My 60 second Magic Formula for 7+ Story Writing Success

Do you know what 6 year olds should be doing over their summer break?

Enjoying it!

Whatever that means for them.

Going to 4 hours of 7+ Assessment preparation classes each week over the summer break is just not necessary.

Hours and hours of story writing doesn’t mean story writing success.

In fact, it might go the other way!

At this very young age, short, sharp bursts are always best.

Always.

So let your child enjoy their summer break and use my 60 second Magic Formula for 7+ Story writing success.

You are welcome!

1. Pick a stimulus (5 seconds)

At the table, place your stimulus. This could be a picture you’ve printed or a real object.

Eg. A jewel, a rock, a picture of a fountain to give you some examples.

2. Introduce your character, setting and problem (20 seconds)

Ask your child to tell you this and you write it down for them.

If your child struggles will this (Hint: most children do!), then they need to be reading more. Reading adventure books to help them to generate their ideas.

3. Go into detail about the problem (20 seconds)

Ask your child to tell you what exactly happens in the build up section (middle paragraph)

4. Finish the story (15 seconds)

Ask your child to tell you how their story will end.

Will it end well or not?

Moral or a question to finish?

The more you can use my 60 second Magic Formula, the more ideas your child will have when it comes to actually writing their story in their 7+ Assessment.

Remember that this is just the planning and thinking stage.

Then your child will actually need to write their story.

However, again, you don’t need hours and hours. Just give your child 30 minutes and see what they produce.

Mark it and give feedback and ask them to re-write it (again in 30 minutes)

Keep doing this process until you have the story that is the final story and this will become their model.

Place it into a folder in which you will create a selection of stories.

Read these daily.

You want to aim to have a collection of at least 12 amazing, well written stories before your child sits their 7+ Assessments.

If you want your child to master story writing for the 7+ Assessments, book your place on my incredible 7+ Intensive Summer Course .

This is what I love to do. I will help your child to love it too!

Top THREE reasons children FAIL story writing in the 7+ Assessments

1.The story does not make sense

They go off on tangents and the story is unclear.

The story does not link to the story title.

The reader cannot understand what the child has written.

If the story doesn’t make sense, the assessor will simply not read it and the story will not pass.

2. The child has not followed the instructions provided.

Story writing is generally a continuation of the comprehension or a stand alone story in which the children are give a story title or a set of images to write a story about. Recently, most stories have been linked to the comprehension task.

If students are asked to complete the passage for example and they do not do this, the story will not pass.

If students are asked to write a story called ‘The Fountain’ and they do not mention a fountain, they will not pass.

If students are asked to include speech punctuation and higher level descriptive language and they don’t do this, they will not pass.

These are just a fe examples.

3. Handwriting is illegible

If the assessor cannot read the story, it will not pass

Master these three things when teaching story writing to your child and they will definitely pass the story writing part of the 7+ Assessments. Don’t master these and they will not.

Always remember that they are 1:100’s of students being assessed. The assessors will read hundreds of stories. Your child’s story needs to stand out from the rest. Your child’s story needs to be so well written and your child’s story needs to be the one that will WOW the assessors and enable them to pass this part of the 7+ Assessments.

Story writing is my super power and I have helped hundreds of children over the last 15 years to be able to write amazing stories not just for their 7+ Assessments but for life!

Book your Sample Lesson Today.

The Number 1 Reason Story Writing is so hard to teach for the 7+

Not knowing what the schools expect.

If you don’t know what the schools expect then how can you ever prepare your child to pass this part of the Assessment?

In their 7+ Assessments, your child will most likely need to write a story in the first round of the Assessment (not always!)

Each school will have their own criteria that they will use to assess story writing.

It is important that you know what this criteria is so that you can prepare your child to go in and show everything that these schools are looking for.

I know exactly what each school is looking for.

How???

Because I have been preparing children for their 7+ Assessments for over 15 years now.

I have prepared children for ALL top inner and outer London schools for their 7+ Assessments.

I know that not all schools assess story writing in the same way and I prepare my students knowing exactly what the schools that they are applying to are looking for.

SIMPLE.

Know what the school/s are looking for and then prepare a plan to help support your child to go in and actually write the best story and to pass that section of their 7+ Assessment.

Story writing is not easy to teach for most people.

It is very easy for me to teach. It is my super power. Let me work with your child for only 30 minutes each week and see their writing transform. Watch as they begin to understand exactly what needs to be included in a story and how to actually write an amazing story.

Join my 7+ Intensive Summer Course to take your child’s 7+ Assessment preparation to the next level. Leave it to me to help your child to write the best stories ever and succeed in any 7+ Assessment.

Your child MUST be able to do this one thing if they are sitting their 7+ in the next 3-6 months.

Answer questions independently.

Seems obvious right?

I think so.

But I see this done wrong A LOT.

Not all teachers know how to do this well.

Being able to teach children without giving too much away.

Allowing children the time and space to be able to answer questions fully independently.

In the 7+ Assessment, your child will be given a Comprehension (or two!) to read and answer questions about.

They will need to have developed the skill to be able to answer lots of different questions types quickly, efficiently and with accuracy.

They will need to have developed the skill of being able to infer what a word means just by reading the sentence. Your child will not know every single word in the text. They just will not.

Your child MUST be given the opportunity to answer questions WRONG. And to then have the opportunity to make corrections. In this way they will fully understand what is expected from them in their 7+ Assessments.

If you tell your child the answer, what are they learning?

Nothing.

If you support them and guide them to find the answer, what are they learning?

How to do it themselves.

In our 7+ Assessment preparation lessons, we complete at least one comprehension each week. We cover different genres and different vocabulary. Remember that your child may encounter a fiction or a non fiction text (or both!) so it is vital that you expose them to a variety of different text types.

It is imperative that you expose them to a wealth of vocabulary so that they can tackle any question they encounter in their 7+ Assessments … independently.

Try not to tell your child the answer. It’s just not helpful. Guide them and support them to be able to find the answer all by themselves.

Sitting the 7+ for 2025 entry?

Book your Sample Lesson today.

When you provide too much support, this can happen...

I worked as a teacher full time in a variety of different schools for 15 years.

This one thing irritated me most of all.

Children receiving far too much support to the point where the learning produced was no longer theirs.

I would observe teachers literally writing out what they wanted their students to write on whiteboards and the students copying what they had written word for word.

Then their books would be looked at by senior leaders and it would be assumed that the learning in the books was theirs.

Well it wasn’t.

And when left to write their own sentences, these children were not writing to the quality that they had been when they had received this level of support.

I see this done with tuition too.

Too much support can be detrimental.

I believe in the importance of giving children the opportunity to find the answers themselves. Of children writing things incorrectly and then taking the time to figure out how to improve it themselves.

When you provide too much support, your child might find it hard to be able to support themselves.

So do help your child with their learning of course but do it in a way that gives your child the opportunity to find the answers themselves and to not be afraid to get things wrong.

Will you be in their Assessments with them? No

Will you be there to help them to find the answers in their Assessments? No

Your child needs to learn the skills to be able to find the answers independently. As in without your support.

I would far rather incorrect answers done by my student than perfect answers done by their parents or by other teachers working with them.

Can you see the difference?

Why writing caught out so many parents last year in the 4+ Assessments.

Don’t let it catch you out too!

Writing is always downplayed when you go to the open days of the schools that you are applying to.

You will either be told that writing will not be assessed or you will be told that your child will not have to write very much.

It is just not true (for most schools)

Writing needs to be near perfect in the 4+ Assessments.

Your child will need to have superb letter and number formation (as in form the letters and numbers correctly)

Your child will need to hold their pencil as the school expects them to hold it.

Your child will write their name and the letters will need to be written perfectly.

Upper and lower case letters will be written with accuracy.

Your child will be asked to write letters of the alphabet and they will be expected to write them perfectly.

Your child might be asked to write cvc words.

Many parents that I spoke to last year were just not prepared for this and it did catch them out. It caught them out because they simply did not prepare their child to be able to do this. Or it caught them out because they didn’t think that the writing needed to be so perfect.

Well, it does.

I will tell you the truth so that you can ensure that your child goes in prepared and ready to answer any question that they are asked.

Always remember that your child will be 1:100’s of children being assessed. Think about how their writing compares to other children’s writing. Just keep that in mind.

I know exactly how to prepare your child to be incredibly successful with their writing in their 4+ Assessments.

Last place remaining to work with me.

Improve FOCUS with these 3 EASY strategies

In their 4+ Assessments, your child will need to FOCUS for a long period of time. It could be 15/30/45/60/90 minutes! Yes I have heard of Assessments lasting 90 minutes!

Being able to focus, is therefore a very important skill to develop before going into their 4+ Assessments.

I heard the most naive comment this week.

‘Every child will get a place at the right school for them. They don’t need to be prepared.’

Ridiculous.

That’s like saying that you don’t need to prepare for a job interview. Just hop along, cross your fingers and hope for the best.

Without knowing HOW to focus, your child will likely NOT pass their 4+ Assessments.

Always remember that your child will be 1:100+ children, at some schools 1:500+ children.

Here are 3 EASY strategies to help you to improve FOCUS.

1. Get outside a lot more than you think.

As a society, we spend far too much time inside. We all need to be outside in the open air a lot longer than we most likely are. So when you can, get your children outside. You don’t need to plan anything lavish. Just go to the park, be in nature, go to a farm - see some animals, go to a pond/lake/canal. Being in nature is the best thing for all of us and 95% of us do not do this enough. Being outside does something for a child’s FOCUS. Studies have shown that our minds and bodies relax in a natural setting. This increases feelings of pleasure and can help us concentrate and focus more effectively, according to studies in the National Library of Medicine.

So whatever ‘a lot more’ means to you, get outside!

2. Lower screen time.

Whether we like it or not, whether we want to admit it or not, screen time interfere’s with our focus. Even more on a younger child’s focus. Screen time has so many negative impacts on our children’s young minds. There are thousands of studies that you can read up on yourselves if you’d like but just lower screen time. There are so many other things that your child can be doing. If you want your child to FOCUS, lower screen time - whatever that means for your child.

3. Drink more water.

Being fully hydrated means your child will be able to think faster, be more focussed, and have greater clarity of thought. Ensure your child always has a bottle of water with them and that they take little sips throughout the day. If your child goes to a childcare setting, remind their key worker to ensure that they stay hydrated. Young children tend to get lost in what they are doing and just forget to drink their water. They just need a gentle nudge. Most of our children need to be drinking far more water than they currently are. You will see a sharp increase in focus, the better hydrated your children are.

Focus is a skill that needs to be taught, practised and refined.

Your child will not just go into and Assessment and focus without practise. And if you think they will, you are wrong.

'How do you overcome a child's frustration when they are finding something hard?'

You don’t!

I get these questions all the time.

How do I get my child to do it when they just don’t want to?

How do I deal with their frustrations?

How do I get them to deal with their frustrations?

What do I do when they just do not want to do it?

Let’s get one thing clear. You do not ‘overcome’ a child’s frustration. There is nothing to ‘overcome’. Frustration is just a feeling.

We can choose to make frustration mean something negative or to make it mean that something has gone wrong. Or we can just choose to see it as neutral. As something that just is.

My child is frustrated.

That is all.

There’s nothing to solve for and there’s nothing that needs to change.

I think we might have this picture perfect scenario in our head about what it ‘should’ look like. And when it doesn’t happen, we are the ones who get frustrated!

Let’s look at something very common that most of my 3 year old students find frustrating.

Writing.

I ask them to write the number 5 for example and they can’t. They think it’s not good enough. They think it’s too hard. They struggle to hold the pen. They get frustrated.

Nothing has gone wrong here.

This is what I say to my students when this happens,

‘That’s ok. Let’s move on to something else and come back to that later on - if you’d like to of course.’ And we move on.

Sometimes we come back to it and sometimes we don’t.

Frustration is part of the process. We feel frustration all the time, it’s only natural that our children do too.

Need further support with 4+ Assessment preparation? Book your Sample Lesson Today!

3 ways to mess up 4+ Assessment preparation

Preparing for the 4+ Assessment is a stressful process for parents.

Your child is the most important little human to you. You are emotionally involved. No parent ever wants to receive that letter or email saying that their child hasn’t been successful.

Every single parent wants to receive a letter or email saying that their child HAS passed their Assessment.

This is what we do.

We support children all across the country to receive as many yes’s as possible. We provide parents with options. They get to decide the school that is right for their child. This is a very privileged place to be in.

If you are currently preparing your child for their 4+ Assessments, avoid these three things and your child will have incredible success (as long as you prepare them correctly of course!)

1. Starting ‘late’

I say ‘late’ because every child is different. Starting 6 months before the Assessment may be ‘late’ for one child and perfect for another,

But to keep things simple, if you are getting started now (July 2024) for 2025 entry, you are 100% late. Let’s not sugarcoat this one. Unless you have been preparing your child yourself over these last 6-12 months, if you are just getting started now, it is far too late. However, it’s still better than starting in September, so just get started. Don’t overthink it, just go. You may need more intensive lessons than someone who started 6 months ago, it doesn’t matter, just please get started. Don’t do what some of my clients do - Get started in September (1-3 months before the 4+ Assessments at their target schools). You will not be as successful as you think you might be if you do this. I get it, we all want to ‘save money’ but believe me, in the long run you are not saving money!

2. Choosing the wrong teacher.

Many parents that I speak to want a teacher who will come physically into their home. This is of no importance whatsoever. You need a teacher who knows the schools and who knows them well. The teacher you work with has to know what these schools that you are sending your child to are looking for. Being an EYFS teacher is not enough. This is irrelevent in the grand scheme of things. I was an EYFS teacher for 3 years before I really specialised in 4+ Assessment preparation. Before I went to each of these schools myself, before I had my own data regarding how my own students did in their Assessments, before I truly knew what each of these schools were looking for. If the teacher you’re working with tells you that they just need to cover the EYFS curriculum - they are wrong!

3. Stopping when you don’t see ‘progress’ being made.

Some of my own clients stop tuition too soon. They give up too soon. They don’t see the progress that they expect their child should have made and they just stop. Progress is not linear. Progress is not comparable. Some children just take longer than others. Some children make leaps and bounds of progress in a short amount of time, others work at their own pace. I see this frequently too. Parents stopping tuition and then coming back three months later. Big mistake. Don’t do this.

Hope you found this helpful and I hope you have incredible success in your child’s 4+ Assessment.

One space only remaining to work with me. Once I’m full, my doors will close for 2025 entry.

Why Role plays will 10X your child's vocabulary.

I do a lot of role plays with my students who are preparing for their 4+ Assessments.

Why?

Because it boosts their vocabulary to a level that surprises even me!

When children are having fun, they will simply learn 10x more than if they are not having fun.

Learning, in my opinion must always be fun. Regardless of how old your child is.

When learning starts to become tedious, boring and mundane, your child will simply not absorb what they are being taught.

In their 4+ Assessments, your child will role play.

Whether it will be a dress up station, a train set, a tea party, a picnic or a dolls house, they will be asked to take part in a role play. It might be as a group or it might be 1:1 with the Assessor/s.

Let’s take a tea party as an example.

In my lessons, I ask my students to bring a tea party set (well I ask their parents to of course!) and they come to my lesson with their tea set, their tea cups, their cutlery and their tea party foods and tea bags. You can immediately see the excitement in their eyes. Their eyes darting around the table in front of them looking at what to pick up first!

I ask them to just have a play with the set and I observe them. Their parents interact with them and it is always a delight. Then comes the questioning.

This is where the magic happens.

So much language is developed in these 10 minutes of role playing. So much vocabulary is boosted.

I will hear language and vocabulary like…

‘I am pouring the tea.’

‘The tea pot is boiling hot.’

‘I need to be careful not to burn my fingers.’

‘The tea is delicious.’

‘I am stirring the tea with my spoon.’

‘I have a spoon and a knife as my cutlery.’

So much vocabulary!

And my students don’t even realise that we are boosting vocabulary, they are just having lots and lots of fun!

Answering the types of questions that I ask however, if vital to 4+ Assessment success. Because if your child if not able to answer questions well, they will not pass their 4+ Assessments. If they are not able to use verbs and adjectives within their answers, they will not pass their 4+ Assessments. If they are not able to extend their answers, they will not pass their 4+ Assessments.

So prepare them for this aspect of the 4+ Assessment and prepare them well.

I will provide a BONUS resource to the first 5 people who reply ‘Questioning’ to this blog by emailing office@creativemindstutors.com.

You will receive this BONUS within 24 hours’ of replying.

Final place to work with me for 4+ Assessment preparation for 2025 Entry. Once this space is filled, my doors will close to work with me personally. Book today!

The ONLY thing that you have to do to be successful in the 4+ Assessments.

The ONLY thing you have to do in order to be successful in the 4+ Assessments. 

Work with a teacher who KNOWS the schools. As in has had REAL success with these schools. It's so easy to make up data. By asking two simple questions, I quickly know if data has been made up or not. 

I'll share these two questions with you at the end of this blog.

10 parents who said that they didn't want to work with me three months ago because I am online have now come back to me asking for online tuition. Why? 

Because their children are not making the progress they should have made in the last three months. 

I always say this and I will continue to say this. It really doesn't matter if someone can come physically into your home. What matters is how qualified they are to actually provide you with REAL success in the 4+ Assessments. 

Trust me, this is hard to find. 

So when you find it, hold on tight and get going! 

3-6 months until the 4+ Assessments. You still have time to get started. 

One final place remaining to work with me for 4+ Assessment preparation. By next week, my doors will be closing as I will be at capacity. I work with a small number of students which is why I have the success that I have. 

Here are the two questions you MUST ask before choosing the teacher to work with your child to prepare them for their 4+ Assessments.

1. What is your success rate at x school?

   This is very easily made up so please make sure that this is legitimate and honest.

2. Can you show me testimonials?

   As above.

An in depth look at the Haberdashers' Boys' School 4+ Assessment

There have always been mixed opinions about the 4+ Assessments at this very popular boys’ school in Borehamwood. I have personally prepared hundreds of boys to sit Assessment at this school at 4+, 7+, 11+ and occasional places. I have had incredible success. As in many of my students have been offered a place at this school.

In this blog, I am going to focus on the 4+.

There are two schools of thought when it comes to sitting Assessment at this school.

1. There is no need for much preparation as it is only a ‘play based Assessment’ and

2. Rigorous preparation is needed because of the over subscription to this school at 4+.

I agree with opinion 2.

Please don’t be naive and believe that you can send your son to sit his 4+ Assessment here with little or no preparation and expect him to be successful. Sorry it that’s harsh, but that’s what I firmly believe.

I have a two year old son and never in my wildest dreams would I sit him to be assessed at Habs’ Boys’ School without at least 9 months of formal preparation.

Having sent hundreds of boys to this school over the last nearly 15 years, I know exactly what this school is looking for. Therefore, I know exactly how to prepare my boys to go in and thrive in their 4+ Assessment at this school.

Round 1 at Habs’ Boys’ School is a ‘Play based Assessment’. When some parents read this, they immediately think that their son will go in and ‘play’.

Absolutely not.

And if you think that, you are wrong.

Why do do the Habs’ Boys’ School teachers want to see your child ‘playing’?

So many parents over the years have said to me, ‘Why prepare him? He is just going to go in and play?’ Do you think these parents were successful in getting their son in at 4+? I’ll let you answer that one!

There is a lot of information about the first round on the schools’ website but the most important sentence to look at is this one - They will take part in a range of individual and small group activities.

So even in the first round, your child will be assessed individually for some of the Assessment.

Round 1 at this school is far from easy. Yes, your child will be ‘playing’ but so much will be being observed whilst they are ‘playing’. To give you a few example of things that are observed, here you go!

How they listen to other children

How they listen to adults

How they respond

How they answer questions

How they follow instructions

How they solve problems

There are hundreds of other early years components being observed.

Your son will be grouped with peers of similar age group but this 100% doesn’t mean that if your child is summer born, that he will be assessed differently to someone who is Autumn/Winter born.

Round 2 is a 1:1 Assessment. This round is far more formal. My students last year went in and were observed by 2-3 members of staff. Very overwhelming, I think you would agree!

My students were thoroughly prepared to be able to handle this and to be able to go in and show them exactly what they were looking for. Round two is a 60 minute 1:1 Assessment.

Prepare your son for it. Prepare him well and if you need help doing it, get in touch.

One place remaining to work with me personally for 2025 entry. Book your Sample Lesson today.

The number one way to support your child to talk to new and unfamiliar people.

In their 4+ Assessments, your child will have to talk to people that they have never met before in their lives. At the ages of 3 and 4, this can definitely be scary. If your child is not prepared appropriately for this, they will 100% not be successful. If your child is not able to communicate with the Assessors they will not be successful. If your child is not able to answer their questions, they will not be successful.

So you can see why being able to talk to new and unfamiliar people is so important when preparing for the 4+ Assessments.

Here is the number one way to support your child with this.

It’s probably something that you are not expecting.

Here it is.

TALK TO YOUR CHILD ABOUT IT.

Set a time in your calendar every single day to sit with your child and talk to them about this.

Even if it’s just for 2 minutes every day.

Let me give you an example. Names have been changed.

Joanna was mummy to 3 year old Iris. Iris was preparing for her 4+ Assessments at NLCS and Habs girls and 4 other schools. Iris is a bright girl but she refused to talk to me for the first 2 months of tuition. Her parents were determined to continue with me and we did. I taught her every week for 2 months and she would show up to the lesson and listen to my every word. When I asked her questions, she refused to answer me. Iris would just look at me with her bright brown eyes! I told her to whisper the answer to her mummy and so she would. Joanna would then tell me her answers. And we continued like this for the full two months. Luckily Joanna had started early with me (9 months before Iris’s 4+ Assessments) and we had plenty of time to work on this together. After those two months, Iris finally opened up to me and I started to hear her beautiful voice. It was like a dream come true to both me and her mother!

However, in her 4+ Assessments, Iris would not have 2 months to open up to the Assessors! She would need to speak to them and answer their questions.

Joanna was so upset. Iris refused to talk to strangers.

So I encouraged her to do this one thing.

TALK TO YOUR CHILD ABOUT IT.

Every day, she sat with Iris and asked her ‘Why?’

‘Why do you not want to talk to these people?’

It took about 2 weeks before Iris started opening up about it with her mother.

Eventually she did.

She told her mummy, ‘I just don’t like it mama. I don’t know them. Why should I talk to them?’

When her mummy explained to her that she should try to answer them and that it wouldn’t be so scary, we started to see a shift.

It took 3 months before Iris started talking to new and unfamiliar people. Of course, she was still on the more reserved side but she did start speaking to them.

I encouraged Iris to try many things to help her with this and they worked. It took time but they worked.

She passed Habs Girls 4+ and will be going there this Year (September 2024!)

So just ask your child. Every day. Talk to them. Explain to them WHY they should try to talk to new and unfamiliar people. Be patient with it and trust in the process.

There is nothing wrong with your child.

One final place remaining to work with me for 2025 entry. Book your Sample Lesson today!

Should I tell my child that they are going on a 'playdate'?

Please don’t!

I mean it’s your child and you can do what you like!

But what message are you sending if you tell your child that they are going on a ‘playdate’?

What does ‘playdate’ mean to your child?

Perhaps it means, ‘go and have fun!’

Perhaps it means, ‘go and play with your friends!’

Perhaps it means whatever it means to your child.

Does it mean, ‘You are going into a room with adults watching your every move and observing how you behave, interact with others, listen and perform?’

I highly doubt it.

So why would you tell them this?

‘But the school wrote in their invite that it will be a playdate!’

So what?

Do you listen to every single thing that you are told?

Please don’t.

It is not a playdate.

I’ve just received an invite for my child to attend an ‘informal’ assessment and that he will just ‘be observed playing and interacting with other children’.

Nonsense.

It will not be ‘informal’.

He will be watched by three members of staff!

He will be ‘observed’ and he will be asked questions. I will be preparing him for this 3+ Assessment. I highly recommend that you do the same.

Is 'value for money' always best when preparing your child for their Assessments?

I like to see this as a long road.

You have a long road in front of you.

If you are planning on going down the independent schools route, you have several toll booths on this road.

You have the 3+, then the 4+, the 7+, the 8+ and then the 11+ or 13+.

You may have some additional tolls should you apply for occasional places.

Working with the right person means stopping at fewer toll booths.

Let’s use Habs Girls as an example.

I teach a lot of girls who want to go to this school.

If she is successful at her 4+ Assessments, the road will get much shorter for her. That’s it she is in!

If she isn’t successful, her journey along the road continues. She has to do the 7+ which she will need to start preparing for from the time she is in Reception. If she is successful, she has journeyed along the road for a bit longer.

If she isn’t successful, she has to prepare for the 11+. Now the road becomes A LOT longer and we are on this road together from Year 3 all the way to Year 6.

Choosing a tutor who provides you with ‘value for money’ therefore is always best.

I’m not talking about the cheapest.

I’m talking about the tutor who can actually support your daughter to get in at 4+.

To shorten the road for you. I’ve seen this so many times.

Parents say to me that my lessons are ‘too expensive’. Believe me, it is far more expensive to ‘save money’, not be successful and then have to prepare for another 2-4 years!

‘Value for money’ to me means that you find a teacher than can actually help you to be successful to the school that you want your child to go to. That is true ‘value for money’.

How I read an Assessment invite Versus how you might read it

Yesterday one of my clients sent me the Assessment invite to one of the schools that her son will be sitting Assessment at.

I’m going to go through it sentence by sentence with the hope of being able to help you to understand how I would read it compared to how you might read it.

The assessment procedure will take about 1 hour. Children of a similar age are invited to attend in small groups and will be encouraged to participate in some simple play-based activities

How you might read this- My child will go in and play.

How I read this - Your child will NOT go in and play.

(Your child will) undertake some basic maths and letter work and listen to a story about which they will be asked some questions. They will be seen by the Head of Pre-Prep and three other experienced Pre-Prep teachers.

How you might read this - It will be simple maths and my child might need to know some of their letters. My child will just listen to a story and answer questions.

How I read this - Your child needs to be able to count to 20, recognise numbers to 10, write numbers to 10, know their shapes, be able to use mathematical terminology with confidence, be able to focus for longer periods of time in order to complete a maths task. In the reading task, your child will need to be able to show skills of focus and concentration, be able to listen attentively to the teacher in order to be able to correctly answer their questions and be able to listen to the answers of others just in case they are asked to follow on from what they have said. Your child will need to know their phase 2 and phase 3 phonics to a very high standard.

Be very careful how you read the invites to the Assessments. This particular school has a rigorous 4+ Assessment. That is not how it sounds in the invite. Please don’t ask me why the schools downplay the Assessments, I cannot answer that for you. But what I would be asking instead is this…

How can I ensure that my child is prepared to the highest possible standard to be able to go in a thrive?

That is a question I can answer for you!

Last remaining place to work with me for 4+ Assessment preparation (2025 entry), after this I will only be accepting Curriculum Coaching for my 4+ students. I also have three exceptional 4+ teachers available for new students. Book your Sample Lesson today!

It breaks my heart when parents ask me this question.

Where is my child compared to x?

As an educator, I have heard this question thousands of times, maybe tens of thousands of times!

My answer is always the same.

I do not compare children.

When I worked full time as a primary school teacher, the worst time of year for me was Assessment Week. This was always towards the end of the school year and we would all sit down in a room surrounded by our students’ books and post it notes. We would then have to group the children into abilities. We would look at how they scored in their End of year Assessments and their Assessments throughout the year and we would place them into their groups.

I remember this well as a child. Being placed in the ‘middle’ group table. It was so obvious to me. The more ‘intelligent children’ had bigger books and wrote more than me. And the ‘lower group’ had different books and they had more adults sitting with them at the table. I remember thinking, ‘I’m not smart enough’ and ‘Why is she smarter than me?’

Schools will continue to do this and I understand why they do it. I don’t like it but I understand it.

My thoughts about comparing your child to others however is this.

If you want to compare them, do it with numbers, facts and figures. Book yourself a private Assessment with a company that will give you a spreadsheet with figures. That way you can actually see how your child did and you have data to help you to support them. This is a productive way to compare your child to children in their same cohort. You don’t need to show your child, this information is for you.

What I don’t think is helpful is comparing them to other children without having any facts. Saying things like - ‘She can already blend and my child can’t’, ‘He knows his numbers to 10 and my child doesn’t’, ‘She can write her name and my child can’t even write one letter.’

It’s not helpful.

It’s detrimental to your child if they hear you say these things.

It just doesn’t lead to anything positive.

Your child is where they are. They will develop at their own rate. They are running their own race.

Set them targets and help them to set their own goals for THEMSELVES.

Why reading 5 books a a day will help your child to stand out in their 4+ Assessments

Believe me, you can clearly see the difference in terms of vocabulary when speaking to a child who reads avidly compared to one who doesn’t - At any age. This blog will be focusing on children who are currently preparing for their 4+ Assessments.

Obviously at the age of 2 and 3, you will be reading to your child but your child is still ‘reading’!

When I read with my 2 year old son, there is so much vocabulary being developed each and every time. By reading a variety of books each day, he is exposed to hundreds of new words. I have been reading to him since birth. However, only recently have I started reading him 5 books a day at the very minimum. Sometimes, we read even more than this!

Your child will stand out in their 4+ Assessments for two reasons:

1. Their vocabulary will be far more developed than a child who hasn’t been read to much or at all.

2. They will be a lot more used to having a story read to them compared to a child who is not used to sitting down and listening to a full story.

It took a long time but my child can now sit and listen to a full story. Some stories are longer than others of course and some stories we will read in two or even three sittings. But for the most part, he listens to a full story all the way to the end.

He has developed the skill of being able to sit still, keep focused, listen attentively, answer my questions and ask his own questions.

Your child will definitely stand out in their 4+ Assessments if they read five books a day.

So let’s get reading!

Teach your child phonics like an expert with these 3 easy steps.

Are you struggling to teach your child phonics?

You are not alone.

Teaching phonics is a skill.

Teaching phonics takes patience.

Teaching phonics needs trust in the process.

Teaching phonics happens at very different timescales for individual children.

Here are 3 easy steps to teach phonics like an expert!

1. Choose a phonics scheme

Don’t overthink this.

Just choose one. It really does not matter which one you choose. One isn’t better than the other.

As a company we use Anima Phonics. But there are other great phonics schemes such as RWI, Jolly Phonics and Little Wandle which are also great choices.

2. Make a plan

Get a notebook dedicated to your teaching of phonics and make a plan.

Have a clear timeframe.

Let me give you a simple example.

Give yourself 6 months.

In those 6 months, you want your child to know their phase 2 and phase 3 phonics (single sounds). So create a timetable and write down the sounds that you will teach each week. Remember that you should not move on until your child knows the sound that you are teaching. As in they can tell you with confidence and independently the sound.

3. Assess and evaluate

At the end of each week, I would like you to assess and evaluate how each week went for your child. Ask yourself these 4 questions:

What did my child do well?

What didn’t go well?

What will I do differently tomorrow?

How is my child showing progress?

If you need further support with teaching phonics, Curriculum Coaching will be perfect for you. Join my incredible programme today to receive expert guidance and focused learning tailored specifically for your child and the phonics that they are learning.

Why starting 4+ Assessment preparation early matters (Hint: 3 months is not early!)

I spoke to a parent today who wants her daughter to sit Assessment at NLCS and HABS. She told me, ‘Don’t worry, I have plenty of time as I’m starting from tomorrow to prepare her.’ She is very, very wrong!

This is NOT enough time.

First round @ NLCS is in the beginning on January so that means 6 months from today.

First round @ HABS girls is mid December so about 5 months from today.

6 months of preparation is okay, I guess. But it will be rushed and it will also depend at what stage of learning your daughter is currently at.

You need to consider that your daughter will need to know her phonics, be able to count to 20, be able to write numbers to 10, write her name, write letters of the alphabet and be able to answer questions to a very high standard. These are just a few things that she needs to be able to do.

Starting early matters. By starting early you are giving yourself and your child the opportunity to really prepare properly and well for the 4+ Assessments. Especially if you are considering top schools like Habs and NLCS.

Having prepared hundreds of girls for these schools, I can tell you that the Assessments are not easy. Some parents I speak to tell me ‘I’m not worried, she’s only 3’, ‘I know my daughter is bright already’ and ‘How hard can it be?’

I’m not here to contradict anyone’s belief system. By all means believe what you want. What I am here to do is share my own experience and help to support as many parents as possible to have the success that they desire to have at all of their target schools.

9 months - 12 months is optimum. I have some clients who do 18 months of preparation with me. This is even better. I can say with confidence that all of my clients with 9 months - 18 months of preparation time will be successful to most of their schools of choices, if not all of their schools of choices.

I have one final place for 4+ Assessment preparation with me (for 2025 entry).

If you want your child to have the highest chances for success in all of their 4+ Assessments, book your Sample Lesson Today!