Is coaching really needed for my child to pass their 4+ Assessments?

I was asked this question the other day after one of my Sample Lessons.

The question really surprised me.

It surprised me because to me the answer to this question is very logical.

It also surprised me because it made me realise that many parents don’t really fully understand what they are getting themselves into when they decide to sit their child for their 4+ Assessments.

Coaching is 100% needed because your child needs to be fully aware about what is expected of them at each different school that they will be attending.

They need to understand that it is absolutely NOT a ‘playdate’ and that there will be things that they will need to do in order to pass.

Myself and my team of 4+ Assessment specialist teachers will do just that. What we do is support our students to have the best possible chances for success in their 4+ Assessments.

We coach parents and children so that they know exactly what to expect. It will be different for each different school, please remember this.

Each school will have their own specific criteria that they will be looking for.

Also remember that all of these schools are very over subscribed at 4+. You must know the stats well so that you can manage your own expectations. For example Merchant Taylors at 4+ only take on 8 boys! Of course your child needs to have that slight edge that will allow them to stand out from the other boys.

Your child will need to be ready academically and emotionally. Your child will need to be taught how to follow instructions well. Your child will need to show enthusiasm, listen well to the teachers and the other students. Your child will need to contribute their answers.

Such huge expectations from our youngest learners.

So yes, you can of course choose to not prepare your child for their Assessments. That is completely up to you. I’m talking to those of you who what to ensure the best possible outcomes for your little ones. Get expert teaching and coaching from us.

We have over 14 years of experience with the 4+ Assessments and we have had exceptional results. This year will be no different. I am so excited to be able to share our results with you by the end of this month!

You still have time to prepare. Book your Sample Lesson Today!

The best way to prepare your child for their 4+ Assessments

January is a very important time of year in the 4+ Assessment World!

Many of my current clients have already been working with me for 3 months preparing their children for their 4+ Assessments (2025 entry). I always tell parents that there is no ‘right’ time to start 4+ Assessment preparation. You will start when you are ready to start. Simple. However, you definitely do not want to leave it to the last minute. There is far too much to cover,

January is important because it is the time of year that many parents are thinking about who they want to work with to prepare their child for their 4+ Assessments.

The best way to prepare your child for their 4+ Assessments, is to choose best teacher for them. Whether you teach them yourself or you get the help of a qualified professional, you want the best of the best. That’s who we are. I say that with confidence, because I know how to get my clients the results that they desire.

My clients’ number one priority is for their child to be successful in at least one of their 4+ Assessments. My number one priority is for them to have options. My students have always been successful at gaining entry to at least one of their target schools and often, they are successful to several or all of their target schools. Of course, this is dependant on many factors. Here are three of them:

1. When they start.

Students who start with us who have at least 9 months of Assessment preparation are far more likely to be successful in their 4+ Assessments than a student who has 2-3 months of Assessment preparation.

2. How consistent they are with their tuition.

Students who meet with us weekly are far more likely to be successful that those who are not consistent or who take a lot of breaks in between lessons.

3. The schools that they are applying to.

Some schools are notoriously harder to get into at 4+. This is why it is vital that you discuss your school choices with your teacher and that you are very strategic about it. If you are applying to 4 of the most prestigious schools in London and you don’t have any back ups, this won’t be the best strategy.

So, choose your teacher. Choose the BEST teacher. Choose a teacher who has experience and has had success in getting children into your target schools. Choose a teacher who knows how to prepare your child effectively for their 4+ Assessments.

Please, please, please do not just choose a teacher on the basis that they will come to your house. This is completely irrelevant. Trust me on this one.

Once you have chosen your teacher, it’s time to get to work.

Book your Sample Lesson today.

All about Round 2 Assessment Preparation for the 7+ Assessments

As we come to the end of the 7+ Assessments, myself and my team are reflecting on how things have gone for our cohort.

The most important thing (by far!) is knowing your schools very well. I know historically what has come up in the last 14 years in all Top schools at 7+. Of course new things can come up (and they do!) and we can’t always predict what will happen on the day and ultimately it will be up to your child and how they do on the day. However, preparing your child to go in with confidence and be able to answer everything that they are asked will give them that slight edge over the other candidates.

Please do not sabotage your chances for 7+ Assessment success by neglecting Round 2. It is equally as important as Round 1.

You need to make a very detailed plan about exactly what you are going to do. And you need to follow it.

I’ll give you an example of a top Boy’s School that I m currently preparing several students for:

Spellings - Year 3/4 Curriculum

General Knowledge

Knowledge and Understanding of the World

Maths - Quick Mental Recall

English - Comprehension and composition (oral and written practise)

Interview questions

If you need any further support with Round 2 Preparations for Assessments happening next week, book your Sample Lesson today!

3 Top Tips for choosing the BEST teacher to prepare your child for their 11+ Assessments

I hear from hundreds of parents who call me to enquire about the 11+ Assessments.

Choosing a teacher to support your child to prepare for their 11+ Assessments can be incredibly daunting. First of all, at 11+ there are just so many options available. You have the option of group tuition, 1:1 tuition, at home tuition, online tuition, study centres. You have so many different price points for the cost of tuition. Then you have the issue of choosing a teacher that your child actually connects well with. A teacher that your child will have an excellent relationship with isn’t always as easy as you think. I think this is the MOST important part of choosing the BEST teacher for your child.

Think about it. If you start preparing for the 11+ from Year 2/Year 3 (which I highly recommend!), your child will be working with their teacher for at least 4/5 years. This is a very long time. If your child doesn’t look forward to their lesson, if your child isn’t excited for every single lesson, then you don’t have the BEST teacher for your child.

So, here are my 3 Top Tips for choosing the BEST teacher to prepare your child for their 11+ Assessments.

1. Choose a teacher who has actual experience with the school/schools that you are applying to.

Seems logical but so many parents that I talk to don’t even consider this one. It is essential that the teacher that you choose to support your child has actual experience with the school/schools that you are applying to at 11+. Every single one of them. If they don’t, how can they effectively support your child with their Assessment/s? Your teacher must know the expectations at the school/schools that you are applying to. It is absolutely NOT just about covering curriculum.

2. Choose a teacher that your child has an excellent connection with.

Another one that seems logical to me. If your child doesn’t have an excellent connection with their teacher how can you expect for them to have excellent results in their 11+ Assessments?

Try different teachers and choose the teacher that your child is excited to meet with on a weekly basis.

Remember that each teacher has their very own unique style and you must choose the teacher whose style chooses your child the best. For me the is vital. If my students are not excited to see me, then I am doing something wrong.

3. Choose a teacher who will tell you their exact processes and methods for ensuring success.

You want to work with a teacher who will be very honest with you. A teacher who will tell you HOW they will ensure success. A teacher that will tell you their exact plan for the month/ months/ years. A teacher that will tell you their processes that will guarantee success for your child in their 11+ Assessments. At the end of the day no one can 100% tell you that they can guarantee that you child will pass their 11+ Assessments - ultimately that will be down to your child. However, you do need to work with someone who will guarantee the highest chances of success for your child at 11+.

Preparing for the 11+ is a HUGE investment. You, your child and your teacher are investing a lot of time, energy and effort into preparation for the 11+. Such a BIG investment deserves the BEST teacher for YOUR child.

Need support with the 11+ Assessments. Myself and my team only take on THREE students each year for 11+ Assessment preparation. This is because the amount of work involved in 11+ Assessment preparation is huge and we want to ensure that we can provide the highest quality service to our clients and students. We have prepared children for many of the Top inner and outer London schools at 11+. Examples of schools we have prepared for are -

NLCS

Habs (boys and girls)

John Lyon

Merchant Taylor’s

Alleyn’s

Westminster

St. Paul’s

Godolphin

City

Dulwich College

UCS

St Helen’s

Sydenham High

These are just a few!

We also prepare children for Top Grammar School.

Looking for expert 11+ Assessment support? Book your Sample Lesson Today!

3 Issues that have come up in Round One (7+ Assessments)

Round 1 of the 7+ Assessments is now nearly over for 2024 entry. We still have a few Round One Assessments coming up this week and then we will officially be done!

Our students have worked every so hard and shown so much determination.

Here are some of the issues that we have encountered this year specifically. These are things that I’ve heard from some of my own students and from some new students who I am currently preparing for their second round. I’ve also spoken to parents who are not our clients but who called me to feedback to me about Round 1 at certain schools.

Issue number 1

Story Writing

I think that story writing has been the biggest issue that we have encountered this year. The quality of story writing expected at 7+ is even higher than usual (and it is usually very high!)

These top schools expect the highest quality of writing at 7+.

Students are marked according to the quality of their writing.

Story writing needs to be given a lot of time in the lead up to the 7+ Assessments. Children need to be given the opportunity to explore a variety of different story titles, picture prompts, story continuation from a comprehension etc. They need to be given the opportunity to write as many stories as possible. They need to understand the quality expected from them in order to be able to pass at Round 1.

Issue number 2

Not completing the questions in time.

Not completing all (or at least most) of the questions is a big problem. Children need to be taught how to answer the questions in timed conditions so that they have the best chance of completing as many questions as possible in the Assessments. As you can imagine it is very important that children compete as many questions as possible. After all we want all of our students to score the highest marks possible. I heard from several parents that told me that their child left one full page because they didn’t check that there were more questions. When they went back to check their answers they realised that they had left out several questions but they didn’t have enough time to complete it by the time they had realised. I always teach my students to check that they have completed all of the questions before moving on.

Issue number 3

More complex maths questions and two and three step worded problems.

We spend a lot of time in our lessons teaching our students strategies for solving two and three step worded problems. Some of our students feel overwhelmed when they see too much writing on the page of a maths paper. We teach them how to break it down so that it is more manageable and we show them how to clearly show their working out to each step. More complex maths questions that have come up this year have included - double digit multiplication, bus stop method for division, fraction of quantity of larger numbers.

Issues that have come up in the 4+ Assessments 2023

I won’t name the schools but if you’d like to discuss this further with me, I’d be happy to arrange a consultation with you.

It is very important to be aware of the issues that came up this year in the Round 1 and Round 2 Assessment (if applicable to the schools that you are applying to) so that you can support your child to avoid these issues in their own Assessments.

Many parents that I’ve spoken to have been deeply frustrated because they worked so hard for 12 months in the lead up to the Assessment/s and their child was unsuccessful. I understand this completely. Parents dedicate so much time and effort to helping their child to prepare for their 4+ Assessments. Of course, they want their child to be successful but this is not always the case.

First of all, it is always important to remember that all of these Top Boys and Girls schools are very over subscribed and each year they become more and more over subscribed. This means that the competition is fierce. This means that it is harder and harder for children to pass these Assessments. At the end of the day, these top schools have their pick of the students that they want to attend their schools. They will of course choose the students that they think will be suitable for their schools. They will have their criteria and it will simply be a matter of ticking off whether the child meets the criteria or not. There will be a certain percentage that the child needs to score and if they don’t achieve high enough, they will simply not be successful.

These are the three main reasons that I have identified for children not passing Round 1.

1. Not following instructions - eg. The child is asked to go to an activity specified by the examiner and they say no or go to an activity that they would prefer to go to or the child being asked to draw a butterfly but instead drawing a dog.

2. Behavioural issues - eg. the child getting frustrated at not being allowed to do a certain activity or the child not being polite with the examiner or another child. There are many behavioural issues that could cause a child to be unsuccessful in their Assessment.

3. Not listening well - eg. the child listening to a story and asked a question about the story and not being able to answer the question or child asked to respond to what another child has said but not being able to.

Continue to focus on the academic aspects of the 4+ Assessments but please don’t neglect the behavioural aspects. They are just as important.

Think about it, if your child is academically gifted but they don’t follow the instructions given to them by the examiner do you think that they will pass?

If your child is academically gifted but they don’t listen to the examiner, do you think that they will pass?

If your child is academically gifted but they don’t share well with another child or show good team work do you think that they will pass?

It’s important to reflect carefully on all of these and find strategies to support your child with all of these behavioural elements.

Book your Sample Lesson Today!

4 + Assessment Information December 2023

As our youngest students are well underway with their 4+ Assessments, I would like to share new things that I am learning with you. I would like to do this so that hopefully it will help you to also support your child to be successful in their Assessments.

How to do everything that you can to support your child to go into their Assessments happily.

This has been a huge one. Not just this year but every single year. If your child goes into their Assessments unhappy or upset, they will most likely not be successful. The only times that I’ve heard of children who have been successful who have gone into their Assessments crying and been offered a place was at schools that had a very strong sibling policy. Apart from this, they have been unsuccessful. This is why it is so important to prepare your child for this. Prepare them to be able to go into heir Assessment feeling calm, happy and relaxed. If a child goes into their Assessment crying or upset, they will not be able to show their truest potential. In all of our 4+ Assessment preparation lessons, we support our students to have the best possible chances for success by supporting them to go into their Assessments calmly and happily. We also spend a lot of time coaching and guiding parents as to the strategies that they can use with their children to prepare them to be left somewhere new and unfamiliar to them.

Is an online lesson as effective as an in person one?

This is a question that I hear time and time again. We are exclusively online. Some parents that I speak to may initially doubt how the lessons can be as effective as an in person lesson.

First of all, question what an ‘effective’ lesson actually is?

Why would it matter if the teacher is there physically or virtually? Why does it make a difference?

I honestly believe that it doesn’t.

To me an ‘effective’ lesson is how much a child learns, how much they absorb, how much they can accelerate their learning and take it to the next level.

Our lessons are incredibly effective and they will continue to provide the highest quality of support to all of our students and allow them to have the highest possible chances for success in their 4+ Assessments.

Why is it so important to have the teacher physically present?

So many clients that I speak to tell me that it is important that they have a teacher be present. However, having done this for so many years, I can tell you that these exact same parents are the ones who often contact me after the fact (the 4+ Assessments) and tell me that their child hasn’t been successful and they then need to prepare for the 7+ Assessments. To me the most important aspect of 4+ Assessment preparation is that the child actually gains entry into at least one of their schools of choice. No one can guarantee that your child will be successful but was I can definitely guarantee is that your child will be ready to go in and be as successful as they can be. That your chid will have learn everything that they need to have learnt in order to go into any 4+ Assessment and shine. That your child will know exactly what will be expected of them at each school that they will be attending.

Why I think it is important that children can read from as early as possible?

It will take away so many difficulties further down the line. I begin teaching older children all the time who struggle with reading. It takes away from the time that we could be learning other things. We still need to spend time learning phonics, sounding out and looking at spelling patterns. If this is done early on, it will enable you to go a lot deeper into other aspects of your child’s learning. Reading opens so many doors, I cannot even begin to tell you the thousands of reasons that I think reading from a very early age is just so important.

The bond you develop as a family, the vocabulary your child is exposed to, the language they are exposed to, the adventures that they can experience. It’s not JUST about reading the words. To me, there’s so much more to reading than just that.

In many 4+ Assessments, your child will need to blend three letter words. So please do ensure that you have prepared your child to be able to do this.

The biggest mistake parents make with 4+ Assessment preparation…

By far, the biggest mistake that I see parents make with 4+ Assessment preparation is not being crystal clear on exactly what is expected at each round at each different school. They treat each Assessment the same. They are not the same.

And if your child is not prepared, there is no way that we can expect that they will go in and be successful.

Let me give you an example.

One school that we prepare for at 4+ at Round 1 is particularly interested in the confidence of the girls who attend their Assessment.

In terms of confidence, they are looking for girls who can:

• Answer questions well, with clarity and confidence

• Articulate themselves well

• Hold a conversation with an adult who is unfamiliar to them

If children are not prepared for all of these, they will not go into this Assessment and be successful.

It is as simple as that.

So this is my point.

Know your schools.

Know them well.

Know what they are looking for. And if you don’t, enlist the help of someone who does.

We have been doing this for over 16 years and we can help you to have tremendous success in the 4+ Assessments.

The number 1 thing that I’ve learnt so far from the 4+ Assessments.

The most important thing by far is this.

You must know each individual schools very well.

You must know what they are looking for.

You must know their criteria.

You must know how they expect their students to behave and to be in their Assessments.

You must know the exact expectations.

Knowing the schools really well will give you that slight edge that you need to allow your child to go in a truly shine. To show exactly what these schools are looking for and ultimately have options of where YOU ultimately want to send them.

Know your schools.

Preparing for the 4+ Assessments? Book your Sample lesson today and see how we can support you every step of the way to have incredible success.

How to support your child to develop a love for reading (ages 1-2)

It is important to mention that birth to 1 is a very important timeframe to begin reading with your child. Just simply choosing a book, sitting or laying down together and reading. Pointing to things in the book and naming them. Asking your child lots and lots of questions and just observing what they do. What they look at, what they perhaps point at, the noises that they make and their facial expressions.

Between ages 1-2 is a crucial time for continuing to build a love for reading within your child. So how can you support your child to develop a love for reading between the ages of 1 and 2?

1. Have a variety of books always available and in a place that is accessible to your child.

You don’t need fancy bookshelves or anything like that. We don’t have any of that. Just a dedicated space where you can place 5-6 books and give your child the opportunity to just explore. Touch them. Open them. Turn the pages. Touch the pages. I always give my son a while to just do this independently. He then often calls me over or brings me one of the books. This is ,y opportunity to read with him! If you don’t have a huge budget for books, no problem. Just sign up to your local library and choose the books you need. Rotate these every now and then or choose the same ones! There are some books that my son chooses more than others!

2. Choose some dedicated times just for reading together.

I have a full on work schedule and I look after my son most of the time so I plan these times into my calendar. They are very important to me. I choose a time in the morning, afternoon and evening. It doesn’t even have to be very long. Even if you only have 5 minutes - it all adds up. You read for 5 minutes every day… that’s 35 minutes each week! By choosing a time, it will also allow your child the opportunity to look forward to these times and know that it’s reading time!

3. Get rid of all other distractions.

Put your phone away, switch of the tv, get rid of any other screens, if you have other people in the room either go to another room or politely ask them to give your the space to do your thing. Your focus is exclusively on your child and on the reading. I can’t tell you how many times, I’ve been reading to my child and then been distracted by an email or a phone call. What message does this give my child? It gives the message that those things are more important than what we are doing and they most definitely are not. For 5 minutes, I can leave my emails and focus on reading with my boy!

4. Let your child choose the books they want to read.

My child is only 17 months and I know the books he loves. These are the ones we mostly read. I always let him choose.

5. Ask lots and lots of questions

There are different levels of questions and I already use all of them with my son. The level 1 questions, he is now beginning to understand. Eg. If I ask him… Where is the tree? Where is the man? etc.

If you would like a list of questions that you can use with your own child, please do email me and I’ll be happy to share these with you - office@creativemindstutors.com

6. Give your child plenty of time to answer.

It may take a longer time to process at this age. I find that when I give my son longer than usual to answer, he ofter will answer. In his own way of course. Perhaps a nod, perhaps by pointing, perhaps by laughing. Whatever it may be, I give him plenty of time.

If your child is between the ages of 15 months and 23 months, we currently have an incredible Reading Club. To join our December Club, simply click here.

How much and how often should your child be reading in preparation for their 7+ Assessments?

I get these questions a lot.

How much should my child be reading?

Which books should they be reading?

How can I boost their vocabulary?

So let’s answer them.

How much should my child be reading?

Your child should aim to be reading at least 10 pages a day. I choose this amount simply because this is the amount I challenge myself to read each day! And also because I’ve seen the best results from this amount. If you give too many pages as a goal for your child to achieve daily, it will seem overwhelming to them and most likely they won’t read any. 10 pages is very achievable. Even if they read 5 pages in the morning and 5 pages in the evening. Of course, if they can read more that is great. See this as a minimum baseline.

Which books should they be reading?

Your child must read books that interest them. This is far more effective than giving them books that they are just not that into or that they don’t really like. If your child is between 5 and 6, you will want them to choose picture books that challenge them in terms of vocabulary. If your child knows all of the words in the book that they have read, then if wasn’t challenging enough. You want your child to struggle with at least 5 words in a book that they are reading. In this way, they will boost their vocabulary by being exposed to new and unfamiliar words to them. If your child is between 6 and 7, they will need to be reading chapter books. We provide tailored book recommendations to all of our students.

How can I boost their vocabulary?

You can boost their vocabulary by making a glossary. The children that I teach love this!

Just get an exercise book (a nice one that your child has chosen preferably) and some lovely pens. On the top of each page write the letters A-Z or leave a couple of pages between letters (if the book allows). Each time your child is reading, they will take their glossary with them and write down new words. I ask my students to write the meaning of each word and to place each word into a sentence. Every evening, choose a word from the glossary and ask them what it means. If they remember, great. If they don’t, show them what they had written and then come back to it another time.

This is by far, the most effective way that I have seen to boost vocabulary.

Preparing for the 7+ Assessments? Book your Sample lesson today.

Preparing for a 7+ Assessment at a Top London School?

Are your preparing your child for the 7+ Assessment/s this year? If you are, you will already know how important it is to know your school/s very well. To know what they are looking for in their prospective new students, to know what will happen during the Assessment, to know what your child needs to be able to do in order to be successful.

In this blog, I will be doing a case study of a Top London boy’s school at 7+. Their Assessment is this week on Friday.

I have several boys sitting Assessment at this school this week. Some I have been preparing for nearly two years. Others I have been preparing for 6 weeks. Of course, I strongly believe that it is vital to begin early. As early as possible. The best results that we’ve had are when we prepare children for their 7+ when they are just starting in Reception. This gives us a full two years (and a bit) to prepare.

There is too much to cover to leave it to the last minute. Effective story writing alone takes at least 4 months of intensive work. So whether you are preparing your child alone or you are getting support in the form of tuition, please do start early.

At this top London school, their Round 1 Assessment will be split in this way:

1 hour Reasoning paper

45 minute English paper

40 minute Maths paper

I really like the way that this school splits their papers up because they give their students short breaks between each paper. This gives them a chance to have a little rest and focus their minds to the paper that they will be completing next (rather than having 1.5 - 2 hours of continuous Assessment)

The Reasoning paper

Let’s take a deep dive into the Reasoning paper at this particular school. Reasoning will involve verbal and non verbal reasoning. I recommend the Bond Books to my clients. We want to be aiming to have completed the 7-8 Bond Books in Verbal and Non Verbal Reasoning before the Assessments. We can also dip into the 8-9 papers. Some questions are not relevant so make sure that you know which questions to focus on and which are not needed. I personally use Schofield and Sims with my students. I also create my own questions to support any gaps that arise.

Your child needs to be very confident with all aspects of Verbal and Non Verbal Reasoning to pass Round 1 at this school. You will see that 1 hour is allocated to this paper (longer than to the other papers) therefore this school clearly believes that reasoning is very important. I agree. Reasoning shows logic, strategic thinking, accuracy, precision and focused thinking. It is also not really something that can necessarily always be taught. Yes, we can teach the skills but a question could come up that your child many never have encountered before and they will need to have developed the problem solving skills necessary to be able to solve them.

The English paper

45 minutes is allocated to the English paper. Historically at this school, the children will have a comprehension and a story to write. As the paper is so short, we can predict that the children will not be given long to write their story (perhaps between 20 and 30 minutes)

The comprehension will involve a short text that will be challenging to read. It will be at a year 3/4 level so your child does need to be able to read very well. Not just read very well but also be able to infer meaning because there will be plenty of words that they will not know. Again this takes lots and lots of practise. Lots and lots of exposure to a variety of texts that immerses your child into a lot of vocabulary. Vocabulary is key at all schools in the 7+ Assessment. The only way to build vocabulary is through voracious reading. Not passively reading but actively reading. Not coming across a word and skimming past it but coming across a word and writing down it’s meaning. Being able to place that word into a sentence. Your child’s vocabulary must be amazing. It just must be.

After the comprehension, your child will have a story to write. This could be linked to the comprehension (it usually is). Most likely your child will be given one title (they could also be given an option to choose from). I prefer it when they are just given one title otherwise they tend to waste time choosing the one that they like best! We don’t have time to waste if the paper is only 45 minutes long!

The story will need to be exceptional.

Handwriting will need to be beautiful. Joined or unjoined it needs to be really good, legible handwriting.

Spellings will need to be near perfect. Key words and high frequency words must be spelled correctly.

There will need to be a clear introduction, middle and ending.

Their writer’s voice will need to shine through.

They will need to have used higher level language and vocabulary.

They will need to have used some figurative language (either a simile or personification)

The maths paper

The maths paper will be at a Year 3 level so aim to prepare your child up to this level.

Of course not all of the Year 3 curriculum so it is important to know which part of the curriculum to revise.

This school is well known for asking lots of problem solving and reasoning questions and they will want to see working out. There will be two and three step problems so prepare for these.

Ensure you have covered all of the Year 2 maths curriculum with your child (at a minimum) and that they are confident with all aspects of this curriculum.

What you need to be doing if your child is sitting Round 1 of their 7+ this week.

Ensure that your child is confident in all aspects of their 7+ Assessments.

Cover story writing a lot (if it will be assessed) Remember that not all schools have a story to write.

Fill any gaps that need filling.

Do past papers everyday.

Give them a break the day before if possible.

Talk to them about what to expect in the Assessment.

7+ Assessments Top Tips

1. Arrive earlier to the Assessment - Have a conversation with your child to ground them and centre them. Tell them exactly what will happen.

2. Wear a watch as long as it doesn’t distract them. The children need to pay close attention to the time available in their Assessment.

3. Have their pencil case ready so that your child isn’t searching for things.

4. Don’t bring a rubber if it will distract them. If you do want your child to bring a rubber, explain to them exactly how to use their rubber.

Important things to take into consideration when preparing your child for their 4+ Assessments.

Choose a teacher who has actual experience with the schools that you are applying to.

This is a must.

Year after year, I speak to hundreds of parents who speak to me and decide to either work with me and my team or not. The main reason I hear from parents for not working with me is because they desire a teacher who will come to their homes. This is all well and good and I respect everyone’s opinion. However, the teacher that you do choose to work with must have actual experience with the school/schools that you are applying to. Otherwise it actually makes no sense to me. After the Assessments, I then hear from many of these parents again who call me to tell that they’ve not been successful and they then ask for my help with preparing for the 7+. This again is all well and good but it could have been avoided with a bespoke programme of study with either myself or one of my team.

We do not guarantee entry to any school at 4+. This would be impossible because as much as we are amazing at preparing our students, it is down to them. How they perform on the day, how they feel on the day and how much they actually enjoy themselves on the day.

What we do guarantee however, is that your child will receive the highest quality tuition tailored specifically to the school/s that you are applying to. What we do guarantee is ongoing communication with your teacher each and everyday if it is needed. What we do guarantee is that you will see your child’s learning and understanding transformed. What we do guarantee is that your child will go into their Assessment fully prepared and ready to be able to show their truest potentials.

The 4+ gets more and more competitive each year. With hundreds of children fighting for 30-40 places, it is vital that you get the support that you need.

We will support you every step of the way. For only £200 a month, you will receive weekly lessons, bespoke home learning and ongoing communication with your teacher. I think that it is the best investment into your child’s education that you can make.

Book your Sample lesson today.

How to choose the best teacher for your child

1. Ask the teacher about their actual experience at the school/s that your are applying to.

Ask questions like:

Do you have experience with this school?

How do you know about the Assessment content at this school?

2. Sample a lesson with them before committing to working with them.

First of all you need to make sure that your child connects with the teacher. You will need at least 3-4 lessons to be able to see this connection or not.

3. Ask them about the curriculum that they will cover.

The curriculum that they will cover will show you if it is exactly what you are looking for. It needs to be a robust curriculum that will nurture your child but that will also take your child’s learning to the next level.

I strongly believe that we offer the best teachers for the preparation of the 4+ Assessments at all Top inner and outer London Schools.

Book your Sample lesson today.

What sets a child apart from others in the 4+ Assessments?

This is good question to ask.

Hundreds of children will be applying to the school/s that you would like your child to go to. A small percentage will get in at 4+.

So what will set your child apart from the other children?

You MUST know the schools very well and what the specific schools are looking for.

Your child needs to know what the schools are expecting.

If your child knows what they need to be showing, they will keep this in mind and show this in the Assessment.

Of course, your child MUST go in and be 100% their amazing selves.

Choose a Tutor who has already had exceptional results

This is obvious to me but it doesn’t seem so obvious to some of the parents that I talk to.

Common objections that I have for parents not wanting to do lessons with us is that we are exclusively online. When I speak to them again, they tell me that they’ve found a 4+ Assessment tutor who can come to their home. When I ask them if they have experience with the 4+ Assessments at the schools they are applying to, they often tell me that they do not. However, they always reassure me that they are ‘eyfs specialists’ or they have experience working in Reception. That’s great and I’m sure that they are amazing teachers. BUT if they don’t have actual experience with the school/s that you are applying to, how exactly will they know what the school/s are looking for?

Just something to consider.

A lot of parents think that in person is superior to online and it simply is not.

What is superior is a teacher who has real and actual experience with the schools you are applying to. As in has actually been successful in having their students be successful at gaining entry at those schools.

What is superior is a teacher who knows exactly what they school/s are expecting from the students in their 4+ Assessments.

What is superior is a teacher with proven results.

Qualifications and experience are great on paper. The ultimate measure of success, in my opinion is the actual ability to get a student into the school/s that they desire to go to.

So choose a teacher who has had exceptional results and not just because they can come to your house. This means nothing at all.

Don’t sabotage your chances for success because you won’t give online tuition a try.

Book your Sample lesson today.

The top 3 ways that your child can stand out in their 4+ Assessments

1. Answer all questions that they are asked in full sentences and with as much detail as possible.

A lot of students that I teach at this age, answer with very short answers and don’t go into a lot of detail. I encourage them to say more. With practise and repetition, they will know how to answer any question.

2. Get involved in all of the activities provided with enthusiasm and a fun spirit.

Your child will be asked to engage with a variety of activities. Children who have fun and enjoy the activities and engage with the activities are far more likely to succeed than those who don’t show much interest for them.

3. Persevere with the more challenging tasks.

There will be tasks that will be more challenging than others. If your child can persevere with them and keep trying, this will definitely make them stand out amongst other children who will just move on to something else.

Book your Sample lesson today.

How to encourage active listening rather than passive listening.

I see this all the time in my lessons.

I can clearly see the children who are actively listening and those who are passively listening.

If your child is an active listener, they will be engaged. They will be delighted with what you are telling them. You will be absorbing everything that is being told to them. If they are an active listener, they will be able to answer any question that you ask them. They will also be able to ask you questions about what you are telling them.

A passive listener is still listening but they are not showing the skills involved in active listening and this is so obvious to me. Children who are sitting there listening but not truly absorbing what is being told to them. When I ask them questions, their eyes glaze over or they are looking around themselves. They won’t be able to answer my questions because they were only passively listening.

Active listening is a skill and one that I teach all of my students how to do and how to do well. It is a skill that is so important in all of the Assessments (not only the 4+!)

Is your child an Active or a Passive listener? How can you support them to be more of an Active listener?

Read every single day with your child

Seems simple enough but there are times that me and my son go a few days without opening a book. It’s so easy to just sit down with your child and open a book and start reading. I now allocate times to reading every day with my son. It is so important to me and I know that it is so important to him. Reading is fundamental when preparing for the 4+ Assessments.

Reading covers so many skills that will be assessed in the 4+ assessments such as listening, responding, analysing, predicting, inferring, summarising, communicating and vocabulary building to name a few.

It is also so much fun to read together with your child. It is one of my favourite things to do with him. To see his face light up when he receives a new book is priceless (he is 16 months old!)

3 Top Tips to support your child with engaging with adults

This is a very important one to take into consideration when preparing your child for their 4+ Assessments. They will need to engage with adults that they have never met before in their 4+ Assessments so it is vital that they practise engaging with adults before going into the actual Assessments. They will be assessed on this so please do practise this.

1. Introduce them to new adults every day.

These adults could be friends of yours that your child doesn’t know very well, these adults could be adults at a coffee shop/ supermarket/ restaurant etc.

2. Encourage them to talk with these adults.

Give your child little challenges each day. Eg. Ask her how her day has been or ask her what she is doing this evening or answer two of her questions.

3. Encourage your child to maintain eye contact.

Seems simple but a lot of children (even adults!) struggle with this one.

Book your Sample lesson today.

I hope you found this blog really informative and that you are able to apply some of the concepts that I have taught,

Wishing you great success with your 4+ Assessments preparations!

Maria

Write an Amazing Story by Friday Challenge November 2023

In the 7+ Assessment your child will be more than likely asked to write a story. Each school has their own criteria for the Assessments that they expect the children to sit.

Let’s take a look at one school as an example.

North London Collegiate School

This is a very popular school that we prepare our girls for. Our girls are starting earlier and earlier each year, which is great. Competition for this school is fierce at 7+. At 7+, there are on 8-10 places. However, if this is a school that you think you’d like your daughter to attend at 11+ anyway, it is definitely worth trying at 7+. If your daughter is successful, you won’t have the headache of the 11+! Considering how many girls they actually take at 7+, my personal success rates at getting girls into this school at 7+ are just exceptional (I also have amazing success rate at 4+ and 11+)

So in this Assessment the girls will need to:

Write an imaginative story using full sentences and some interesting vocabulary.

Read fluently with understanding and give answers to written questions.

Write the answers to these questions in simple sentences.

Understand the concepts of addition, subtraction, multiplication and ‘sharing’/division and be able to apply these rules in order to solve word problems.

Know the 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10 times tables.

Have a basic understanding of shape, time and money.

Interpret simple tables and charts.

In our challenge this week, we will be looking at Story writing and I will be providing you with the tools and strategies that you need in order to be able to support your child with their writing in the 7+ Assessments.

Here are a few things to take into consideration:

Each school will have different types of questions. I have been preparing children for over 16 years for their 7+ Assessments so I have a very strong idea about what will come up. Of course, things can and do change so it’s important to prepare for all eventualities.

Most schools ask children to write a fiction story.

However non- fiction can and does come up so please do practise this too.

Here are some examples of non-fiction writing:

1. Non chronological reports

2. Newspaper reports

3. Debate writing

4. Biographies

5. Letter writing (formal and non formal)

6. Instructional writing

We don’t spend too much time on these BUT it is important that your child knows the features of these genres of writing just incase they are asked to do one of these! So do revise these too. I usually leave these to close to the Assessments so that it is fresh in my students’ minds should they be asked to write in this way.

Most likely, your child will be asked to write a fictitious piece of writing. So this is what we will focus on this week.

We will use picture stimuli as our starting point. This has come up several times at several different schools. Your child will be given a series of pictures (between 3 and 5 pictures) and they will be asked to write a story about the pictures.

Here are the pictures:

So, your child would be given these pictures and they would be asked to write a story about them.

They will be given between 20 to 40 minutes to write their story, with most schools giving 30 minutes. Your child will need to know how to manage their time and be able to write their story within the timeframe provided. If your child doesn’t complete their story, this isn’t an issue. The main focus is that they write a high quality story filled with ambitious language, creativity and imagination.

I will show you model writing of a story title that has come up several times in the 7+ Assessment.

The story title is the path (it also relates to the images above)

The Path

Introduction

• Introduce the character

• Introduce the setting

• Introduce the problem

• Use higher level descriptive language

• Use a variety of sentence openers

  There was once a boy named George. An adventurous boy, George always found fun things to do. Kind hearted and fun, George was staying in a cabin in the deep, dark woods with his mother who was working on a new project. That morning, his mother had set off to work and warned George that he was not to go out exploring the woods alone. Nodding sweetly, George assured her that he would stay in the cabin until she returned. Happily, George stared out of the large window at the stunning nature that surrounded the cabin. Before he knew it, he heard roaring thunder and lightning struck in front of his eyes. Just then, it began to rain. Running towards the door, George decided he would go out just for a few minutes because he had always adored the rain.

  Middle

• Go into detail about the problem

• Use higher level descriptive language

• Use fantastic sentence openers

• Include speech

• Use figurative language (either personification or a simile)

  Filled with joy, George ran excitedly into the woods. The bitterly cold rain caressed his skin as he continued to run as fas as he could. Before he knew it, he had ran a little too far and he felt a little confused about where he was. Not knowing the way back home, George took shelter under a tall willow tree. In front of him were two paths. One was leading onto a storm and the other seemed as though it was leading towards a beautiful sunset. Unsure which path to take, George looked up and saw a wise owl.

  “Oh wise owl, please tell me which path I should take?” asked George quietly.

  “You should take the path leading towards the storm. Although this path is the most dangerous, it is the one that will lead you home little boy!” replied the owl.

  Ending

• Resolve the problem

• Use higher level descriptive language

• Use fantastic sentence openers

• End with a moral, a question or a cliff hanger (ellipses)

  Bravely, George set off through the path that lead him towards the storm. Lightning seemed to split the sky in two and thunder struck loudly. Covering his head with his hood, George continued down the path. This had been a terrible mistake and he should have listened to his mother. Tears began to fall delicately down his cheek and he closed his eyes and made a wish. Wishing to be back home safe and sound, he opened his eyes and to his surprise the mighty owl had swooped him up into the air and took him back home, soaring through the air…

  Story Analysis

  I worked for 3 years at a Top Pre Prep in Hampstead and I have marked hundreds (probably thousands by this point!) of stories. I know exactly what these schools are looking for and I support my students to be able to write the highest quality stories possible. I am always filled with joy when we come to around November/December time. This time of year is just magical for story writing. For my students who have been working consistently on their story writing since August, their story writing now is just exceptional. For those who have been with me for a shorter time, their writing is beginning to develop and each week, I see their confidence growing and their enthusiasm becoming more and more.

  Why is this a superb introduction?

  Let’s take a look together…

  There was once a boy named George. An adventurous boy, George always found fun things to do. Kind hearted and fun, George was staying in a cabin in the deep, dark woods with his mother who was working on a new project. That morning, his mother had set off to work and warned George that he was not to go out exploring the woods alone. Nodding sweetly, George assured her that he would stay in the cabin until she returned. Happily, George stared out of the large window at the stunning nature that surrounded the cabin. Before he knew it, he heard roaring thunder and lightning struck in front of his eyes. Just then, it began to rain. Running towards the door, George decided he would go out just for a few minutes because he had always adored the rain.

• Clearly introduces the character, setting and problem.

• Uses higher level description

• Uses varied sentence openers for effect

  Why is this an excellent Middle paragraph?

  Filled with joy, George ran excitedly into the woods. The bitterly cold rain caressed his skin as he continued to run as fas as he could. Before he knew it, he had ran a little too far and he felt a little confused about where he was. Not knowing the way back home, George took shelter under a tall willow tree. In front of him were two paths. One was leading onto a storm and the other seemed as though it was leading towards a beautiful sunset. Unsure which path to take, George looked up and saw a wise owl.

  “Oh wise owl, please tell me which path I should take?” asked George quietly.

  “You should take the path leading towards the storm. Although this path is the most dangerous, it is the one that will lead you home little boy!” replied the owl.

• Superb sentence openers

• Beautiful descriptive language

• Accurate speech punctuation used

• Links to the title (the path)

• Links to the introduction

  Why is this a wonderful ending?

  Bravely, George set off through the path that lead him towards the storm. Lightning seemed to split the sky in two and thunder struck loudly. Covering his head with his hood, George continued down the path. This had been a terrible mistake and he should have listened to his mother. Tears began to fall delicately down his cheek and he closed his eyes and made a wish. Wishing to be back home safe and sound, he opened his eyes and to his surprise the mighty owl had swooped him up into the air and took him back home, soaring through the air…

• Amazing descriptive language

• Superb openers

• Imaginative and creative

• Ends with a cliff hanger

  So there you have Story Writing for the 7+.

  I truly hope that you found this really helpful and that it will help your child to write an amazing story in the 7+ Assessments.

  At the end of the Challenge, I will ask students to use my model to write their own story called ‘The Path’.

  You are very welcome to ask your chid to also write this story and you can send me their story to office@creativemindstutors.com. I will mark all stories that I receive with detailed feedback and next steps.

  If your child is sitting their 7+ Assessments this academic year or the following one, book your Sample lesson today and let’s get started and get the best results possible in all of the 7+ Assessments.

  I have had exceptional results these last 16 years and will continue to have incredible results. I am certain of that!

8 Genres of Writing Masterclass Saturday November 18th @3pm

In this amazing Masterclass, I will cover the 8 genres of writing that could potentially come up in the 7+ Assessments.

It is highly likely that your child will write a fiction story or choose the option to write a fiction story.

However, other genres of writing could come up and in fact they have some up previously.

I personally don’t spend too much time focusing on these but it’s important that your chid is aware of how to write a story. if it is a different genre to the one that they are used to writing.

For example, if your child is asked to write a letter in their Assessment, they will need to be aware of the different features of a letter and be able to include these in their writing.

This workshop will be 40 minutes long and I will allocate 5 minutes to each genre. Here are the genres that I will cover:

1. Explanations

2. Formal and informal letters

3. Instructional writing

4. Fiction narratives

5. Newspaper reports

6. Non chronological reports

7. Persuasive writing

8. Diary writing

After the Masterclass, your child will receive a pack of learning which they can organise into a folder to help them to remember the different genres and be able to answer any question in their 7+ Assessments.

This is a workshop that you won’t want to miss if your child is sitting their 7+ Assessments this year.

Saturday 18th November 2023

Zoom

3:00

40 minutes

Maximum of 5 children only

£45

Book today

Lessons learnt so far from the 3+ Assessments (2023)

I have been preparing children for their 3+ Assessments for 16 years. Each year, the Assessments are very similar.

How do I know what will happen at each school that has Assessments at 3+?

It’s simple.

1. My clients tell me.

2. My students tell me.

3. I have seen Assessments in action at a variety of top London schools.

In most schools that have had a 3+ Assessment so far, parents have been invited to go into the room with their child.

Interestingly, I have spoken to several different parents (some my own clients and some not) who have been telling me about their experiences.

The most common theme is that preparation is key.

I have spoken to several parents who have told me that they were completely shocked by the expectation in the 3+ Assessment.

It does not shock me.

It’s the same each year.

So what exactly do you have to do to ensure that your child is ready for their 3+?

It’s simple.

1. Prepare them for the separation - Even though, you might be in the room with them, they still need to be prepared to detach from you and go and engage in the activities calmly and confidently.

2. Teach them how to answer questions asked by others and practise asking them a variety of different questions.

3. Expose them to a variety of activities that will be assessed in the Assessment,

We have a bespoke programme of study for all of our students preparing for their 3+ Assessments No two programmes are the same as they are tailored towards to schools that you have chosen to sit Assessment at.

Preparation is key.

Whether your prepare your child or you have tuition.

Check out our Entrance Assessment Support Packages to see how we can support your child to have tremendous success in their 3+ Assessment.

The Write an Amazing Story by Friday Challenge November 2023

Are you joining us?

This Challenge will begin Monday 6th November 2023!

This Challenge will be perfect if your child is preparing for their 7+ Assessments or if you’d like to just work on your chid’s story writing in general!

This Challenge will take your child’s writing to the next level and give them the confidence to be able to write any story in the future!

My clear framework for teaching story writing has already supported thousands of children with their story writing. I would be delighted to support your child too!

So join us.

It’s completely FREE to join!

The Number One Way to Support your child with their Confidence

As I've said many times before your child's confidence in the Assessment is the most important aspect of the 4+ Assessment in my opinion. 

Because ultimately if your chid doesn't go in happily and confidently how else will they do well? How else will they show their capabilities? How else will they show how much they are able to do? 

If your child goes in upset, they won't be able to show confidence. 

So this is something that you need to work on with your child from as early as possible in the lead up to the 4+ Assessments.

Take them to new places where they need to interact with new children and new adults. 

There are so many options available living in London. 

Please don't just assume that taking them to nursery is enough. Their nursery is familiar to them. The adults there are familiar to them. The children there are familiar to them. The building is familiar to them. 

When they go to their 4+ Assessments, it will all be new to them and if they havent practised, they will find it challenging. 

Even adults find it challenging to go somewhere new. Even adults struggle with change. 

Imagine a 3 or 4 year old? 

Put yourself in their shoes.

They arrive a new and unfamiliar building to them. How will they be feeling?

Probably a little bit overwhelmed.

They are escorted by a teacher or two to a room they’ve never been to before. How will they be feeling?

Probably a little bit worried.

They are placed in groups of 6-12 other children that they’ve never met before. How will they be feeling?

Probably a little bit anxious.

It is up to you to prepare your child for all of this

I tell my students EXACTLY what to expect at each Assessment. Remember that each Assessment will be different and it is vital that your child understands exactly what will be expected of them at each different school.

If you would like further support with 4+ Assessment preparation, book your Sample Lesson today.

Top three 4+ Frustrations 2023

I have bee personally preparing children for the 4+ Assessments for over 16 years! That’s a very long time!

I adore teaching children at all ages but I particularly love this age.

At the age of three, students often start off with their guard up. They don’t know me. In the first few lessons it’s all about warming up. After a few lessons, they transform and the relationship that we develop is something that I cherish long after our lessons are complete and they go to their ‘big’ schools.

Each year, I speak with parents and each year I hear the same things come up that cause many of my clients a lot of frustrations. And it’s understandable!

So here are the top three 4+ frustrations that I hear from many clients and many potential new clients.

1. My neighbour/ My aunty/ My cousin told me not to have my child tutored for the 4+

This is a common one!

Parents feeling very frustrated because they put so much effort into preparing their children for their 4+, investing in tuition and investing their time and energy into actually coming to the lessons with their children and then completing the home learning tasks. Then they are told ‘You don’t need to prepare your child.’

First of all, let me say this.

If a child is sitting the 4+ Assessments they will have been ‘tutored’.

Hear me out.

In one way or another a child sitting the 4+ needs to be prepared, So whether you pay for formal tuition or you ‘tutor’ your child yourself, they are still being ‘tutored’. Being ‘tutored’ just means that your child is being taught.

2. I thought my child would automatically get in because of the school’s sibling policy and they didn’t get in.

Schools may tell you that they have a sibling policy but I personally wouldn’t pay attention to this. Regardless of if they have one or not, please assume that there isn’t one. Your child still needs to pass the Assessment! Several parents have made the mistake of thinking that because there is a sibling policy that they don’t need to prepare their child. The result of this will always be that a child who is not prepared will not be successful. I’ve seen it happen countless times.

3. I thought my child’s date of birth would be taken into consideration.

Again, even if the schools tell you that your child will be grouped with children of the same age group (and this may be the case), please disregard this. Whether your child is August born or your child is December born, they need to still pass the Assessment. Ok, the criteria may be (slightly) different for summer born children, I NEVER prepare my summer born students differently to my Autumn / Winter born students.

I have taught children who are July/ August born who surpassed their peers who were born in September/November. Ok, you can argue with me that nearly one year makes a difference. And perhaps it does. But rather than put your energy into worrying about this, put your energy into ensuring that your child is appropriately prepared to be able to pass any Assessment!

I am 100% certain that our results this year will be just as incredible as every other year!

Need further support with 4+ Assessment preparation?

Book your Sample lesson today.

The Blend three letter words by Friday Challenge begins today!

On Day 1 we will look at the following sounds with our children:

p

a

t

i

You will work on sounding out each individual sound correctly and ensuring that your sound is saying the pure sound.

Once your child is able to identify each individual sound with accuracy, you can move onto blending. It is worth mentioning that some children are very good at memorising the pictures and linking them to the sounds so do ask them to say the sound with and without the picture to help them.

When you do the blending, it is worth showing them one word at a time so that they don’t get overwhelmed with the amount of words on the page.

Get creative with this and do a treasure hunt! Hide the words around the house and when your child finds the word, they need to read it out to you. If your child struggles with blending, help them. Model to them how you would sound it out. Ensure you sound out each individual sound correctly and then show them how to blend it. I love to use robot arms for this and most of my students love this too. You will often see my students using their robot arms to blend words.

On Day 2, we will look at these sounds:

n

s

Again see if your child already knows how to sound these out. If they don’t then model it to them and ask them to repeat it after you.

Follow the same instructions as yesterday.

The same thing with the blending. Remember that we are not asking children to read digraphs (2 letter sounds) until they are confident with the single sounds. So only ask them the words with the single sounds. Digraphs are in green.

On Day 3, we will look at these sounds:

m

e

We will have fun sounding them out and again have a go at the blending.

Please don’t be disheartened if your child finds the blending aspect challenging. It is! IT takes time, patience and practise. But I promise you with consistency, your child will be reading all of the words on the page. Keep modelling it to them and asking them to repeat what you are saying. Point to the sounds in the words as you read them.

On Day 4, we will look at these sounds:

d

o

g

Spend time looking at the pictures and asking your child to explain to you what they can see. Then ask them is they know these sounds, if they do move straight onto the blending.

On Day 5, we will look at these sounds:

u

b

This will be the end of the challenge and you should see amazing results!

To join the challenge, click here!

How do you teach a 3 year old online?

Easily.

Some parents are really shocked and surprised when I tell them that all of our lessons are online. I guess perhaps because some parents have a view of what learning should look like with a 3 year old. Perhaps an image of someone sitting with them in a room. As some of you might already know, I taught in person for over 13 years before moving everything online. The main reason for moving everything online was that I had to. Covid happened. My students still had Assessments to do and lessons had to continue. The other main reason for moving everything online is that I reached capacity and could no longer make it from lesson to lesson online. The other main reason for moving everything online is that I had a deep desire to support as many children as I could to be successful in the Assessments. I couldn’t do this if I continued with in person tuition.

My team of exceptional teachers who also teach 3 year olds are also amazing.

We have all had levels of success that we didn’t even imagine to be possible at 4+.

How will you teach my child to read?

In preparation for the 4+ Assessments, we will be teaching your child how to read.

First of all, we will teach them their phase 2 and phase 3 graphemes (single sounds) eg. c, t, s.

There will be a lot of practise and a lot of repetition.

Next, we will learn the phase 2 and phase 3 digraphs (2 letters representing one sound) eg. ch, sh, ng.

We will then learn how to blend words. Eg. c-a-t or d-o-g. We also read lots and lots of books together.

We make all of this incredible learning very interactive and fun.

Some parents ask me if their child will really be asked to read in their 4+ Assessment. My answer is always - ‘Yes!’

In one way or another, they will be asked to read. Even if it is just discussing pictures in a book - this is still reading in my opinion!

They could be asked to read a letter displayed on the board, they could be asked to blend a word in a book that the teacher is reading to them, they could be asked to blend a 3 letter word. In one way or another, they will be asked to read.

We develop amazing relationships with all of our students and our clients. You can read them here in our Trustpilot reviews.

We cover so much in our very short 30 minute lessons with our students preparing for their 4+ Assessments and the time literally flies!

Our students love their lessons so much that 75% of our students continue with tuition even after the Assessments are over.

Interested to see how our Online lessons work? Curious to see how our success rates are so high?

Book your Sample lesson today

Teach your child to read by Friday Challenge!

Your child won’t be able to read without practise and consistency!

To be able to read, your child needs to practise and they need to practise a lot!

Here is the good news! I have the formula to support YOU to support YOUR CHILD with being able to read.

I want to make it easier for you to help your child to learn how to read. That’s why I created the ‘Teach your child to blend 3 letter words by Friday!’ Challenge.

The challenge starts Monday 30th October and ends Friday 3rd November.

We will meet everyday @8pm -8:30pm.

Not able to make it? No problem! Once you sign up for the challenge, you will receive all replays.

If you accept my challenge, I’m going to give you my special formula to support you to support your child with their reading.

I’m handing you the exact formula that I use to support my own students. It is a step by step plan that every parent will wish that they had had several months ago to help their child to be able to read in time for their 4+ Assessments!

To get the personal invite simply click here.