Teacher aims to help children through power of social media
The power of the internet has helped a Staffordshire teacher to provide a fun experience for children learning at home.
Rachael Benton has created a YouTube channel as a way of offering ideas to parents to help support learning at home and also make learning fun and accessible for all ages.
The 43-year-old from Huntington has also adopted the character of Mrs B, a nickname from her teaching days, on the channel, which is called "Smile and Learn with Mrs B".
She said she set up the channel after leaving her teaching position at Bushbury Lane Academy.
She said: "I've been a teacher for 14 years and I had to leave my last role due to personal reasons, trying to work full-time while also homeschooling two children.
"I've still got this drive and passion to teach and I miss the children dearly, plus I've always wanted to help parents as well and I'd wanted to set up a support service or tutoring service.
"I started a Facebook group to share some ideas and educational links, then my daughter suggested I do a YouTube channel, which I thought was a great idea because it's free and I can provide loads of content."
Primary curriculum
The channel provides a wide range of primary curriculum content, including games and activities, with Mrs Benton saying the impetus was supporting what children were learning and making it fun to learn.
She said: "When I was at school, I got taught in a very different way and so I wouldn't have learnt about long multiplication and things like that, so I know a lot of parents might struggle to teach that.
"I hope it can help and I hope I can grow the audience to as big as it possibly can, with an aim for people to be able to share it with other parents and friends they know.
"It's just great to be able to use this platform on social media in a positive way and if I can reach a few people, then that's brilliant."
'Smile and Learn with Mrs B' can be found by going to youtube.com/channel/UCtN7HVx51I5VJ9KmyaitO-g.
