sixth form parental help booklet - home - kettering science … · talk about what they’ve...

As a parent, youwill already know that you are your child’smost valuable teacher. The lessons they learn at

homewillaffecthowtheyinteractwithotherpeopleandtheworldaroundthem.And,likemostparents,youwill

probablywanttodoallyoucantomakesuretheyhaveagoodfutureaheadofthem.

IntheSixthFormthereisamassivejumpfromGCSEstoA’Levels.Theworkloadincreasesintermsofthesizeand

quantityofassignmentsset,andthereisaneedforstudentstoreadaroundtheirsubjects,toundertaketheirown

research,maketheirownnotesetc.

Academiccoasting isnotanoptionatKSAandstudentsneed tobeable to take the initiativeanddealwithwork

whichrequiresbothmoretimeandmoreeffort.Timemanagementbecomesahugeissueintermsofbeingableto

juggledeadlines and social life, prioritisingwork andplanning ahead for revision. The almost inevitable result of

thesenewdemandsisincreasedstressandstudentsneedtoacknowledgethisandtodevelopwaysofdealingwith

this.

Ouraimintermsofstudyistoequipstudentstodealwiththedifficultiesofadegreecourseandworkinglife,they

needtobecomeself-organised,self-motivatingandindependentlearners.

Oftenwhenyourson/daughterenterstheSixthFormyoucanfeeloutofyourdepthintermsofthesubjectstheyare

studyingandfeelatalossastohowtosupportthemwiththeirhomework.This,combinedwiththedesiretofoster

independence,canleadtoparentsbackingoffalltogether.Therearehoweversomebasicpointsyoucanfollowat

hometohelp:

Improving your

child’s chances

Sixth Form Parental Help

Booklet

7.Getagoodattendancerecord.Atwoweekholidaymeansyourattendancedropsto94%andmiss40lessons;that’salotofworktocatchupon!

17daysmissed=1gradedropped

1. Show them you’re interested.Get to know their timetable andtalk about what they’ve learnedthatday.Ifyou’renotfamiliarwitha subject, get them to teach yousothattheyareputtingtheirnewknowledgeintopractice.

2.Workhabits.Give themaquiet place to do homeworkand revision. Encouragethemtowork ina light,airy,uncluttered environment,with the necessaryequipment around them,with room to display notes,etc.No distractions such asmobile phone, email,Facebook, etc. Sufficientsleep, drinking water and abalanced diet can also helpthebrainfunctionwell.

3.Helpwithcourseworkandrevision,but don’t do it for them. Be there tohelpthemfindanswerstoproblems.Ifthey need to research a particularsubject, go with them to a library oruse the internet.Putall thekeydateson a calendar and make sure theymeetcourseworkdeadlines.4.Timemanagement.

Discuss deadlines with them andencourage them to display themsomewhere at home. They shouldhave short and long term plans andwillbenefitfromdiscussingwhatworktheyhaveandwhentheyaregoingtodo it on a weekly basis. Encouragethem to plan their weeks, includingleisuretime,sotheyhaveaclearideaof what time they have to work (it’susuallylessthantheythink…) 5. Take days out that are

relevanttoschoolwork.Plan family visits to places ofhistorical interest, museums,galleries or even the beach;thesecanbringlessonstolife.

8.Revision&StudySkills.Haveahandyboxofpens,pencils,andsoon.Buyadictionarysothattheyhaveallthe‘tools’theyneedtodotheirwork.Readingthroughworkisnotrevision!Soencouragethemtouseavarietyoflearningtechniques:

• Makenotesincolour/onpostits• Usediagrams• Mindmaps• Doingdifferentworkindifferentrooms• Discussionorgroupstudy• Testing/self-testing• Teachingyouatopic• Newworktobedoneinthemorningandknown

workreviewedintheafternoon

6. Get to know the examboardsothatyouknowwhatthey will be studying. If youhaveaccesstotheinternetathome, visit AQA, Edexcel,OCR.

Ten practical t ips to get involved in your child’s education

9.Stayintouchwiththeschool.Theirteacherisagreatsourceofhelpandadvice–notjustifyourson/daughterishavingproblems.Theywillbeabletosuggestotherwaysinwhichyoucanhelpthemwiththeirwork.

10.Don’tforgettosay‘welldone’.Weallneedpraisenowandthen,butit’sparticularly important for a child.Congratulating your son/daughter willencouragethemtodowellnexttimeandshow them you genuinely want them tosucceedatschool.

GradeProgressPathway

GCSE AS A2 UniversityDegree 1st A* 2:1 A A 2:1

A*/A 9/8/7 B B 2:2B 7/6 C C 2:2

B/C 6/5 D D 3rdC 5 E E

C/D 4/3 U U E 2

Pleaseenteryourson/daughtersALPStargetgradesbelow:

Subject ALPSAStargetgrade ALPSA2targetgrade

Thereisnogettingawayfromit,thenexttwoyearsaregoingtobetough,lotsofworktodoinverylittletime. But if they want the gradesthey will have to put the hoursin.

http://university.which.co.uk

What’s in a Grade?

Organisation is key. Being well organised from the

outset will make homework and revision quicker and

easier. A lever arch file with dividers will be needed

notonlyforeachsubjectbutforeachsubjectteacher.

4ASsubjects=8files.

Dueto lockersizeandnobagpolicyaday folderwith

dividerswillbeagreatidea.

ButwhatdoesanAgradepupillooklike?

http://www.bestcourse4me.com http://www.ucas.ac.uk

Writesdownandcompletestheirhomework/

courseworkwhentheygetitandhands

itinontime.

Revisionisstartedmonthsinadvanceiswell-structuredandconsistsofre-writingnotes,usingpastexampapersandmarkschemes.

Knowstheirfacts,figuresandspecificexamplestogivethemconfidence

whenansweringanexamquestion.

Hasarealpassionforthesubjectandwillreadaroundthe

subjectoftheirownaccordinbooks,

magazines,newspapers.

Classnotesarethorough,neat,tidy,colorfulandorganisedinto

teacher&subjectfiles.

WhatdoesanE/Ugradepupillooklike?

Classnotesareuntidy,

incompleteanddisorganised.

Homeworkisscribbledontoasparebitofpaper,handedinlateand

incomplete.

Hasapart-timejobandworksmorethan13

hours.

Doesthebareminimumandwillonlycompletetheworkgivenin

lessons.

Revisionisleftuntilthenightbeforeand

willconsistofreadingovertheir

untidy&incompleteclassnotes.

Getajob!Upto12hourspaidworkhasbeenshowntoimproveyourgrades.

It’sallaboutbeingorganised.

YouwillbeinvitedtoKSAtwicetodiscussyourchild’sprogress,atthebeginningoftheacademicyearand

beforetheexaminationperiod.Thesemeetingsaren’tjustachancetoseehowyouson/daughterhasdone

overthepastyearbutagreatopportunitytomeetteachersandtalkaboutpositivewaystohelpyourchild

moveforward.

Beforetheparents’evening

• Talkwithyourson/daughteraboutwhattheyhavedonewellandwhatcouldbebetter.Lookattheirreporttogether.

• Writealistofquestionsthatyoumayhavetotaketotheparents’eveningwithyou.• Takeyourson/daughterwithyoubecausetheyneedtohearwhattheirteacherssay.

Meetingtheteachers

• Attheparents’evening,bepreparedtolistentowhattheteachershavetosay.Youneedthemtobeclearandhonestwithyou,soyougetagoodpictureofhowyourson/daughterisdoingatsixthform.

• Don’tbetooembarrassedtoaskedquestionsifyoudon’tunderstandwhattheteacherissayingandtakenotesifyouthinkitwillhelprememberwhathasbeensaid.

• Ifyouandateacherdisagree,itisimportanttofindawayforwardthatputsyourson/daughterneedsfirst.

Aftertheevent

• Talkwithyourson/daughteraboutwhatwasdiscussedandagreedwiththeteachersandgothroughthelistofactionpointstogether.

• Pintheactionlistupwhereyoucanbothseeitanddiscusstheirprogressregularly.• Ifyouneedto,stayintouchwiththeirteacher;emailwillbebestandtheywillbeabletotellyou

howthingsprogressinlessons.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/students

Making the most of parents’ evenings

https://www.futurelearn.com/AFutureLearncourseisfreeandwillcomplimenttheirA’levelcourse,itwillalsoberecognisedbytheuniversitytheywillbeapplyingto.

UseTwittertokeepinformed.

Followthefollowing:

@WhichuniUK

@ucas_online

@alevelmindset

@THEUniAdvice

Sharingourindependentinsightintothebestunis,colleges&degreecourses.Maketherightdecision

aboutyourhighereducation.

WemanageapplicationstoUKfull-timehighereducationcourses.

CreatorsoftheVESPAinterventionmodel,writers(TheALevel

Mindset

Advice,universityguides,rankings,newsand

lifestylearticles.Tweetsbystudenteditor,Seeta

Bhardwa.

@LucyCParsons

@thestudentroom

@TheStudyRocket

@SF_England

StudentFinanceEngEmpoweringyoungpeopletogetthetop

gradesandintothebestuniversities.Makingkidscleverereveryday...

FollowusforA-levelresultsdayadvice,

Clearingtips&tricks&Fresher'swisdom.We'llgetyoureadyforGCSE

resultstoo

Theonlinecourseforyourrevision.Enhancingstudy

timeandreducingprocrastinationthrough

technology.

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