Parent Guidance

Parent Guidance 

Revision can become as stressful for parents (if not more so) than it can for students. This page contains guidance that will help you to best support your child through revision for tests, CATs or formal examinations. 

More information can be found in the downloadable parent revision guidance booklet downloadable here

There are a vast number of revision resources available, in both electronic and physical formats.  For those students studying GCSE and A-level, the following document outlines the revision resources our Heads of Subject recommend most. 

 Y11/13 Revision document downloadable here 

Relationship: 

Without doubt, the toughest balance to achieve is the most constructive relationship with your child during a period of revision. Nagging will only work so much, but leaving them completely to their own devices also has its limitations. 

Finding the right balance between being assertive and establishing boundaries (e.g. expecting ‘x’ hours per night, no console until ‘x’ o’clock etc), whilst allowing student autonomy within these boundaries (e.g. letting them decide which topics to revise first). 

There is no ‘one size fits all’ solution, as all parent-child dynamics are different. You know your child best. 

Student Wellbeing: 

The elephant in the room – regardless of the severity of the assessment, it is likely to cause disruption to your child’s wellbeing. You cannot stop this happening, but you can help to minimise the impact by addressing the following factors: 

1. Sleep – ensuring your child gets enough sleep in the lead up to the assessment, especially the night before 

2. Rest and Relaxation – ensuring your child balances revision with breaks and leisure activities 

3. Coaching - calm and supportive discussion techniques to help put your child in charge of their studies. Help to build a growth mindset 

4. Nutrition - ensuring quality food and hydration is taken on board to best support brain performance 

Environment: 

Help create the best possible learning environment by ensuring the room is light, quiet, ventilated and contains no distractions (including the mobile phone!)   

Ensure the room also contains resources that are conducive to creative revision, such as post-it notes, colouring pens, coloured paper, scissors etc. 

Revision Timetable: 

By mapping out revision, students reduce their stress levels. This is a process you can work with your child on, and display the revision timetable publicly (e.g. fridge), so it creates talking points for your regular coaching conversations. 

The best way to do this is to ensure the date of the CAT, examination or assessment is known, and work backwards to calculate how much time is available for revision.