How can you help your child?
- Ask the school exactly what their concerns are and what specific problems your child has. Ask for suggestions of activities you could do with your child at home that would support him or her. The school may well have resources that will help you, just ask.
- Ask for a copy of your child's Individual Education Plan (there is more information on this elsewhere in the leaflet) if your child has one, or any planning that will tell you about the work that he or she will be doing at school
- Arrange a meeting so that you can talk to the teacher and, if you wish, to the Head or SENCO in the school. Discuss yours and the school's concerns and, with your child involved, set targets that will help your child to succeed. Remember not to set too many targets, and make sure that they can be achieved. Don't set your child up for failure. Let your child know that home and school are working together. This is a most important message.
- Do lots of activities with your child. The more experiences children have, the more they are stimulated to learn. If you can, go to the shops together, to the museum, the library, swimming, the cinema - anything and everything helps!
- Share books, magazines, comics and newspapers with your child at every opportunity. Talk about stories, pictures and characters. Read to and with your child. Enjoy the experience and their company. Make it cosy and close so that you both look forward to it.
- Talk to your child as much as possible. Have conversations that make him or her talk and listen, both are essential skills. Play around with words and ideas. Encourage your child to talk about television programmes, games, experiences, likes and dislikes - in fact, anything at all!
- Celebrate your child's strengths. All of us are good at something and being praised makes us feel better about ourselves. Children who feel good about themselves perform much better in school - and at home. Remember you are the person they value the most, and your opinion about them is the one they are most anxious about. Let your child know how proud you are of what they already do well, and reassure them that you will support them in building up any areas of difficulty.
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Page Last Updated: 22 April 2002
