Helping your Child with Schoolwork

	Recognise together how important the work is and how much time/effort will be needed if they are to do as well as possible.
	Model appropriate behaviour and demonstrate in your own life that you value learning (e.g. let your child see you reading) - what you ARE is a far more important role-model than what you say.
	Take an interest in what your child is learning – ask them!   Don't interrogate them about school, but encourage a time each day when they tell you about their work-targets and aspirations.
	Teach them that sometimes success is NOT instant, encouraging them to persevere, work hard and overcome failure.
	Encourage interest and positive attitudes - don't join in moaning or mocking of work or school.

   

	Encourage your son/daughter to ask their teachers for help on any parts of their work they do not understand.
	Do not be afraid to approach teachers for advice – ask via their organiser.

Organisation

	Encourage a START NOW! approach - procrastination is the main cause of poor homework!
	Familiarise yourself with your child's homework and organiser.   Help them organise their work-routine.   Work out together what needs doing, when.   Especially, encourage them not to leave everything until the night before.   Teach them HOW to organise themselves.   POOR SELF-ORGANISATION IS THE CRUCIAL FACTOR in failure.
	Help your child plan out  their study time each evening BEFORE they start.
	Insist, for each task, an unchanging schedule: a time thinking about the task and what it involves, sufficient time devoted to doing the work, time spent evaluating/ reviewing/ proofing the work.

	Encourage routines, such as doing homework immediately they get home.
	Insist that work precedes play - e.g. insist that they finish homework properly before they go out.

Workplace

	Identify quiet 'SPECIAL STUDY PLACE' for them to study, and a place where their work can be safely kept.   Make sure  the necessary equipment is to hand.   Encourage the rest of the family to help by not disturbing them when they are working.
	Have all the materials they need to hand so they don’t have to go off looking for information.

	Only help when asked, but always help when asked.
	Familiarise yourself with their textbooks and courses, so that you can speak with authority.
	It can sometimes be an advantage if you don't understand it either!   Ask your child to explain the problem to you - often they will see the answer because they have had to organise their thoughts to explain things to you.
	Know when to insist that they persevere - and know when to tell them to stop (and put an explanatory note in their organiser to the teacher).

Remember the brain works best for 20-minute stints – after that you get brain drain.   Plan for short, sharp sessions. Any longer than 30 minutes and it is likely that less and less will be achieved. Take a short break and have a glass of water (the brain needs water to function properly).   Ideally, take a break involving some physical activity (eg shoot hoops).

   

	One of the most important factors is to recognize that people all have their own learning style. Be aware of what helps your child learn.  Approach a subject from lots of different angles – software, games, activities, books, flash cards etc. There is an article on the different kinds of learners and strategies to help them at: http://www.greenfield.durham.sch.uk/a_multipleintelligences.htm.
	Working with the TV or radio on or with loud music is NOT a good idea. Having Mozart or favourite ‘supermarket’ music in the background may help.
	Working with a friend is NOT useful - they waste the time chatting, and you will feel less comfortable about getting involved.
	Working with an older brother or sister who has already done the course may help (if they don’t kill each other!)

   

	When they have finished, check that they have done their homework thoroughly.   It is a breakthrough when pupils start to 'quality control' their own work before they show it to you.
	Ask them to read their answers and notes out loud to you.   (Reading it out loud will improve their written expression, because they will realise the bits that do not make sense.)   Respond only at the end.   It’s a good rule of thumb that, if you can follow their explanation, then they have done a reasonable answer on that topic.
	Offer rewards for each bit of work completed (e.g. points towards a visit to the cinema at the weekend, or a phone call to a friend at the end of an evening’s work, for example).

   

If they do not have any specific homework, encourage them to take some time to do some extra work, perhaps using the internet.   SAMLearning - available from the school website at: http://www.greenfield.durham.sch.uk/samlearning.htm - is excellent.   Other good work websites are available at the SATs revision sites page of the school website at: http://www.greenfield.durham.sch.uk/acSAT_Revision_sites.htm

A Learning Family

	Help your child to learn a new descriptive word a day and all the family use it correctly as much as possible – maybe stick it to the front door!
	Encourage your child’s learning by reading and discussing newspaper articles – try to identify key points which convey the message and ask them questions to test their understanding.
	Insist that 'your house is a listening house'.   Encourage them to LISTEN and THINK before they speak.
	Talk to your child about things in the news and the world around them and encourage them to ask questions about the way things work.
	Encourage them to make mental lists of everything.
	Get them to use numbers in everyday situations, like shopping, and to work out sums in their head.
	Play memory games when you are travelling in the car together.   Have memorising competitions just for fun!

Lifestyle habits

	Make sure they have a little breakfast every day, especially during the week of the tests - children who miss breakfast perform worse in late morning.
	Encourage your child to read for 10 minutes every day.
	Encourage relaxation time (too much study is not helpful).
	Encourage them to include some positive TV - such as information programmes and documentaries - in their TV viewing.
	Make sure they get to bed at a reasonable time. If children are tired they find it hard to concentrate – even when they are assertive teenagers with a mind of their own about such things!

	Encourage your child to believe in themselves - show respect to their ideas before you tell them not to be so stupid.
	Encourage the attitude that getting stuck is not a problem, but a challenge and fun – get them to develop an "I can do it!" attitude to the work!
	HELP THEM TO ENJOY!  OFFER LOTS OF PRAISE – BOOST THEIR CONFIDENCE, because SOME PUPILS ARE VERY NERVOUS!    One site says that parents should be the 'cheerleaders' in their children's education.
	Being calm with your child if they are worried will help them to keep calm, and try to be there to talk through their concerns.
	Do not put your child under too much pressure - they will find things easier if they have enjoyed doing them than things they were pressured to do.
	Teach them how to relax – e.g. by breathing deeply and closing their eyes to picture a calm scene like a green field by a river

	http://www.parentscentre.gov.uk/foragegroup/11to14years/helpyourchildintestingtimes/   (UK government advice)
	http://www.ed.gov/parents/academic/help/succeed/part4.html  (US government advice)   You should also to check out the school’s advice for parents on: Helping Your Child Revise at: http://www.greenfield.durham.sch.uk/ParentsRevision.htm.