Parent Help

At Hawkinge Primary School, we offer a range of workshops to empower parents with information and advice to support their children’s learning, development and wellbeing, bridging the gap between home and school. To view the different ones on offer during the academic year, please click here.

Term 1

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Phonics – Foundation Stage & Key Stage 1

Do you know what phonemes, graphemes and split digraphs are? Come along to learn about the different terminology your child will use to describe the sounds of language and to find out how we use the ‘Letters and Sounds’ 6 phase approach to teach phonics from Reception class through to Year 2. We will learn about the phonics screening tests in Year 1 and share ideas of how you can help at home.

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Better Sleep Workshop – All ages

Does your child resist falling asleep or struggle to stay asleep through the night? This Workshop is an opportunity to share your experiences with other parents, access resources and get advice to help your family develop healthier sleep patterns. We will explore common problems and strategies to manage them, including the healthy habits that promote a good night’s sleep. You will also be supported to create a sleep management plan to help your child towards better sleep.

Term 2

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Guided Reading Workshop – Foundation Stage & Key Stage 1

Come along to explore your child’s Guided Reading lessons and how our daily activities develop their ability to read words and sentences as well as understand the text and answer questions about it. You will learn about how we assess reading skills throughout the year and the importance of comprehension skills to help children to make predictions, use different strategies to decode words and explore the meaning of new vocabulary.

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Coping With Christmas – All ages

Do you dread the advent of Christmas and your child’s responses to timetable changes, Christmas plays and parties, unexpected visitors, long holidays, sensory overload from the sounds, smells and sights of the festive period? In this practical and interactive session, you will be introduced to a range of ideas, strategies and resources to help you restore some order and calm to the holiday season, giving you the confidence to look forward to a merrier Christmas together.

Term 3

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Anxiety: Helping Children to Cope – All ages

For many of our children the world, or certain aspects of it, is overwhelming, complex and scary. From separation and social anxiety to performance anxiety, an increasing number of children now benefit from support to manage their anxieties. This workshop will introduce you to the current thinking around children’s anxiety and ideas to support young people to manage their anxiety more effectively.

Term 4

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Keep Your Cool: A Behaviour Workshop – All ages

Do you struggle to manage your child’s behaviour? A parent workshop which will introduce the theory behind children’s behaviour, look at ways to analyse the possible root causes and explore potential strategies to turn a child’s behaviour around. The workshop is designed to encourage peer support and self-reflection.

Term 5

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The GROWTH Mindset: Building Resilience In Children – All ages (PROPOSED)

Sometimes, when children face challenges like learning a new skill or adjusting to a change in their world, they can become stuck in their thinking and want to give up. Likewise, some children who naturally find things like this easy may limit themselves by feeling they have “done enough” and no longer need to try. Resilience is the ability to ‘bounce back’ when things go wrong and to keep pushing for excellence when we are doing well. Children with good resilience levels are less likely to experience mental health issues like anxiety and depression. By changing the language we use with our children and encouraging them to regard “failures” as just a normal part of their development, we can encourage increased resilience, greater independence and a more positive self-image.

Term 6

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Connected for Success, Wired For Stress – The Impact Of Screen Time On Young Minds (PROPOSED)

The average age for a child to get their first phone is now 8 yrs old. This workshop will explore the emerging research around the negative impact of screen time for our young people as well as building confidence in parents to champion the positives of computing & ideas of how we can best support our children to navigate safely in the digital world.

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Ready For School Workshop – Foundation Stage

All parents who accept a Reception Class place for their child will be invited to attend one of our Ready For School workshops. It can be an exciting but daunting time when your child starts school – we will provide information and advice about your child’s development and how you can encourage the confidence and independence needed for a successful transition. You will meet other parents whose children will also be starting with us in September and get lots of ideas about fun activities to do with your child to help them prepare.