At Thornleigh Salesian College we value parental engagement. Whilst we as a school play a vital role in helping your child acquire the knowledge, skills and understanding they need to be successful, support of parents and carers can make a huge difference to a child’s motivation and ability to cope with the demands of exams.

Study skills sessions

During the academic year, we will be holding a series of study skills sessions aimed at providing practical strategies for parents to support their child. The most recent presentation focused on the learning environment, exam practicalities, revision timetables, online learning, adolescent mental health and wellbeing and revision strategies such as mind maps, flashcards and memory houses. The presentation can be found here. Feedback that we have received from parents and carers about these sessions has been very positive. 

Online learning

Each subject in school has provided their recommendations for various on-line learning platforms reinforcing much of the work we do in school. Students will be familiar with many of these already. You can access the Online Resource Directory here.

Additional support

Although we recognise that many of these suggestions are not always possible, parental support could also be offered in the following ways:

• Provide a quiet space at home for your child to work.
• Provide materials such as pens, paper and a scientific calculator.
• Show a positive interest in your child’s school work and test them on key topics.
• Advise your child on how they can break tasks down so that they are manageable.
• Celebrate their achievements.
• Agree the rules for homework, coursework and revision.
• Agree the balance between work and social life and stick to the agreement.
• Encourage your child to access the extensive support that is available at school such as after school revision sessions.
• Purchase revision guides or on-line revision resources. All subject teachers will be able to direct you to their recommended revision guide and many are available to purchase through the School Gateway system or from the finance office.