Tips for parents

Dear parents, carers and families,

As teachers we are always asked for tips to help with children’s learning and wellbeing at home. Every child is different as indeed is every parent. There are no real ‘one size fits all’ solutions to being a parent but we’ve put this page together to try and provide extra information to those that want it.

At Berger we do not believe in giving lots of formal strict homework, but that doesn’t mean learning only ever happens in a classroom. We’ve made this page in response to your questions and hope it is helpful for you. Below you’ll find some generic tips first followed by more subject specific tips and guidance depending on what age your child is.

Supporting your child throughout primary school is a balancing act between encouraging academic progress and protecting their emotional well-being. When children feel secure, confident, and emotionally supported, their ability to learn naturally flourishes.

Here are the most effective, research-backed ways to support your child both academically and emotionally at home. Please remember every family and child are different, these are tips and ideas meant to provide a positive support for families, not something to stress you.

Please feel free to ask if you’ve any further questions.

Berger Team

Academic Support Tips

·         Focus on praise for effort, not natural intelligence: When your child succeeds, try to avoid saying, "You are so smart." Instead, say, "I am so proud of how hard you practiced that." Or “I am so impressed with how much you are learning.” This builds a growth mind-set, meaning they will view mistakes as learning opportunities rather than failures.

·         Establish a consistent "soft transition" routine: Try to avoid forcing homework immediately after the school gate. Create a predictable daily routine: e.g. a healthy snack when they get home, 30 minutes of free time or outdoor play to decompress, and then a dedicated, quiet homework slot maybe before bed to help them unwind.

·         Model learning yourself: Children copy what they see. Let them see you reading books, writing notes, calculating budgets, or learning a new skill. If they see you values-testing and learning, they will treat it as a normal, lifelong habit.

·         Try to keep your own school anxieties hidden: If you personally struggled with maths or writing as a child, try not to say, "I was terrible at maths at school." Children internalise this and assume they will automatically inherit that struggle. Treat every subject as an exciting puzzle that can be learned and improved with practise.

Emotional Support Tips

·         Normalize the "after-school restraint collapse": It is entirely normal for primary school children to save their worst meltdowns, grumpiness, or tears for the moment they get home. They have spent 6 hours holding their behaviour together perfectly in a structured environment. Home is their safe space to release stress. Give them space, a run around or a snack before asking questions.

 ·         Replace "How was your day?" with specific prompts: Broad questions usually get a one-word answer like "Fine." Instead, try asking targeted, light-hearted questions at dinner or while doing something together:

o    "What made you laugh today?"

o    "What was the kindest thing someone did?"

o    "Did you learn any weird or cool facts today?"

 ·         Label the emotion, not the child: When emotional outbursts happen, mirror their feelings back to them to show you understand. Say, "I can see you are feeling really frustrated right now because that homework is tricky," rather than "Stop being difficult" or “You are rude.” This teaches them to identify and manage their feelings and what has caused them.

 ·         Protect unscheduled, unstructured play: School is highly structured, and children are constantly told what to do. Ensure your child has chunks of free time at home to play with toys, doodle, listen to calm music, build blocks, or daydream without any adult direction or screens. This is crucial for cognitive processing and mental recharge.

 ·         Establish a 10-minute "Special Time": Try to dedicate just 10 minutes a day to one-on-one time with your child where they choose the activity (e.g. drawing together, playing a quick card game, or chatting). Turn off your phone completely. This regular deposit into their emotional bank account dramatically boosts their security.

Learning goals and tips

Nursery (Ages 3–4)

Core skills children should know:

• Curriculum Focus: Developing listening skills. Tuning into environmental sounds (birds, cars) and instrumental sounds. Copying rhythms and rhymes. Recognising their own name in print.

• Writing & Physical: Developing physical strength. Showing a preference for a dominant hand. Making marks on paper using paint, crayons, or fingers. Learning to hold a pencil using a three-finger "tripod" grip.

• Mathematics: Counting objects up to 5 aloud. Saying numbers in order up to 10. Recognising simple patterns. Noticing shapes in the environment (circles, squares).

Home Learning Tips

• Sing nursery rhymes: Sing classics like Twinkle Twinkle or Ba Ba Black Sheep. Clap along to the rhythm to build vital pre-reading language skills.

• Narrate the day: Talk constantly about what you are doing. Say things like, "Now we are putting on our red shoes," to build a massive vocabulary.

• Mark-making in sensory materials: Spread shaving foam, flour, or damp sand on a tray. Let your child draw lines, circles, and squiggles using their fingers.

• Hand strengthening: using toys like playdough helps finger dexterity and colouring in books are a fun way for children to practise holding stationary.

Reception (Ages 4–5)

Core skills children should know:

• Reading: Learning individual letter sounds (Phonics Phase 2 and 3). Blending these sounds aloud to read simple words (e.g., blending c-a-t to say "cat"). Reading short, simple sentences.

• Writing: Writing their own name clearly. Writing individual letters using the correct starting points. Writing simple phonetically regular words (like "dog", "sun", "big").

• Mathematics: Subitising (instantly recognising a small group of up to 5 objects without counting them one by one). Confidently counting up to 20. Exploring the concept of "doubling" and sharing equally.

Home Learning Tips

• Play I Spy: Use letter sounds instead of letter names. Say, "I spy something beginning with 'ssss'" (for snake) rather than the letter name "Es".

• Sound-button reading: Draw small dots (buttons) under the letters in a new word. Have your child press each dot as they make the sound, then swipe their finger underneath to blend it together.

• Count daily objects: Count the steps up to bed, the pieces of apple on their plate, or the buttons on their coat.

• Tracing: to help with letter formation, they can trace letters with their fingers or with a pencil or crayon.

Year 1 (Ages 5–6)

Core skills children should know:

• Reading: Learning complex letter combinations (e.g., 'ch', 'sh', 'th', 'ee', 'ai'). Children will sit the national Phonics Screening Check in June to read 40 real and made-up words.

• Writing: Leaving clear finger spaces between words. Putting a capital letter at the start of a sentence and a full stop at the end. Joining sentences using the word "and".

• Mathematics: Reading and writing numbers from 1 to 100 in numerals. Counting in jumps of 2s, 5s, and 10s. Knowing number bonds up to 10 and 20 (e.g., 7 + 3 = 10; 14 + 6 = 20).

Home Learning Tips

• Spot the sound: Look out for a specific sound of the week (like 'ay' as in 'play') on cereal boxes, street signs, and in books.

• The "Space Bar" trick: If your child forgets spaces between words, have them place an ice-lolly stick or a tiny toy figure down on the page after every word they write.

• Use Lego bonds: Build a tower of 10 Lego bricks using two different colours (e.g., 6 blue and 4 red) to show how pairs of numbers create 10.

• Speak for sentences: look out the window, spot a thing(noun) and describe what it’s doing (verb.) This gives a sentence that needs a capital letter and a full stop at the end.

Year 2 (Ages 5–7)

Core skills children should know:

• Reading: Moving past basic phonics to read silently and fluidly. Automatically self-correcting mistakes. Retelling the main points of a familiar story.

• Writing: Writing short stories with a clear beginning, middle, and end. Using different sentence types: statements, questions, exclamations, and commands. Correctly using commas in lists.

• Mathematics: Adding and subtracting two-digit numbers (e.g., 23 + 45). Memorising the 2, 5, and 10 times tables. Finding fractions (half, quarter, three quarters) of shapes or quantities.

Home Learning Tips

• Leave sticky notes: Stick short, playful messages or riddles around the house for your child to find and read independently.

• Keep a holiday diary: Give them a blank notebook for weekend trips or school holidays. They can stick in ticket stubs and write two sentences explaining what they did. Or they could write a review for a show they have watched on TV or a game they have played.

• Play board games: Games like Snakes and Ladders, Monopoly Junior, or card games require constant counting, adding, and strategic thinking.

Year 3 (Ages 7–8)

Core skills children should know:

• Reading: Identifying how a text is structured. Using dictionaries to check the meaning of unfamiliar words. Discussing how an author uses words to create a specific mood.

• Writing: Grouping related ideas into clear paragraphs. Introduction to cursive (joined-up) handwriting. Using conjunctions (e.g., because, although, before) to lengthen sentences.

• Mathematics: Learning the 3, 4, and 8 times tables. Adding and subtracting three-digit numbers using column methods. Telling the time accurately on an analogue clock using 12 and 24-hour formats.

Home Learning Tips

• Read-aloud swap: Read a paragraph or page of a book to your child, then have them read the next page back to you. This models excellent expression and phrasing.

• Vocabulary jar: When you encounter a unique or interesting word in a book, write it on a slip of paper and drop it in a jar. Try to use that word in conversation during dinner.

• Hang up an analogue clock: Place a clock with clear numbers in their bedroom or the kitchen. Regularly ask questions like, "How many minutes until we leave?"

Year 4 (Ages 8–9)

Core skills children should know:

• Reading: Reading a massive range of texts: poetry, plays, myths, and textbooks. Drawing inferences about a character's thoughts and motives from clues in the text.

• Writing: Consistently organizing writing into paragraphs. Using "fronted adverbials" followed by a comma to start sentences (e.g., Suddenly, Without warning, In the morning,).

• Mathematics: Mastering all times tables up to 12 x 12 for the statutory digital check. Understanding negative numbers. Adding and subtracting decimals (e.g. money).

Home Learning Tips

• Audiobooks: Listen to professional audiobooks during long car journeys or on public transport or even before bed if you’re busy. This builds deep narrative comprehension and exposes them to complex sentence structures.

• Use times tables apps: Use free or school-provided digital apps (like Times Tables Rock Stars or Hit the Button) for 5 minutes a day to build rapid recall.

• Check the receipts: Hand your child the supermarket receipt. Ask them to check the total by adding up a few items, or calculate the change from a twenty-pound note.

Year 5 (Ages 9–10)

Core skills children should know:

• Reading: Distinguishing between statements of fact and opinion. Recommendation of books to peers based on personal taste. Comparing different books by the same author.

• Writing: Using relative clauses starting with who, which, where, when, whose (e.g., The boy, who was wearing a red coat, ran away). Using brackets and dashes for extra information.

• Mathematics: Identifying prime numbers, factors, and multiples. Multiplying 4-digit numbers by 2-digit numbers. Adding and subtracting fractions with different denominators (e.g., one quarter plus one eighth.)

Home Learning Tips

• Deconstruct the news: Read an age-appropriate news article together (like First News or Newsround articles). Ask them to identify what is an official fact and what is a personal opinion.

• Write to real companies: If your child loves a specific toy, game, or book, help them write a formal letter or email to the manufacturer expressing their feedback.

• Scale recipes: Find a baking recipe for 4 people and challenge your child to calculate the exact ingredient measurements needed to feed 2 or 8 people instead.

Year 6 (Ages 10–11)

Core skills children should know:

• Reading: Reading with speed, accuracy, and expression. Summarising main ideas from across a whole book. Shifting between diverse texts effortlessly for the Year 6 SATs exams in May.

• Writing: Selecting a precise tone depending on the audience (e.g., highly formal vs informal). Using advanced punctuation like colons, semi-colons, and bullet points perfectly.

• Mathematics: Solving complex algebraic equations. Calculating the radius, diameter, and area of shapes. Working with ratios and scale factors.

Home Learning Tips

• Debate topics: Pick a current topic (e.g., school uniforms, screen time limits) and challenge them to argue for the side they disagree with. This builds strong persuasive writing logic.

• Calculate discounts: When shopping online or in-store during a sale, have your child calculate the exact price of an item using percentage discounts (e.g., "This jacket is £40 but has 25% off. What is the new price?").

• Create a revision timetable: Help them build independence ahead of secondary school by setting up a calm, quiet study area and a simple, manageable routine for completing homework.

Helpful links

Some fantastic websites and free apps are available to help with children’s learning.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize A huge range of learning materials for all ages.

https://www.thenational.academy/pupils/years Lots of home learning tasks for all ages.

https://anton.app/en_gb/ (Free to sign up, has hundreds of learning activities)

https://www.teachyourmonster.org/ Free sign up for website learning for Early Years

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games Free maths games

https://www.khanacademy.org/kids Free app for children at home

https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/ Lots of things to inspire children’s learning

For more parenting advice on a huge range of topics, see https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/parents