Five simple ways to support your child to succeed at school

School can sometimes feel like a minefield for children and parents alike, but there are some simple things you can do to support your child at home.

No one wants to be a ‘helicopter parent’ — children can learn to resent us if we don’t let them live their own lives, and being too pushy at parents’ evenings doesn’t exactly establish great relationships with school staff. We all want the best for our children, but offering support doesn’t have to suffocate them. Here are five simple ways we can help our child make the most of their time at school.

Ask the school for an outline of the curriculum

It’s really helpful to know what your child is going to be learning throughout the school year, not least because you can talk to them about it (we all know how it feels when we attempt to strike up a conversation with our children about their day, only to be met with one-word replies). Knowing what they’ve been doing at school in advance gives you a way in. It also means you can find out what they’re feeling good about and what they’re struggling with.

Encourage your child to read

Children who read books often at age 10 and more than once a week at age 16 gain higher results in maths, vocabulary and spelling tests at age 16 than those who read less regularly,’ says UK-based charity The Reading Agency. They’ve also flagged up that reading is ‘a more powerful factor in life achievement than socio-economic background’. The evidence is clear, but many of us have experienced the frustration of encouraging our kids to read when they’d rather be doing something that involves a screen. The usual quick fixes (ask relatives to buy them books for gifts, suggesting they read on a device) are all well and good, but as with most things, it comes down to relationships and role models. The most effective ways to encourage children to read are reading with them regularly and letting them see you read often. Set aside time each evening to read to or with them. They’re getting the pay-off of your time and attention, and those are two things that all children crave. 

Discuss what’s going on in the world

The new Education Inspection Framework, which was launched in 2019, has made much of the phrase ‘cultural capital’, which it defines as ‘the essential knowledge that children need to be educated citizens’. This proposition isn’t without its detractors, as it perhaps insinuates that certain cultural experiences (visiting art galleries, reading canonical literature, listening to classical music) have more value than others. But ‘cultural capital’ doesn’t have to be about asserting the primacy of traditionally middle-class activities. Discussing and sharing a whole range of ideas, culture and current events with our children is hugely beneficial as a way of building knowledge about the world. It’s also a way of showing our children the importance of all kinds of cultures and traditions and piquing their curiosity.

Show your child how to plan a revision schedule when exams approach

At secondary school, most children will experience for the first time the pressures of sitting a range of exams over the course of a couple of weeks. Some schools will have established effective ways of showing students how to revise. Others, however, may leave the delivery of this to individual departments or teachers and the result can be overwhelming for children. Creating a space for your child to work quietly is important, as is helping them plan a revision timetable that looks at the big picture and breaks things down into manageable chunks. Encourage them to make flash cards and posters, suggest they ask teachers for past papers and offer to test them (this is best done informally).

Communicate the value of schooling

As parents, we’ve all had different experiences during our own school days, and it’s easy to allow our own beliefs and values to cloud our perceptions of how our children are doing. Ultimately, we all want the best for our children, and even if you’ve made a success of life despite having a hard time at school, it’s a place where kids spend a lot of time during their formative years. Encouraging them to think positively about school, to be pragmatic about examinations and to see the importance of building good relationships with others is one of the best ways to make sure they’re happy. Few children are going to love every aspect of school, but the life lessons of resilience, compromise and positive thinking will take them a long way.