How to Get The Most From Your Child's School Report

Your child’s school report is much more than a termly record of your child’s classroom input and development, to be filed away in a cupboard. It’s an invaluable tool in helping you and your child to review and set academic and extra-curricular goals.

As part of our study skills work with children, we regularly go through school reports with students, helping them identify areas where they should be congratulated and other areas where they can improve. If it helps, these can be put in to a simple two column chart, so they can quickly identify their strengths and areas for improvement.

Remember, praise comes first for things they’ve done well, goals they’ve met and achievements to be proud of. Then it’s time to look closely at the areas that need improvement and take time to discuss these – your child will probably know which ones need seriously addressing and they may surprise you with their insight.  Ask them to volunteer thoughts as they are far more likely to buy into points they’ve raised themselves. Between you, pick out and agree upon 4 or 5 areas to target as goals for the next report.  

Needless to say, there is a level of sensitivity involved in this exercise, so be conscious of the language and phrases you use – try saying things like:

 “Your English and History look great! But some of the other subjects are disappointing – what’s different about those classes?”

“It’s good to hear you’re speaking out in class, and to see that you’re doing well with homework. Let’s work on revision over the rest of term.”

Your target list then becomes ‘Objectives For Next Term.’   Print these out and display them somewhere your child will see, such as close to their desk or on the fridge. 

As the term continues try not to nag, but do give them a gentle nudge/reminder when appropriate. Ask them how they feel it’s going, but pick your timing – often a casual chat over supper is more effective than a sit-down review!   

Use parents’ evening as an opportunity to discuss if there has been an improvement with their teachers.   This is a good time to review the objectives list with your child – are there any that you both feel have been achieved?  Are there any still going unaddressed?  Remember praise is effective, but don’t overdo it or give it where undeserved.   

At the end of term, review their new report alongside the old one – actively seek out signs of improvement in areas that appear on your goals list. Reward and congratulate.   However, don’t let your child be disheartened if they feel they have achieved a goal but it’s not reflected in their report – assure them you know they were working hard and if appropriate speak to their teacher for further feedback.

When setting your objectives be realistic about improvement.

Here are some sample goals – your child will have his or her own areas to improve on, but these might help with inspiration:

Music Grades:  See if you can pass that grade 3 for Singing.  Speak to your music teacher about trying for grades in Piano.

Reading: You will try to read at least 2 of The Dark Material books by the end of half term. If you run out of books on your kindle, come and ask me to download more for you. At least 30 minutes of reading a day is the minimum!

Unit test revision and highlighting key-facts for subjects like History. Use a highlighter pen to emphasise key-facts and words to remember. We agreed you would spend some extra time revising for unit tests to ensure you get the best results possible.

Grades: We are aiming for 5 B’s and 3A’s and almost all 5’s for effort. You will focus particularly on Sciences, Spanish and RS.

Activities- choir, football, plus you will choose two more clubs, when you know what is available.

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This weeks blog was written by Claire Coker and Catherine Stoker, who regularly work with children, helping them develop their study skills.  If your child needs some encouragement with their school work, contact our team to see how we can help. 

Email claire@independenteducationconsultants.co.uk  01865 522066 for an informal discussion on how we can help.
For more information visit www.independenteducationconsultants.co.uk

TIPS FOR STARTING A NEW SCHOOL

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Thanks to Sally Markowska for these great tips for starting a new school:

Have a positive attitude! Yes, joining a new school is a challenge BUT embrace the adventure. Remember the times you have tried something new before and how you survived

·       Remember you will not be the only new pupil: Others will be feeling exactly like you!

·       Before term starts: Have you got details of any pupils already at the school? It is worth contacting them informally to ask any burning questions you may have and/or to meet up. Even exchanging emails/texts would mean you already know someone at the school.

·       Be confident or at least pretend to be! Hold your head high as you walk in those gates for the first time.

·       SMILE at all the people you meet: It has an immediate effect on others and you will feel more positive too.

·       Have some opening ice-breaking questions ready: ‘Hi, what is your name?’ or ‘I am new and have no idea what I am supposed to be doing now. Do you?’

·       Timetable: Does it make sense? Do you understand where to go for each lesson? Do not be afraid to ask someone, even another pupil walking down the corridor- they were in your shoes once!

·       Break and lunchtimes: Be prepared for these. Ask others where they go for break/lunch and ask if you can go along on the first day. Don’t be shy!

·       In the first lessons: Introduce yourself to the people who sit near you, join in the discussions, try to ask and answer questions. You will feel better about yourself if you can but do not despair if it is all too challenging in the first few days!

·       Learn the names of the teachers who are responsible for your well-being: You should know who to turn to if you have a problem or feel unwell.

·       If the first day is difficult: Remind yourself that it is early days and things WILL improve.


·       Be proud of yourself at the end of the day: Congratulate yourself on surviving your first day! This is the beginning of something exciting…

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We offer a wide range of services and expert advice on your child's education. If you'd like to speak to Sally or any of our other expert consultants contact us:
Email claire@independenteducationconsultants.co.uk  01865 522066 for an informal discussion on how we can help.
For more information visit www.independenteducationconsultants.co.uk

Expats: How to future-proof your child's education in the face of redundancies

The worry over job stability and continued funding for a child's education can be daunting for any parent. People who live and work abroad, however have additional concerns that can make an already stressful time for the family even more overwhelming.

Losing a job abroad often means losing the right to remain in that country. Some countries give foreigners as little as 14 days to exit the country after their work permit has been canceled. That means fourteen days to terminate your lease, sell your car, pack up your belongings, find a place to live "back home", and find a school for your child. Most people would struggle to get all that done in fourteen weeks, let alone fourteen days. 

Well I can't help you with your lease, your car, your belongings, or your new home, but here are a few tips to ease the burden of finding a school for your child, when a redundancy may be imminent:

- Gather your child's school reports in one place, and be sure to have access over them when the desktop and filing cabinet are both in the shipping container

- Acquire references from teachers - better to do this in person than by email, especially if the teachers aren't aware of your expectations.

- Find out whether it is possible for the child to remain in the country on a student visa in order to finish the term or school year, especially during the teen years when moving mid year can be disruptive at a crucial time.

- Consider whether you can ask a close friend to 'host' your child while he/she completes the term/year. It's a big ask, but you never know unless you ask.

- Consider whether you can go back to the country you left, whether your home country or a previous expat posting? Sometimes schools prioritise former students in their wait lists, and some countries may have less onerous immigration restrictions.

- Call your dream schools for your child - you never know if a place has opened up but no one else wants to take it mid-term.

- Consider whether home-schooling is an option for you and your child. There are vast resources online to assist in home-schooling, and you can even brush up on your own algebra!

- Consider whether you can make lemonade from lemons: world-schooling can be an amazing opportunity for you and your child to travel for extended periods in new or old territory. You could immerse your child in a French school and ski every afternoon, volunteer to build houses and teach children in Cambodia, go tramping and explore new sports in New Zealand, spend an extended period on an agritourism farm learning how farmers live, spend a few months with extended family you don't often get to see,....

- Contact TIEC and find out how we can help you find places mid-year or mid-term. Often schools will have places open up when students leave unexpectedly. 

Don't despair. Children are resilient, and often unexpected or unwelcome changes can lead to unforeseen opportunities.

Click here to register for your FREE TICKETS to the Expat Fair in July 2016 

Country Life Future Schools Fairs are the perfect opportunity to get all your questions about education answered. Taking place around the country - starting with the EXPAT FAIR in London on July 16th - these events will be packed with representatives from top schools from all over the UK, as well as seminars on entry requirements, curriculum, boarding school worries and more. TIEC will be on hand to answer your queries and better still - the whole event is free to attend. Tickets are limited so be sure to click the link above and register for your FREE tickets to the Expat Fair today.

Check out more information at www.futureschoolfairs.com or get in contact below:

If you are a parent with questions about the fair, email Claire at Claire@futureschoolsfair.com

If you are a school, email Exhibitors@futureschoolsfair.com

This post by Christina Benson.

We offer a wide range of services and expert advice on your child's education.

Email consultants@independenteducationconsultants.co.uk or contact Claire on 01865 522066 for an informal discussion on how we can help.

For more information, www.independenteducationconsultants.co.uk

Celebrating World Book Day 2016: The Importance of Reading with your Child

World Book Day 2016 is tomorrow and it always reminds me of being a child, the one day of the year when everyone around me would celebrate and adore books as much as I did. I doubt I ever knew the full influence reading had over me some twenty-odd years ago, but what I did know was that nothing else was ever as exciting or inspiring as reading a book with my parents.

Everyone knows reading to their child is an important part of early development. When working as a babysitter, this was always the highlight of their evening and of mine – watching their faces light up as we brought a story to life together. Sometimes I would read their favourite books, and sometimes they would read aloud the books their school had given them. I’d ask them the next time I saw them how far they’d read and what I had missed in the story, and it’s astonishing how much they’d learn just by reading.

Less people know how important it is to keep reading to your children even as they get older. In a study by Scholastic (“Kids & FamilyReading Report”) it was found that 83% of parents stopped reading to their child before the age of 11, with 75% of those parents saying they’d stopped because their child was old enough to read alone. And yet the same study found that 83% of children as old as 17, loved to be read aloud to. Somewhere along the way, the message is getting lost that reading out loud to your children continues to be beneficial long into their teenage years.

Here’s our shortlist of reasons why reading to your children is so important, whatever their age:

1. Building Awareness of the World Around Them

For younger children, this is about experiences they have not yet had themselves. Books are a tool for you to teach your children how to (and how not to) respond to the encounters they have. For older children this is still very much true – books contain life lessons in a format that is much easier to absorb than a lecture, and reading them together can bring about discussions that are difficult to have otherwise – about culture, social issues, emotions and belief.

2. Academic Advancement

Reading to very young children is one of the most important ways of teaching them to create sentences and critical enunciation skills as well as other necessities, such as how to cope with coming to a word you don’t know how to pronounce (even if you really do).

A strong grasp on language and learning paves the way for a successful formal education. But for older children, it can be just as educational. Children don’t read as well as they listen until they are 14 or 15, and reading higher level books will have them mastering a more sophisticated vocabulary. This can help older children put their thoughts into words in and out of the classroom. Reading aloud teaches reading skills, and children who read well also write and communicate well, and do better in school.

3. Improving Concentration and Expanding the Mind

Whatever their age, learning to concentrate well is going to put them at an educational advantage. Being read to develops a strong sense of self-discipline to stay put for the duration of the story, as well as an improved attention span and memory that will definitely benefit your child (and maybe you too!) Reading aloud can ease your child into genres and series that they never would have considered picking up on their own. Even reading the first chapter out loud can be enough to inspire your child to pick up a book and continue it on their own. Get them hooked on reading and you won’t be able to hold them back.

4. Experiencing the Joy of Being Told a Story

Verbal Storytelling is the oldest and longest standing method of learning, from the earliest records of human civilization. The goal of reading fiction at all is to enjoy it and take what it has to teach to heart. Struggling readers of all ages especially love to listen, as it takes out the frustration of understanding the words themselves. Audiobooks are also fantastic for readers who need that extra push to enjoy stories and in time, they will learn to understand difficult words on their own. But recordings too are missing the one thing that reading aloud to your child will never fail to do…

5. Bringing You and Your Child Together

The physical closeness of reading together is something anyone of any age can enjoy. At any age, reading aloud to your children can provide a sense of security and belonging just from being close to them. Especially as they get older, when the world becomes bigger and more confusing than ever. Children can be so full of energy (and sometimes attitude) that reading time allows everyone to slow down and relax, and continue to relish that closeness you enjoyed when they were a baby. It’s no secret that these moments dwindle the older children get – but the longer you continue to read aloud, the more of this precious time you’ll share together.

Hopefully this has inspired you to pick up a book to read with your child this World Book Day! If you need a little nudge in the right direction, here’s a couple of titles I enjoyed having read to me when I was younger (which I probably never would have picked up on my own!):

• Boy by Roald Dahl – this is Dahl’s first autobiographical book, telling – in his famous comedic style – the story of his life from birth to leaving school.

• Northern Lights by Philip Pullman – the story of a parallel universe where a smart young girl and her sentient animal spirit head to the arctic to rescue her uncle and her friend from a treacherous experiment

• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee – an infamous southern gothic by one of history’s most influential writers (rest her soul) that touches on hard-hitting issues in a gentle and humorous tone

• Holes by Louis Sachar – a mystery comedy, which is a fantastic sub-genre for young adults – about a boy who is wrongly convicted of stealing shoes and sent to a juvenile camp and made to dig holes all day to find an undisclosed treasure.

This post by Lauren Bowman.

We offer a wide range of services and expert advice on your child's education.

Email consultants@independenteducationconsultants.co.uk or contact Claire on 01865 522066 for an informal discussion on how we can help.

For more information, www.independenteducationconsultants.co.uk