Skip to content ↓

Helping your Child

This page contains information to help parents to support their children academically and personally.

Being a parent is the most difficult job in the world, as well as the most rewarding. The charity Young Minds have published this "Parents' Survival Guide" to help.

Academic Support

Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn. - Benjamin Franklin

You can find out what your child is studying when at Key Stage 3 on our curriculum page, and you can find the dates for assessments at Key Stage 4 on our exams page. You can also view any homework set for your child in the Insight Portal so you can offer support with organisation, meeting deadlines and specific homework tasks.

 

If you would thoroughly know anything, teach it to others. - Tryon Edwards

The best support you can offer is talking to your children about what they have been learning, and asking them to explain it to you. 

In order to develop a growth mindset in children, it's also important to think about the type of praise you use. Try to praise your children when they persist with challenging tasks, and praise the strategies and techniques they use rather than the outcome. 

We have produced a guide for families called "Helping Your Child to Revise" which you can find by clicking this link. 

Mobile Phones and Online Safety

Many mobile phones now let you go onto the internet at the touch of a button. This guide from Ofcom will show you how to find information to help keep children safe online when using a mobile phone. Parents should see the Think U Know website at https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/ for wider guidance on e-safety, or download this Advice about online bullying help sheet from the Anti-Bullying Alliance. Advice can also be obtained from:

There is also a helpful online guide from Parents Protect called "What's the problem? A guide for parents and children who have got into trouble online". 

Using Social Media

Social media should always be used with parental supervision and permission. The school's guidance on the use of social media is that users should remember that whatever is tweeted, put as a Facebook status, or added as a comment is a published (i.e. public) statement. If you would not be happy to say in person what you are writing in social media, then don't publish! The following advice from Solihull police may be worth using as a rule of thumb:

“@solihullpolice: Sing like no one is listening, Dance like no one is watching, Tweet- only what you're happy to have read out in court!”

— Portswood Police (@PortswoodPolice)
December 9, 2012

For parents who want more information, this Parents' Guide to Facebook may be helpful. It includes information about managing privacy settings and responsible use of Facebook's services.

Bereavement

The NHS has published the booklet "Help is at Hand" to help people who are bereaved by sudden traumatic death. You can view the resource here.

The Samaritans have also published a leaflet called "Step by Step" which you can view here. The Samaritans can be contacted on 08457 909090 in confidence and without judgment.  

Reading at Home

At Chew Valley School, we are committed to encouraging a love of reading and our wonderful library is stocked with a wide range of exciting titles for students of all ages. To support and enrich our curriculum, please find a selection of Reading Lists. Some expand upon topics covered in lessons while others offer recommendations related to a range of popular topics. Mrs Hillis, the school’s Librarian, is always happy to share her considerable expertise with our young readers and is continually evolving her recommendations. Students should visit the library at break or lunchtime if anything on these lists has caught their attention or they would like some personalised tips from Mrs Hillis.

A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one. - George R. R. Martin

Get In Touch

Cookie Policy