How to Manage the Exam Season: Guide for Parents and Carers

How to manage exam season by supporting your young person

With GCSEs fast approaching, exam season can be a daunting time for parents and carers. Everyone is anxious for the young person to succeed, maintain a positive mindset and look after themselves during this time but knowing how to do this as a parent or carer can be tricky.

Here are some tips for supporting your young person through exam season:

Look through the student's exam timetable with them and help them to plan backwards

1.      Look through their exam timetable with them

Use this time to understand what exams the young person has and help them to work backwards so that they can chunk their revision time and meet key milestones in advance, so they're in control of exam season rather than letting it control them.

Check in with the learner about their study plan to help them to reflect on progress and provide motivation

2.      Check in with the learner about their study approach and schedule

How much involvement you have with your young person’s study schedule will depend on what’s right for you both, but it can help for you to know what’s going on so you can understand what they are focusing on and so you can supportively check in with how things are going.

Ask if the student has the equipment they need for revision and exams

3.      Ask if they have the equipment they need

The student will need a clear pencil case and water bottle without a label for exams. It can help to have lots of black biros to reduce anxiety about pens running out. For English, having a biro with multiple colours on one pen and a pack of highlighters can really help for planning responses. You can check what equipment might be needed for Maths and Science exams, like rulers, geometry sets and calculators. Additionally, the student may need textbooks, revision guides, flashcards, paper or post-it notes to create revision materials. Many books can be bought cheaply second-hand. Access to a printer is invaluable for printing past papers and a device can help with research, accessing study sites or typing up answers.

Help the student to identify a goal for their future to motivate them during exams

4.      Help them to identify a goal post-school and use this to motivate them

Helping the young person to view GCSEs as a gateway to their future lifepath can be a useful strategy. Spend time helping them to discover what they might like to do once they leave school and to see how the hard work they are putting in now is part of that journey.

Plan in reward time thoughtfully

5.      Plan in reward time thoughtfully

Everyone needs time away from study in order to get the most out of it. Check in with your young person to ensure they’ve planned and taken regular breaks each day and ensure they have some quality down-time scheduled. It’s also important to be mindful that at this time, the young person may feel they are missing out and could feel frustrated that they have to spend so much time revising. It can therefore be a good idea to be mindful of this when planning special activities and ensure that there are some small things to look forward to at intervals in the exam season and that any bigger events are kept to the summer so the young person has time to join in. Having things to look forward to helps keep up motivation and regularly let off steam.

Help the student get into healthy routines: nutritious food, quality sleep and time outside away from screens

6.      Help them create healthy routines

Support the young person to find healthy meals and snacks that can be prepared ahead to fuel them throughout the exam season. Encourage them to get away from screens, get outside and do something they enjoy each day. Supportively establish a good wind down and sleep routine to help them recharge fully.

I hope you’re now in a better position to support your young person to manage the exam season and to see it as an opportunity to open future doors, not just a source of stress.

You might also like to check out my post:  How to Manage the Exam Season: Guide for Students and use this to help your young person navigate exam season themselves.