Established in 2002, we have been providing quality online education to students in the UK, Europe (including Western Russia), Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia for 19 years and counting. Over the years, we’ve been committed to helping each student become a curious and critical learner.
As an institution, we’ve taken a lot of careful measures to ensure student success. From hiring a team of MA/PhD qualified subject specialist teachers to developing a well-rounded, independent curriculum to maintaining a low student-teacher ratio (8-10:1), we’ve helped our students excel in academics and beyond.
However, we understand that student success is ultimately a two-way street. While we’re committed to playing our role as an academic institution, we also understand that parents must share this responsibility. As a parent, you spend the most time with your child. Over time, you understand their penchants, learning habits, and disposition better than anyone else. In essence, you possess the insight required to help your child become a better learner.
At Cambridge Home School, our teachers shoulder and fulfil this responsibility. However, we also encourage parents to take careful measures to keep their children on track and help crystallise the academic, personal, and social growth fostered in children by our teachers.
In this blog, we’ll walk you through eight ways you can help your child become a better online learner.
1. Create a Balanced Schedule for Your Child
At Cambridge Home School, we’re big proponents of healthy scheduling for children. While academic growth is important, non-academic development is just as imperative. Unfortunately, many conventional schools fail to help children reap the benefits of a healthy, balanced, and well-structured schedule.
Our classrooms comprise 8 to 10 students. This helps our teachers interact with each student and develop a personalised pace based on their unique learning habits, weaknesses, and strengths. As a result, children absorb and retain knowledge better.
Instead of spending hours in a conventional school that has a high student-teacher ratio, children can learn better in half the time by attending engaging, interactive, enriching, and seamlessly structured online classes. Not only do students become better online learners, but they also become well-rounded individuals.
This approach helps us ensure that students have a sufficient amount of free time for extracurricular activities. They get a chance to explore their interests, play their favourite sports, develop new hobbies, go on family trips, meet their friends, and grow as individuals. This school-life balance goes a long way in helping students stay focused on their studies and thrive non-academically.
It’s important to note that students who are encouraged to solely focus on their studies end up feeling tired, overwhelmed, and overburdened. They don’t get the opportunity to build a healthy personal and social life, which makes them resent their studies. Students may start despising their academic journey.
Ultimately, this can affect their grades. By focusing on both academics and non-academics, we help children keep both aspects of their life on track. As a parent, you can pitch in by creating a balanced schedule for your child. Our teachers will assist you with this process.
Following their online classes, children should be encouraged to complete their academic responsibilities (homework, revision, etc.) and partake in non-academic activities, games, excursions, sports, etc. You have free rein here. If you want to focus slightly more on your child’s academic growth, allocate more time to homework and revision.
If you believe that your child should spend more time on non-academic activities, allocate a generous chunk of their day to sports, etc. You may prefer choosing the latter if your child plays competitive sports like tennis, fencing, sailing, horse riding, polo, etc. Either way, your child will be able to enjoy a lot of non-academic activities owing to the nature of online schooling.
The classes aren’t drawn out like they are in conventional schools. By delivering focused, individualised lessons, our teachers help students learn better in less time. As a result, children aren’t required to spend hours at school. They absorb and retain knowledge better, which eliminates the need for protracted studying.
2. Plan Skill-Building Activities for Your Child
As stated earlier, we have a strong focus on helping children grow academically and non-academically. Our teachers encourage parents to help their children become better learners by planning skill-building activities for them. As a parent, make sure you focus on a wide range of soft skills, including teamwork, empathy, adaptability, creativity, resilience, problem-solving, communication, etc.
At Cambridge Home School, we hold three parent-teacher meetings each year (one in each term). During these meetings, parents are provided detailed insights into their child’s progress. Our MA/PhD qualified subject specialist teachers help parents get a good grasp on their child’s strong and weak soft skills. They’re encouraged to use this knowledge to structure skill-building activities for their child accordingly.
For instance, if your child has trouble participating in class, you’ll be requested to plan more activities that require and strengthen communication, teamwork, collaboration, and self-confidence. On the other hand, if your child struggles with time management, you will be asked to plan time-bound activities that help your child ensure completion within the required time frame.
We recommend planning a mix of solo and group activities. For some activities, your child should get a chance to work on their individual skills and navigate the ebbs and flows of the process. For other activities, they should be joined by their siblings, friends, or even parents.
Both solo and group activities will go a long way in improving your child’s learning capabilities. They’ll also spend their time more productively. Unlike video games or other unhealthy activities, skill-building activities teach children a lot. We always urge parents to be mindful of this distinction. Instead of choosing activities that act as a “filler” of sorts, plan wholesome activities that teach your child valuable, lifelong, and indispensable skills.
Your child should ideally participate in such activities on a regular basis. However, you can also schedule these activities on alternate days or twice a week, at the very least. There are many ways you can make these activities more fun and engaging for your child.
Ultimately, they should have a good time and simultaneously learn new things. If the activity is boring, your child will struggle to make the most of it. If you’re having trouble shortlisting the right activities, speak with our teachers. You can also create your own activities from scratch.
Recommended Read: 3 Activities That Will Fuel Your Child’s Passion for All-Things-Science
3. Help Your Child with Homework and Revision
If you want your child to secure top grades, double down on homework and revision. As a parent, you will not be required to intervene during your child’s online lessons. Our qualified teachers are adept at keeping each student on track so you can rest assured that you won’t have to check in on your child’s progress during their class. This amount of flexibility helps parents continue to work from the office or home without feeling compelled to check if everything is going as expected.
Our teachers work assiduously to keep students engaged in the lessons through and through. While you will be absolved of your parenting duties during your child’s classes, you will be required to assist them with homework and revision post-class. This isn’t necessarily required, but it plays a big role in helping children become better online learners.
We recommend supervising your child as they complete their homework and revise for the day. Make sure you provide the assistance, guidance, and support they need. While older students can navigate these processes on their own, younger students need more intervention. As a parent, you can help them study in a structured and streamlined manner. You can also answer any additional questions they may have.
At Cambridge Home School, we’re committed to helping children become independent learners. Eventually, your child will learn how to complete their homework and revise on their own. However, your assistance will provide the confidence they need during the initial stages of the process. You can also continue to provide help long after your child is able to tackle both tasks on their own.
4. Prioritise Your Child’s Mental Health
Many parents believe that mental health issues exclusively afflict older students. Unfortunately, children as young as three years can develop anxiety, among a wide range of other problems.
If your child struggles to feel their best, they’ll become more withdrawn and recalcitrant. As a result, their academic, personal, and social growth will suffer.
Many students perform poorly in their classes and on their tests owing to poor mental health. Their grades drop and their overall academic performance is heavily impacted. As a rule of thumb, take your child’s concerns about mental health seriously.
Avoid being dismissive of their worries. Instead, understand where they’re coming from and why they’re feeling a certain way. Withhold all judgment and simply be there for your child. As you provide the time, emotional energy, and support they need, they’ll feel understood and valued.
Recommended Read: Does Online Schooling Help Children Become More Empathetic?
5. Set Up a Study Station for Your Child
As you make the transition from conventional schooling to online schooling for your child, set up the right learning arrangement for them. Some students prefer attending online classes from their bedroom desk, while others like being in a separate room altogether. Speak with your child and get to know their preferences.
Once you know which approach they prefer, start following it. If your child prefers their own room, make sure their desk is clutter-free, gadget-free (excluding the computer/laptop), and distraction-free. If you’re setting up a different room for them, take some time to rid the space of any distractions that could divert your child’s attention mid-class.
6. Help Children Understand Their Moral and Ethical Responsibilities
At Cambridge Home School, our teachers shoulder this responsibility. However, we also encourage parents to be proactive when it comes to helping children understand their moral and ethical responsibilities. Honesty, responsibility, determination, respect, kindness, hard work, humility, and patience are a handful of the many core values we hold in high regard.
Our teachers work assiduously to instil these beliefs in each student. As a parent, make sure you set a great example for your child. Incorporate these moral and ethical responsibilities into your child’s activities, chores, and explorations. Whether they’re going to the park, working on a puzzle with a friend, or completing their homework, they should be mindful about upholding these core values. As you double down on them, your child will recognise their importance and embody them in their everyday life.
Using the right strategies, parents and teachers can help children become exceptional learners who achieve impressive academic success. As a parent, you may feel slightly nervous about making the switch from regular schooling to online schooling for your child. Like everything, this process also has a learning curve. As you navigate the initial ebbs and flows of online schooling, you’ll quickly begin to acclimatise to it. Our teachers work hard to make the process easier for both students and parents.
Recommended Read: 8 Ways Online Schooling Benefits Both Students and Parents
If you’re considering enrolling your child in an esteemed online school, Cambridge Home School Online should be one of your top considerations. Our homeschooling programs are designed to help students actualise impressive academic and non-academic growth. We maintain the utmost transparency by providing parents 24/7 access to their children’s coursework.
Choose from one of our four online schools: Primary Prep/Key Stage 2 (ages 8 to 10), Lower School/Key Stage 3 (ages 11 to 13), Upper School/IGCSEs (ages 14 to 16), and Sixth Form/AS & A Levels (ages 17 to 19). Explore our admissions process and term dates to get started. You can also browse through our online reviews to gauge if we’re the right fit for your child.
Find out more about best schools in Cambridge UK here.
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FAQ
How long has Cambridge Home School been providing online education?
Established in 2002, Cambridge Home School has been offering quality online education for over 19 years. The institution serves students across the UK, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia.
What are the unique features of Cambridge Home School’s approach to teaching?
The school focuses on a well-rounded, independent curriculum and maintains a low student-teacher ratio of 8-10:1. They employ MA/PhD qualified subject specialist teachers to help students excel academically and beyond.
How can parents contribute to their child’s success at Cambridge Home School?
Parents play a significant role in their child’s education by understanding their learning habits and providing a balanced schedule. The school encourages parents to assist their children in homework and planning skill-building activities, as well as to take part in parent-teacher meetings to better understand their child’s needs.
What is the school’s philosophy on balancing academics and extracurricular activities?
Cambridge Home School advocates for a healthy, balanced schedule that includes time for academic and non-academic activities. The school ensures that students have ample free time to explore their interests, partake in sports, and engage in other extracurricular pursuits.
How do Cambridge Home School teachers keep parents informed about their child’s progress?
The school holds three parent-teacher meetings each year, where MA/PhD qualified subject specialist teachers provide parents with detailed insights into their child’s progress, strengths, and weaknesses.