Helping your child to achieve their best A Parent guide to study and revision skills for GCSE
The next few months are crucial for your child as they sit their GCSE exams. Success in this is a passport to a brighter future. You will want your child to achieve their best and this can be made possible when there is an effective partnership between Manchester Communication Academy, students and parents. There is still plenty of time to improve grades, previous attainment can and will improve. Students should have every confidence and belief in their own ability. There are a number of simple things that you can do as parents to help students to be as prepared as possible. Parental support is 8 times more important in determining a child’s academic success than social class, according to a study by The Campaign for Learning. This booklet aims to give you practical advice about how you should become involved in your child’s revision programme.
You can make a difference… Even if it’s years since you went to school! You can and you will! You don’t have to be an expert in your child’s subjects… You just need to know how you can support them. They will be given revision text books to support them at home. Test them on this content and you can’t go wrong!
What are we doing at the Academy? Your child receives personalised support in all subjects by well qualified staff. The courses have almost been completed so there will be lots of exam practice and testing before the exams. Students could jump up 2 grades with hard work!
You are vital to their success!
What can you do to help? Attendance Officer - Make sure your child attends on time and every day. Any day lost in attendance reduces your child’s chance of achieving their best. Academy Partner—Make every effort to attend parent consultations and communicate with your child’s Progress Leader. Question us if you are unsure about your child’s expected grades/ college routes etc. Study Buddy—Help them with homework, question them, read it back to them, check it is presented well. Ensure they have met the high expectations that you set for them.
In addition to this, we have a Pastoral team, Progress Leaders, Attendance Officers and a Nurse who are all on hand to help your child through this difficult time. We need students in lessons working their hardest to achieve their best.
Project manager—Agree the rules for homework. Where is completed? How long? What are the priorities? How are these managed? What do you do if they say they have no homework (know this is not true!) Ensure time for fun too!
Your child can stay behind any night Monday to Thursday in ‘The WORKshop.’ Here, they can request 1:1 support from their teachers or work, with support, through their coursework/ homework/ past exams. This is a fantastic opportunity for them to focus on improving grades. They must use this resource…. Every night if possible!
Coach– Celebrate their achievements, set them targets, reward where necessary. Challenge them if high standards are not met.
Finally, we are supporting students through College applications and trying to ensure they understand the long term significance of the next few months.
Together we can give them the best chance of achieving their goals.
Extra Study Advocate– Students who attend ‘The WORKshop’ each day after school will have an improved chance of success. How can you ensure your child stays for at least 2 sessions? Librarian– Your child will be given lots of revision books by their teachers. Make sure they are using them. Do they need anything else? Let us know. Peace keeper– Ensure the rest of the family supports your child and respects revision time.
Revision techniques
During the exams..
Your child must do more than just read!
Try to ensure that:
Their bedroom should be covered by learning!
Your child gets a good nights sleep before exams
They know the times of each exam
They arrive to MCA early that day (make sure they have breakfast). We will arrange breakfast for those arriving early for last minute reminders!
Praise them, wish them well, be proud!
Encourage them not to dwell on the last exam and focus on future exams
Make sure they are in school uniform
Avoid ‘panic revision’- this will not be necessary if effective revision begins now!
Be Creative– Make a game..
Make revision cards with them. Test them on these. See if comparisons can be found between topics and subjects to connect learning
Stay in control. Be flexible if necessary but firm in your expectations
Cook their favourite meals after a tough day!
Wallpaper the wallpaper! Make it VISIBLE! Give them old wall paper. Use the blank side for them to chart their learning and roll this around their room. This gives a great reminder to them of their progress. Add Post its, diagrams, key words, use highlighters, notes, key questions etc. Be Cool on the way to School!- Make it LOUD! Your child can use technology in many ways. They can record their voice reading notes, make podcasts, download help. They can listen to this on the way to school. Talk to them about their learning– a great way to check understanding and identify what they DON’T understand.
Be in the knowBy studying and practicing past exam papers they not only know what to expect but will also be able to predict some questions. There should be no suprises in an exam. Become familiar of these expectations. Use Revision websites wiselyEnsure they revise what their teachers direct them to. Revision websites can be a great help but also can result in them revising things they will not be tested on.
School Contact Please get in touch with your child’s Progress Leader if you want more help or advice. Remember, the next few months are vital for their futures. Studies show that high parental interest is linked with better exam results. Help us to help your child in achieving the results that we expect from the high standards we share.
Frequent Questions
When will exams begin?
Why are these exams and grades so important?
Most exams will begin mid May until the end of June, some such as MFL will take place earlier. A provisional timetable is attached. Please ensure you know when each exam is and ensure they are in school early. We will provide breakfast on days when exams take place. If they are ‘on time’ they will be late! They should be early to prepare properly for each exam.
GCSEs are highly valued by schools, colleges and employers. They can be a passport to success as they are the first step in allowing your child to move on to further education or training. Your child will have to redo English or Maths if they do not achieve a grade A-C. Good grades place your child in an excellent position in a very competitive world. BTECs are an alternative to GCSEs and taken in some subjects. They are viewed no less and count in the same way. How are they graded and what results should they achieve? GCSEs are graded A-G. BTEC s are graded as Pass, Merit, Distinction.
My child says they are too difficult. They are meant to be difficult, we want students to be resilient. They must focus on doing their best in all subjects, especially English and Maths as these two will be needed for all college courses and future training and employment. Students must not become frustrated in difficulty and learn to work methodically in finding solutions to answers.
A ‘C’ grade is considered a good pass and a school is judged on the progress all children makes with a special emphasis on English and Maths. This is also often the standard for college courses (but not always). There is a new system this year called Progress 8, which replaces the old % 5A-C including English and Maths measure.
Would they expect to complete a computer game straight away without any challenge? What do they do if they don’t succeed? Give up or try again using a different approach? They need to apply these skills!!!
If your child achieved a level 4 when they left Primary School, we expect them to achieve at least a C in their subjects. Although for many students, we would expect them to achieve grade B’s or A’s.
Now, today, tonight. Every day counts. Little but often chunks of revision is most effective. Explain to them that they do not learn the words of a song after hearing it once… the more they hear the song, the more they remember before they learn it off by heart… Can they do this with their studies?
How are they assessed?
When should they begin revising?
GCSEs are assessed by a combination of either exams or controlled assessments (coursework/ mini tests). Achieving the best grades will be harder in 2016 due to government changes. This means that more importance is placed on the exams, therefore students must revise effectively.
How can I help them revise?
Which subjects? If there is an exam, your child should revise. Revision should be specific and structured in key chunks. For example, in Maths, they should revise a key topic (or parts of a topic) at a time. Then Repeat, Repeat, Repeat!
Make a timetable for revision with them, spread it out and display it.
Ask to see their revision notes for each subject
Question them on what they have learnt today/ which study session after school they attended
Ensure they have a quiet room to study. Make them a brew! Schedule ‘mini breaks’
Ask them to explain their revision back to you
Reading alone is not enough– answer questions, make notes, complete past papers
Be Smart! Revising for hours can be useless. Encourage your child to revise effectively! It is not just about reading!
The Importance of attendance– Being punctual everyday is also vital.
The WORKshop The WORKshop is open MondayThursday 3-4pm. This will provide a purposeful study environment for students to use to support their learning. Situated in the Media room, they can revise, complete homework or gain access to additional learning resources, past papers and technology. This is valuable time for students to focus their learning towards exams. Students are required to attend 2 sessions a week and they will be rewarded with Vivo points for each night they attend. A teacher from each study area will attend each night as well as the pastoral support team. Students can work independently or can request 1:1 tuition. Teachers may also agree with small groups or even full classes to provide a focused mini lesson. If your child does not attend these sessions they will be putting themselves at a disadvantage to their peers. At home, your child should be working through all the revision tasks given each week, in addition to completing past papers and other appropriate work set by their teachers.
20:20 Vision is part of our strategy to ensure that students achieve success. This ensures that all teachers are aware of the capabilities of our students and support them in achieving this. The 20:20 vision is that your child is achieving success in the Year 2020. They may be studying at University, in further training/ education, in successful and stable employment or making a difference in their community, wherever it may be! Like you, we want the best for them.
Progress 8: Parent factsheet In 2016 Progress 8 will be introduced for all students. Last year all students, Academies and schools were measured on how many GCSE’s they achieve at A*-C including English and Mathematics. From 2016, we will be measured on how much progress students make from when they start in Year 7 to when they complete their exams at the end of Year 11.
This will be known as Progress 8. The Progress 8 measure is designed to encourage all students to study a broad and balanced curriculum and will be based on students’ progress measured across eight subjects from 3 ‘Pots’. Pot 1 is English and Maths, Pot 2 are EBacc qualifications and Pot 3 are the ‘Open Group’ For each student the 8 subjects must be a combination from this diagram.
Every student will be encouraged to make as much progress as they can, regardless of whether they are aiming for A, C or E grades. So, if a student was expected to achieve grade ‘C’ in all subjects but actually achieved a ‘B’ in all subjects, they would on average bye +1 grade. If they achieved a C in half their subjects and a B in the other half, they would be +0.5 etc. Below is an example of what your child would leave the Academy with at the end of Year 11 Students’ Attainment grade (average of 8 grades)
Achieved Maths and English at C grade or better
Achieved EBacc subjects at C grade or better
B-
Yes
Yes
‘Pot 1’
‘Pot 2’
‘Pot 3’
English Language– C Maths– C
Science Core– C Science Additional—B French- C
BTEC PE– Merit (B) Perfoming Arts- C Engineering -C ECDL Merit (B) English Literacture—D
Progress 8: Key points Progress 8 is a type of value added measure which captures the progress students make from the end of primary school to the end of Key Stage (KS) 4. It compares students’ attainment at KS4 to that of students with similar prior attainment at KS2 across a suite of eight subjects: •
English (counts as double)
•
Maths (counts as double)
• Three EBacc subjects (known as the EBacc tier- 3 subjects from Science, Languages, History, Geography and/ or Computer Science) •
Three other subjects from approved qualifications (known as the open tier- such as PE, Art, Engineering)
We aim that students complete at least 8 subjects where possible to give them the best chance of furthering their education and training at the destination of their choice after they have left school.