Things that parents can do to help
• Offer non-critical assistance - be a
good listener and encourage your child to ask if they need help. Don’t criticise if your daughter is struggling or if they get the answers wrong, this can turn them off asking for help in the future.
• Be a coach, not a tutor - help children by testing them in a friendly manner, the drive to or from school is great for this. Don’t do their work for them or give them the answers, instead help them to find out the answers for themselves.
• Ask trigger questions - help children to make connections between prior knowledge and experiences and the work they are doing now. Don’t give them the answers but ask questions that guide them and allow them to discover the answers for themselves.
• Encourage children to try a variety
of learning techniques - everyone learns differently and it is important that students use trial and error to find the techniques that work best for them.
children to see the teacher with these before the work is due if they can’t understand the work using other resources.
themselves - remind children that the journey towards the goal is as important as attaining it in the end. Encourage a range of short and long term goals to be set.
• Guide children towards appropriate
resources and help them to use these successfully - books, revision guides, websites (e.g. exam board websites, mymaths, bbc bitesize), my learning, peers, family members, social network groups, teachers. Do they know how to use the resource, e.g. look in the index of a book, use the search box on a website? Write a list of target questions and encourage
• Encourage children to set goals for
• Encourage children to keep trying
when faced with challenges sometimes we learn the most when we try and fail.
• Encourage students not to give up;
things do not have to be perfect first time in order to be valuable in terms of learning.