooks to choose from. Browse the options online - again, these might align with topics being learnt at school. There’s also a helpful guide which explains how to make a Twinkl lapbook. Super simple and a really enjoyable activity for children and parents alike.
Our maths workbooks offer a really simple solution. They’re organised by age group and topic, and are available with answer sheets for easy marking. Use ready-made workbooks from the site, or create your own to print out and share with parents.
Inevitably, children will have questions about the Coronavirus and want to find out more. To support parents and teachers with these conversations, we have a range of suitable materials on site. Discuss good hygiene and hand washing using our display packs, or take a look at our child-friendly news reports in Twinkl Newsroom - designed for use in KS2 (ages 7 to 11) with new stories added each day. Or search ‘coronavirus’ on the Twinkl site to find other related materials.
As ever, if schools, teachers or parents have any questions, we’re always here to help. Contact TwinklCares using the help icon at the bottom of the page to send a message to our experienced team of teachers. Our Facebook communities are a fantastic source of ideas, knowledge and support for parents and teachers alike. Furthermore, we’d love to hear any other ideas you might have which we can share with the wider Twinkl network.
In unexpected times, we all play our part in helping in whichever way we can. The help we are offering would not be possible without the continued support of our members - thank you. We’re hopeful that we‘ve been able to make a challenging situation a little easier and our thoughts are with anyone who has been affected.
Jonathan Seaton
Twinkl CEO
Thank you Twinkl for the school closure packs, you so quickly and resourcefully had these packs ready! And such quality packs too! They have been a lifesaver! We have used them these last 2 weeks of home schooling. Are you intending to supplement these packs at all? They would be so useful. Thank you again, Twinkl team. Keep twinkling!
Thank you so much Twinkl - I’ve recommended this site to lots of teachers , friends and parents. It was been a god send to my 12 year old son’s learning an my planning as a teacher !
Couldn’t have made it without you guys at Twinkl x
Thank-you so much for stepping in to help with home learning. This website has been invaluable!!
Thank you.
Thank you very much for sharing your resources with everyone at this time.