It can be hard on parents if your child is struggling at school. The truth is, all it takes is one bout of a nasty illness or relocating and moving schools, then suddenly your child has a gap in their knowledge that affects future learning.
I should know, we’ve got a child with severe asthma, and all 3 of the kids have moved schools in the past 18 months.
Schools have such a strict pace to their learning that it becomes very easy to fall behind. Even if your child hasn’t missed any time in lessons, these things can still happen.
It’s also difficult as a parent to try and figure out what exactly your child needs help with (and even harder to get them to listen to you).
That’s why I really rate looking into getting a tutor – especially if your child has some exams coming up such as GCSEs, or even SATs. We rate Tutorful and they seem to have tutors for every budget.
What to Do if Your Child is Struggling With Learning at School
Your first port of call should be to liaise with the school if you suspect your child is struggling. It’s important to get to the bottom of it and there could be a few reasons why they’re struggling academically. Ideally you need to get to the bottom of what’s happening at school, what you can do to support your child and be in regular contact with their teacher.
If it’s something as simple as a gap in their knowledge, then you might be able to work with your child at home. You might find that with a little help from the school, they’ve caught up in no time.
If the issues are more complex, or your child looks like they might fall a little short of certain significant grade boundaries in upcoming exams, then you need to work on it straight away.
For example, if your child has their heart set on a college course but it’s not certain they’ll achieve the GCSE grades to get on it, then just gaining a few marks here and there becomes very important.
Below are some of the best tips for helping your child at home.
Keep Communication Open
Getting your child to talk to you can sometimes be more difficult that it sounds, especially if they’re not doing as well as expected at school. The thing is, you need to try. You won’t get a clearer picture of what they’re having difficulty with than if they tell you themselves.
Check in when you can, and offer to run through homework with them if they’re stuck.
I understand that a lot of homework can be over your head as a parent (I’m not sure I ever studied anything my kids bring home), but sometimes just discussing it out loud with a friendly ear can help them work through what they need to do and achieve the right answer.
It also pays to be in contact with the relevant teachers who are dealing with the subjects your child struggles on. If they can recommend any resources or send home extra revision, then that will be a massive help.
Look Into Getting an Online Tutor
I might have mentioned that most school work goes over my head, so I don’t feel like I’m the best person to sit and supervise homework.
This is what lead us to consider tutoring initially. We have 3 kids and not a lot of space, so a traditional tutor who visits the house was also not an option.
We liked the idea of online tutoring because you can pick your hours, search through tutors who have different credentials and hourly rates and pick someone you feel is a good fit. Tutorful is a great online tutoring company to use because they don’t force you into contracts or commitment.
Some of their tutors allow a free 15 minute video call to discuss your needs before you hire them, and some of the prices are as low as £14 per hour. You can even narrow down your search to include qualified teachers only.
If it’s something you’re interested in, then use this link and you’ll get £25 credit when you sign up, that could get you a fully funded tutoring session to see if you like it.
Incentivise Learning
One thing I’ve learned from having teachers as friends is that bribery really works for getting kids to knuckle down.
You’ve got to have sympathy for your child if they don’t feel like catching up or revising extra. Full-time school is exhausting and they’ll get regular homework set on top of a full day at school. Adding extra learning to their to-do list isn’t going to seem like a good deal.
So if you can get your child to do any extra homework or revision, then treat them to something. You don’t have to go handing over wads of cash, but sweet treats or virtual gifts (like loot boxes on the games they play) can go a long way towards giving them a positive association with learning. Call it bribery, call it positive reinforcement, call it anything you want – it works!
There’s only so much you can do at home to boost your child’s learning. A tutor is a good solution, but don’t forget that a tutor only provides one branch of support. Staying in the loop with both your child and their school can also be very helpful, and don’t forget a little treat goes a long way when it comes to rewarding hard work!