10 best free online educational resources for parents over lockdown

IXL offers personalised questions and tasks in maths and English. Covering hundreds of different skills and topics for children in reception up to those studying GCSEs. It is a one stop shop for homeschooling, with a very easy to navigate site full of great resources. Children can go on for free and work their way through multiple maths topics of their choosing, a great supplement to their existing lesson plan and homework.

Want to access revision tools as well as support and advice from other students? BBC Bitesize has your child covered whether they're in primary school, secondary school, or aged 16+. Split into three sections for different learning experiences for different ages, it could be useful to your child from day 1 of primary school to advice on how to write personal statements and apply to university. 

Bitesize covers all areas of the curriculum (including all of the UK) with educational video explanations and easy to understand notes.

Just because they can’t go, doesn’t mean children can’t benefit from this world-famous museum. Take a virtual tour, letting David Attenborough guide you around the enormous halls.

There is also a range of downloadable activities and lesson plans available too, each helpfully labelled with the learning stage they apply to.

You can always rely on the Science Museum to spark an interest in learning. The website is packed full of free online educational games and fun challenges to attempt at home. 

The website also relates all of the content learnt in the fun activities to their equivalent Key Stage level, very helpful to keep games relevant and brings a new fun side of learning to what kids have been taught in the classroom. 

Finally the Science Museum offers a free virtual tour of selected parts of the museum, a great tool to use until the field trips are up and running again. 

Tate kids is an online space for all things 'Art'. Some of the world’s most famous artists are brought into focus under the ‘explore’ tab, where you are asked “who is Salvador Dali?”, “who is Berthe Morisot?” and so on. The site offers click through options to pages on the life and works of a variety of different painters and sculptors. You can take a deep dive into different eras or styles of art – including pop art and impressionism or discover how different pieces of art might be grouped together.

The ‘make’ tab gives you inspiration and creative tasks to complete at home. Such as painting like Turner and designing friendship bracelets, even experimenting with photography. 

The Children’s University of Manchester website presents an excellent opportunity for The University of Manchester to share, with the wider community, and particularly primary schools, the excitement of the knowledge created through its pioneering research activities and teaching and learning practices.

Designed to support children aged 7-11, The Children's University of Manchester teaches various subjects including science. Enhance your child's learning with a Primary level tutor.

DKFindout lets kids explore subjects as broad as transport, space, dinosaurs, and computer coding assisted by quizzes and videos. It is a huge database of knowledge, all formatted for children and easy to use. While the topics are interesting to children, they are also educational. 

DKFindout has a great section based around computer coding, orientated around beginners. 

Get Body Smart is a great interactive way for a child to learn about the anatomy and physiology of the human body. Split up into each individual system in the body, the website is informative and perfect to use alongside GCSE biology revision and earlier learning in schools. 

Videos on the site show in detail natural processes that are occurring everyday in the body and the wealth of information is enough to ignite a passion for science in all young kids from a very young age.

National Geographic has provided a wealth of classroom resources which help keep young people connected to and interested in little-known wonders from all over the globe. The collection of online lessons suit all age groups and encompass topics such as ecology and social studies. More specific subjects, such as climate change and storytelling, have dedicated areas of the site designed for immersive exploration. Almost needless to say the photography is world class and makes using this space feel really special.

One for the younger ones. The Poetry Zone has been publishing children's poems since 1998 and accepts submissions all year round. If your child is a budding writer then this is the perfect place for them to share their ideas and passion. The thrill for them of being able to show their friends that they are on the internet is amazing. 

For children and teenagers of all ages who would like to stay ahead in their classwork, Sherpa has qualified online tutors who can ignite a passion in all subjects from primary school to A-levels and beyond.