Schools are back and I’ve been chatting to teachers and parents about how it is going. I’ve heard good things with young people being happy to be back and enjoying the routine. There has also been a lot of anxiety around the exams and the time that they have missed in their education.

Supporting your child through their education is a combination of being proactive and reactive. Here are some of my tips so you can be proactive.

1. Set time aside to discuss worries

Anxiety is normal and the unusual times that we are in means more to be anxious about. Your child needs to know that they can talk to you and that none of their worries are silly. Maybe set aside time for discussions when they know you will listen. This could be going for a walk together at the weekend.

Remember you can’t stop their anxieties, but you will gain insight and you can help them deal with those feelings, and understand where they come from. As well as a listening ear you can provide a cuddle, some understanding or reassuring words.

2. Increase the lines of communication with school

How many times have you found a letter at the bottom of your child’s bag a month late? It’s better to have too much communication than too little.

Make sure that you get information from the school include following them on Facebook and Twitter and setting the notifications so you get alerts at new content. You could even set up a google alert for the school, so you know if anything comes up on the internet about it. Do the school provide text and e-mail alerts, are you signed up to them?

Find out all the procedures the school have in place, and make sure you’ve got all the information that you need. Don’t be afraid to ask.

Check the contact details the school have for you. Make sure the school know the best time and way to contact you. Do you know the best person to contact at the school?

Introduce yourself to their teachers. Teachers are struggling too at the moment, and they need to know you are being a team together and you support them. Make it easy for them to know they can contact you, send an e-mail or a card.

Tell the school how lockdown went. Is there anything you want to tell them about your experiences in lockdown? What about how remote learning has been? Is there anything that would improve it if it happens again?

3. Make learning happen

School’s have been planning a new curriculum for this term/year to ensure that young people can catch up. After every school holiday the students forget what they have been taught. It will be worse this time around, and no-one will be blaming you (whatever you think!). Schools will be assessing the knowledge your young persons has and will be planning around that, as much as possible it will be very personalised.

Things you can do to make this the best it could possibly be are:

• encourage your young person to revise over previous years work
• ask the teacher for the plan so you can support at home and check understanding
• little and often is key, I’m going to do a post next week explaining the ‘forgetting curve’. Make a plan to keep going over the materials, even if it is only a question per day. Next week’s blog post will go into this in more detail.
• get creative – revision cards and posters can be fun to produce. Play games on the topics they’ve covered.

4. Remember its not ‘business as usual’

Schools are a different place at the moment. There’s a lot of uncertainty, teachers might have to take time off, especially if they have children at a different school. School’s will still need to use online studying, so children will be getting ‘blended’ learning. Remember that this is better than schools being closed.

Be prepared to be flexible. Keep a space at home for school work and discuss with your employer what might happen.

Be open (in an age appropriate and sensitive way) with your young person about all of this.

5. Be healthy

Stress makes everyone tired and affects the immune system. Some schools are giving extra lessons too, so that will make your young person more tired.

A few things that you can do to be proactive and give yourself and your young person a boost are:

Get outside Being outside and spending time in nature can reduce stress and increase wellbeing. You can combine this with time to chat about school worries. This study from Cornell university shows that being outside for just 10 minutes a day helps those over 15 to feel happier and reduce stress.

Take a multivitamin We often don’t get the vitamins we need from our food and daily life. Over the winter the NHS recommend taking Vitamin D. Vitamins A and E help the immune system. The NHS has a guide to vitamins and minerals. Get as much nutrition from your food too.

Create a good sleep routine Avoid late-night homework sessions and evening screen time. If your young person struggles with switching off from their device, consider an app such as SleepTown where they build towns by switching the app to sleep mode. If the whole family get it you could form a circle and build monuments together.

Have Fun How can you put fun into each day? Having fun can reduce stress and overwhelm. The saying ‘laughter is the best medicine’ has a ring of truth to it. Put time aside for play everyday for the whole family.

How I can help you

If you’ve got concerns about your young person’s education I am here to support you. I offer a 1:1 call to discuss problems and follow up with key actions that support you to move things forward.