What support does Chesterton offer to help learners manage test-related stress and anxiety? How can I support as a parent?

Support is offered in a variety of different ways.  General support is offered to students via the PSHE programme in tutor time and through drop down days.  For more bespoke support students have constant access to the school wellbeing service which can help students access internal and external support.  A student’s Head of House is the best person to contact to access support at any time. 

The role of the parent is vital in supporting students. Parents can help by reinforcing the messages in this section of the website, parents can also attend the How to Help Your Child at Home events or the event resources which are shared via parentmail as these contain a wealth of information for parents about supporting your children at home.  As a parent if you notice your child is suffering from any form of stress and anxiety contact your child’s Head of House as soon as possible. 

• What does the term assessment mean at Chesterton?
• How often do assessments take place?
• Why do you do such regular assessments?
• Does Chesterton do more tests than other schools?
• Do teachers end up constantly teaching to the test? How do you mitigate against this and ensure there is still a real joy to learning outside of tests?
• How do I know what tests my child has upcoming? How do I understand which of these tests are significant in terms of feeding into end of year grades or summative assessments?
• Do you expect my child to prepare for a test e.g. by doing extra revision? Do teachers provide revision sessions and questions?
• What support does Chesterton offer to help learners manage test-related stress and anxiety? How can I support as a parent?
• What is the provision for assessments for learners with additional needs?
• Are there instances when parents can request their child doesn’t take a test?
• Are students moved down a set as a result of not doing well in an assessment? Conversely are they moved up if they do well?
• How do parents receive information about the outcome of individual assessments? How are results of assessments stored, for how long and who has access to the results?
• Can you clarify what Chesterton’s approach has been to teacher-assessed grades for GCSEs and whether you see this as a permanent change moving forwards? If so, what impact does this have on mock tests etc. in Years 10 & 11?