Your advice to fellow parents

This is going to be a marathon, not a sprint, so how have Telegraph readers up and down the country been tackling their first days of home education?

“Children love structure, as parents we often forget that. Give time for learning, time for play, time for activities and time just to sit down together. This can be a brilliant time to move away from worksheets and teach children core skills for life – how to cook, how to plan, how to garden. Write letters to old people’s homes, plan a future family holiday, the list is endless. Remember that the best learning actually happens outside of the classroom!”

Melissa Mcbride, mother of three

“I set up a ‘Snack Station’ with a price list, spending limit and honesty book on day one – both to manage the constant requests for food and to give them a bit of freedom and control. They have to use maths and decisionmaking skills to work out what they want and how much they want it. Of course, my youngest went straight for the chocolate, but my most organised child mulled over her selection all day.”

Fleur Knowles, mother of three, aged 7, 9 and 11

“Establish your work schedule around usual hours, and spend quality time with children. In school holidays I work 6-10am and 7-11pm. Reasonably successful, although there is slight weekend overspill.”

Christian Kawley, father of three, aged 3 and 8 (twins)

“My daughter hasn’t been to her pre-school for more than a week, and boredom has started to kick in. The screen time has increased dramatically, and we’ve got no choice but to let this happen as we are working from home and need some peace during peak business hours. I guess the mantra is to organise your day appropriately, spend some time with your kid during your breaks and make to-do lists so that you get a sense of achievement by ticking tasks off.”

Shailesh Jain, mother of one, aged 22 months

See the Business section for the best home-schooling apps