The main reason your child doesn't want to repeat their phonics sounds.

First of all there is nothing wrong with your child if they don’t want to repeat their phonics sound after you. There’s nothing wrong with them if they don’t know what sound it is when you ask them. There’s nothing wrong with them if they’d prefer to do anything but look at the sound that you are showing them.

The main reason that your child doesn’t want to repeat their sounds could be simply because they find it challenging.

Think of it through their perspective.

You show them a letter and ask them what sound it makes.

If you follow my advice, you’ve not yet taught them the alphabet and have only focused on phonics.

They look at this letter and most likely wonder - ‘What is that?’

You then ask them to sound it out and they most likely think - ‘Why would it sound like anything? Does it speak?’

They most likely look at you confused.

You then show them an image and ask them what it is.

Let’s say that you show them a picture of a pig. They happily tell you that it is a pig.

You thin ask them ‘What sound does pig begin with?’

Guess what my students normally tell me…?

They tell me - ‘Oink!’

And they are right. A pig does sound like ‘oink’ but that wasn’t the question.

Learning phonics is challenging for a 2 and 3 year old.

So the main reason that they don’t want to repeat it is because it is challenging for them.

It takes time, patience and lots and lots of practise. Lots and lots of exposure to the sound that they are learning every day. Not once every other week. That will not help them.

Every day.

Short, sharp bursts. Even just 2-3 minutes.

If they don’t want to do it then absolutely do not do it.

It needs to come to them. They must want to do it.

I want all of my students to love learning their phonics, not to dread it.

That’s what we do in our lessons. We instil a love for learning that goes far deeper than just preparing for an Assessment.

Book your Sample Lesson Today.

3 fun and easy ways to teach phonics to your 2 year old.

Let’s be honest, not all two year old want to sit down and learn their phonics!

Some do and some don’t.

I have some students who really engage with looking at the sound on the sheet and simply saying it. We repeat this until they’ve really understood how to say it and then we move on to the new sound.

Other students of mine do not engage with the task in the same way.

Some find it really challenging to look at the letter and tell me the sound that it makes. Others just find it boring to simply look at it and say it. If this happens, it’s up to me to be creative and think of ways to engage them and motivate them to actually want to learn their phonics.

And the same goes for you.

If you are struggling to engage your child with their phonics, here are three fun and easy ways to teach phonics to your 2 or 3 year old.

1. Treasure hunt

Print out the phonics or simply write them down on a piece of paper/post it note and hide them around your home. And then ask your child to look for the sounds. When they find the sounds, they need to tell you what they are. If they are reluctant to do this initially, you tell them the sound and encourage them to repeat after you.

2. Bubble bath

As your child is having their bath, use your finger to ‘write’ the sounds in the bubbles! After you’ve written it and your child can see it ask them if they know what sound it makes. Again, if they don’t know it or they are reluctant to answer, tell them and encourage them to repeat after you.

3. Sand letters

Using a sand tray filled with sand, simply ‘write’ the letters in the sand and ask your child if they know what sound it makes.

The most important thing to do is to be consistent. I know it’s not easy and I’m not perfect with this at all (with my own son) but even just 3 minutes a day will make all the difference. With time, you will see that your child will remember their sounds and be able to say them independently.

As a final note, I feel that it is very important to say that you must never put pressure on your child to learn or say their sounds. It must be a fun and enjoyable process. All children will learn their sounds - in their own time.

Preparing for 2025 Entry? Book your Sample Lesson today. I am nearly at capacity so book soon to work with me.

Can you recommend nurseries that prepare for the 4+ ?

No.

Do not rely solely on a nursery or pre prep to prepare your child for their 4+ Assessments.

Having worked in three top Inner London pre-prep schools preparing children for their 4+ Assessments, I can tell you with certainty that while it does help, it isn’t enough.

I’ve personally supported hundreds of students who have gone to ‘regular’ nurseries who have passed their 4+ Assessments and I’ve personally worked with hundreds of children who have gone to pre-preps that ‘prepare for the Assessments’ who have not been successful (of course I have supported those that have!)

But just to paint you a picture.

I speak to parents who tell me, “My child goes to a top Montessori and that is all they need.”

No.

They tell me, “My child’s pre- prep has told me not to tutor and they are the ones preparing my child for their 4+.”

No.

I wouldn’t recommend a single nursery to prepare your child for their 4+.

What you need is bespoke, tailored tuition to the school or schools that you are applying to.

What you need is individualised support for your child.

What you need is to know that you have done everything in your power to make sure that your child will have the highest chances for success in their 4+ Assessments.

I am nearly at capacity for 4+ Assessment preparation (I take on 10 students each year) So if you’d like to work with me, book your Sample Lesson today. Once at capacity, I will not be taking on any new students (for 2025 entry)

Book today!

Why are the 4+ Assessments so challenging?

Three reasons.

1.Oversubscription to these schools.

Every school will have their own number of places available for Reception Entry.

Let’s say a school has 40 places available and over 500 children applying, you can understand why the Assessment is so challenging, can’t you?

2. Not having prepared your child appropriately or correctly for the schools that you are applying to.

Choosing an EYFS teacher is great (I am one myself!) But if they don’t have experience preparing for the schools that you are applying to, then please forget about it.

You need a teacher with real experience with the school/s that you are applying to. Only they will know the level expected of your child and HOW to prepare them specific to the school/s that you are applying to.

Also, just a side note. You can 100% prepare your child yourself for their 4+ Assessments, you just need to know the curriculum needed and the expectations of the school/s you are applying to. My Curriculum Coaching programme 1will give you everything that you need if you would like to prepare your child yourself.

3. Children not being aware of what exactly is expected of them in their Assessment.

Before each Assessment, I provide my clients with a script of exactly what to tell their children about the Assessment they are going to. I encourage them to read it to their child every day for several weeks before the Assessment. That way my student is actually prepared and aware about what will be expected of them.

The 4+ Assessments are challenging and many parents underestimate how challenging they will be. They don’t take them as seriously as I think that they should. They just assume that their child will pass. I promise you that this is not the case.

Prepare your child and prepare them well.

Last few places remaining with me for 2024 Entry. Once they’re gone, they’re gone.

Book your Sample lesson today.

The most important thing to do when preparing for an occasional place

With between 30 - 60 children on average applying for an occasional place at a top school, this is the most important thing that you must do if you are preparing your child.

You must prepare them to be 3 months ahead of where they currently are.

Here is what I mean.

If your child is preparing for an occasional place in Year 1 and it is April. You want your child to be a term ahead of where they currently are.

You want your child to be at mastery level of 3 months ahead of time!

This will be challenging because when you apply for an occasional place, the school will usually invite your child to sit their Assessment with a few days to up to a month’s notice.

One month is great. A few days - not so much.

So my advice to you is this.

If you have applied to your dream school for an occasional place, start preparing immediately. Regardless of whether or not your child has been invited to an Assessment. Perhaps they will be, perhaps they won’t. If they are, at least they are prepared and ready. If they’re not, you will have provided them with an incredible foundation in terms of their learning.

I have personally prepared children for occasional place Assessments at top schools such as Habs boys and girls, Alleyn’s, Dulwich College and Thomas’s to name a few. I have had children be successful and children not be successful.

Then children who were successful were the ones who were at least three months ahead of their peers.

Let me give you an example of a top London school who Assessed Reception aged children for an occasional place in Year 1. There were 46 applicants for 1 place.

After having completed their occasional place Assessment, the children were grouped into percentiles. They were split into 25%. Top 25%, Top middle 25%, Bottom middle 25% and bottom 25%.

They were Assessed in terms of Reading, Writing and Verbal Reasoning. So in order to be offered a place, the children would need to be placed in the top 25% across the board. Those who made it to that top percentile would then be chosen. The highest scorer would be offered the place.

That’s how it works.

If you are currently preparing for an occasional place, I would highly recommend that you take part in my Curriculum Coaching programme. I will support you every step of the way to help your child to have the highest possible chances for success in their occasional place Assessment.

3 facts about NLCS at 7+ that you should definitely know about!

1. There are only 8 places available to enter the school into year 3. So that means that out of the hundreds of girls that will apply to sit their 7+ Assessments, only 8 will be successful.

Your daughter will need to be exceptional all round to pass this incredibly tough 7+ Assessment.

Registration is now open and you can click here to Register your daughter for her 7+ Assessment (2025 entry) You have until the 1st November 2024 to apply.

Round 1 is on Friday 1st November. Round 2 is on Tuesday 3rd December. This gives you just under 6 months to prepare. This is not enough time so hopefully you’ve started earlier than this. I would recommend my students start preparing for this school from January of their Reception Year or at the very latest May of their Reception year.

There is way too much to cover to be starting now. Just being honest with you.

As a company we will not be offering tuition to girls starting later than the dates specified above. However, I will provide Curriculum Coaching for parents who would still like to ensure that their daughter is as best prepared as possible to sit their 7+ Assessment at NLCS.

Round 1 involves:

Writing an imaginative story using full sentences and some interesting vocabulary.

Reading fluently with understanding and give answers to written questions.

Writing the answers to questions.

Understanding the concepts of addition, subtraction, multiplication and ‘sharing’/division and be able to apply these rules in order to solve word problems.

Know their times tables.

Have an understanding of shape, time and money.

Interpret tables and charts.

If your daughter is successful at passing this round, she will be invited to Round 2 which will be a day at the school, usually call a ‘day in action’.

2. Your daughter will need to have developed a strong stamina for completing the Assessment within the timeframe allocated.

Round 1 will really test your daughter’s stamina.

As well as being able to complete everything to an incredibly high standard, she will need to ensure that she has a strong stamina to allow her to actually complete all of the questions that she will be asked to complete in her Round 1 Assessment. Please don’t underestimate this.

3. Your daughter will need to be at a secure level of a Year 3 student to calmly and confidently pass her 7+ Assessment at NLCS.

Parents don’t believe me when I tell them this. Why would I lie?

Whatever you think of the 7+ Assessment at NLCS. 10x that and that’s what it will be like. Expect the level to be challenging. Expect the vocabulary to be challenging. Expect that your daughter will need to write an amazing story. Expect the maths questions to challenge her. Expect her to be scoring 85%-90% across the board.

Above all, prepare her appropriately.

You 100% need to work with a teacher who knows this school well.

You 100% need to work with a teacher who knows historically what has come up in the 7+ Assessments at this school.

I have 3 places remaining for Wednesdays 7+ Assessment Story Writing Workshop. Book today!

The story that I will be covering has actually come up several times at various Top Schools in their 7+ Assessments ;)

Competition for 4+ Entry has intensified. How to ensure that you stay ahead of the game.

Things used to be far more laid back even just 10 years ago.

As a teacher who has been preparing children all over the country for their 4+ Assessments for over 14 years now, I can tell you with certainty that getting into a top school at Reception age is a lot harder than it used to be.

Many parents don’t think this to be the case. It doesn’t even cross their minds. It should.

They think things like…

‘How hard can it be?’

‘Come on, my child is only 3 years old!’

‘You can’t prepare a 2 year old for an Assessment!’

They are wrong.

It is hard.

Your child is 3 and so what?

You absolutely can prepare a 2 year old for an Assessments and you absolutely MUST prepare your 2 year old for their Assessment.

If you want your child to pass their 4+ Assessments, you must stay ahead of the game.

You must know exactly what is expected of your child.

You simply must prepare your child.

Essentially ask yourself these three questions…

Is my child ready to learn in a group setting?

Is my child able to follow instructions?

Does my child have a level of emotional maturity (relevant to their age) ?

If you cannot answer yes to all of these questions, do not send your child to a 4+ Assessment.

You still have time to prepare.

Book your Sample Lesson Today.

How do I get my two year old to focus?

First of all, you don’t ‘get’ a two year old to do anything!

My nearly 2 year old seems to do what he wants as far as I can see.

His favourite word at the moment is ‘no’!

I ask him to do something and he usually says ‘no’!

Focus is not something I expect him to do well at the age of nearly 2.

However, many of my clients have this expectation that their child should be able to focus for longer periods of time. Most of my youngest students are currently either 2 or 3 years of age.

I understand them. After all, they are preparing their children for their 4+ Assessments which will take place in the next 4-9 months. In their 4+ Assessments, their child will be expected to focus for a very long amount of time.

So let’s change the question ever so slightly?

How can I support my two year old to focus?

Now, this question is a lot easier to answer.

There are so many ways that you can support your two year old to focus.

Here are my top 3:

1. Provide them with opportunities to do a single activity within a specified time duration. You will have the expectation of the time duration, they won’t understand this yet. You will say something like this…

‘We are going to sit on the floor and we are going to do the puzzle. I would like you to only focus on the puzzle for 2 minutes.’

You will then clear the area so that there are minimal distractions and your child is only focused on that one activity.

Start with smaller time durations and then build up to longer time durations.

If your child gets distracted, starts looking around or simply doesn’t want to engage in the task, never make it a problem. Just gently encourage them to come back to the task. Sometimes they will and sometimes they won’t. The problem I see is when parents get cross or frustrated that their child is not meeting their expectation. I promise you that this will never help the situation.

It takes practise, patience and perseverance. Eventually your child will focus for your expected amount of time.

2. Provide them with activities that encourage focus.

Youtube have endless options of focus videos for very young children. Just take a look and choose the ones that you like and that you know your child will like. Today, we were doing phonics and we were popping bubbles to practise the sound ‘p’. My son was really getting into it so I went to Youtube and searched for ‘Focus bubbles for kids’ and an incredible video came up which he adored.

Always try to go with what interests your child. This will allow them to focus lots more.

At only 22 months old, my son watched this video 4 times and focused on it for its entire duration each time. Educational screen time is fine with me (I do limit it however)

3. Model to them how you focus.

Children learn through copying what you do. You are their role model. You are their inspiration. I often model what I would like my son to do. I often sit next to him as he is reading independently and get out my own book. I can see him watching me through the corner of his little eye! I model to him how I focus on my book (even for just 30 seconds) A few days later, I will often see him copying what he saw me doing!

Support your child with their focus and concentration skills by trying these three strategies.

The Top Three Reasons Children were Unsuccessful in their 4+ Assessments in 2023

If you will be sitting your child for their 4+ Assessments in the upcoming future, you will want to do everything you can to avoid these!

I am sharing this with you because I want all children to be successful in their Assessments.

These are our youngest students. The students who are preparing for their 4+ Assessments (actually the youngest are those preparing for their 3+!)

Reason #1

Not Being Appropriately Prepared

A lot of parents underestimate the importance of actually choosing the right person to support their child with their Assessment preparation. They place value on having a person come into their home rather than actually looking at the experience of the person coming into their home. They place value on someone who is an EYFS teacher rather than a teacher with actual experience with the schools that they will be sending their child to do their Assessment at.

This is a problem because if your child is not appropriately prepared then how can you expect them to go into each of their Assessments and actually pass?

To find a professional who specialises just in the 4+ Assessments is very rare. And if you do actually find them, hold on tightly to them.

You must work with a professional who knows the actual standard expected at the school or schools that you are applying to.

Not Starting preparation early enough

Please don’t leave it to the last minute. Give your child enough time to cover all of the curriculum that needs to be covered. Give your child enough time to develop the skills needed in order to be successful at the schools that they are sitting Assessment.

9-12 month of preparation is optimum.

If you’ve not started yet, please just get started now.

Reason #2

Not having developed the skills needed in order to be successful at each specific school.

Please do not prepare your child in a generic way for each school that they will be sitting Assessment at. Each school will need to be prepared for in a specific way. Again, you must know the expectations at each school that you are sitting your child at. Each school will have specific key skills that your child will need to have developed in order to go in and actually be successful.

Reason #3

Not behaving in line with the behavioural expectations of each school.

Not demonstrating the behaviour expected of the schools will lead to your child not passing their 4+ Assessment. Work with someone who knows exactly what these behavioural expectations are and that can support and guide you to ensure that your child actually goes in and demonstrates these behavioural expectations.

This is why it is so important to work with someone with actual experience with the schools that your child is applying to. How else will they know what is expected of your child?

Let me give you some examples of behaviours that led students to not passing their 4+ Assessments or that at least contributed to them not passing their 4+ Assessments. I've changed the students names.

Sara

A very bright girl, Sara would have 100% passed every aspect of her 4+ Assessment but this one thing let her down. Half way through the Assessment, she went up to one of the Assessors and asked, 'Are we done yet?'

She did not pass her 4+ Assessment at this school.

Ben

Ben had completed his Assessment and the group he was in were told to line up one behind the other. He decided to run around and ignore this request. He had to be asked three times to line up.

He did not pass his 4+ Assessment at this school.

Last few places remaining for tuition with me (2025 entry). Avoid disappointment and book your place today. Once I am at capacity, I will not be offering 1:1 tuition for 4+ Assessment preparation for 2025 entry.

Would you tutor your toddler to pass their 4+ Assessment?

If you wouldn't, then don't send them into a 4+ Assessment. They have no business being anywhere near there. 

That's my honest opinion. 

In order to be successful in their 4+ Assessments your child will need 9-12 months of Assessment preparation. That means starting between January and March before their 4+ Assessments (Assessments take place between October and January with some earlier than this!)

Here is was 95% of parents do.

They contact me in January or February or perhaps they start thinking about Assessment preparations around January/February time and they think that they have plenty of time and before they know it, it is May!

As it stands, you have between 5 and 7 months before your child’s 4+ Assessments. This doesn’t leave you with much time but it is still an okay time to get started.

Don’t put it off for too long.

I’ve had parents starting tuition as late as one month before the 4+ Assessments. Let me tell you that this is absolutely not enough time and in most instances the children who start late are not successful in their 4+ Assessments. Nothing to do with them but to do with the fact that they did not have enough time to cover all of the curriculum that needed to be covered in order to actually be able to pass their 4+ Assessments.

I am nearly at capacity for 4+ Assessment preparation. Every year, I only tutor 10 very lucky children for their 4+ Assessments. I have two spaces available only because 2 of my clients have decided to send their children other types of schools.

To secure the last 2 places, book your Sample Lesson Today! Don’t delay, the time to start is right now.

Summer Kids Disadvantaged or not in their 4+ Assessments?

What do you think about this?

I know my current clients and parents that I speak to each and every day have a lot of thoughts and feelings about this.

So far this week I have spoken to several potential new clients who have told me that their 'summer born child will be disadvantaged in their 4+ Assessment' 

Here are 3 reasons why I disagree. 

1. Having taught children for nearly 20 years both as a nursery practitioner and as a teacher, let me tell you that I have of course worked with thousands of children who are summer born. I have worked with summer born children who have been labelled as 'behind' and I have worked with some summer born children who have been labelled as achieving at mastery. 

2. I have taught hundreds of summer born children in preparation for their 4+ Assessments who have been incredibly successful. 

3. My own son is summer born and I will never ever say the sentence above. 

I remember when I worked as a teacher at a top pre-prep in Hampstead that one of my students really stood out. He articulated himself so well, he was polite and charming. He was very intelligent and was successful at all of his target schools at 4+. He was August born. I remember that his mother was always telling me about how 'unfair' it was that he was going to be Assessed with children who were almost a whole year older than him and I remember telling her that she had nothing to worry about. 

And she didn't. 

As long as you prepare your child properly for their 4+ Assessments, you have nothing to worry about either. I don't pay any attention to the month of birth of my students. They are all prepared in a way that will allow them to go in and shine in any 4+ Assessment. 

We have a brand new Group 4+ Assessment Online 8 Week Course launching on Saturday 1st of June. Book your place today!

Curriculum Coaching is the best option is the best option for the 4+ for you if...

You want to teach your child yourself but have no idea where to start in terms of covering the curriculum.

In comes Curriculum Coaching.

An incredible programme that I created for my clients.

Many of my clients would tell me that they wanted to prepare their children themselves but didn’t have a clue what they should be covering. Didn’t have a clue about the level expected at each different school.

Become an expert in the curriculum that your child is currently studying.

Receive expert guidance from a teacher who has over 16 years of experience teaching children aged 2-11.

Ensure your child is always ahead and making the accelerated progress that they deserve to be making.

If you are currently preparing your child for the 4+ and would like to know that you are covering everything that needs to be covered, this is the programme for you.

What you will get

Bespoke learning created only for your child.

Learning will be sent weekly.

Once learning has been completed, you can send pictures of any incorrect learning and receive tailor made resources only for your child to support them to grasp the concepts that they may be struggling with.

Unlimited access to Company Director, Maria Mazarese either by phone or by email. You can contact me at any time and I will always reply and be there to support you.

£240 per month

£50 Registration fee

Try for one week (£60)

Cancel anytime

2 things your child must never do in their 4+ Assessments

The day of the 4+ Assessment will be a very important day for my clients. They really want their child to be successful at being offered a place at the school that they have applied to and they have invested a lot of time, money and energy into preparing for this moment. They are also sending the most precious person in their lives into the Assessment and so they will be most likely feeling a mixture of anxiety and stress. Our children are the most precious little loves and we want them to succeed. We want them to thrive. We know exactly what they are capable of and we want them to be able to show this and we want others to be able to see this!

That’s why when a lot of the parents that I speak to receive the letter in the post saying that their child has been unsuccessful that they feel a deep sense of sadness. That’s their little love being rejected. That’s their little love not being offered a place at the dream school that they wanted them to go to.

That’s why I take what I do so seriously.

I know how important this is for my clients.

I know what it means to them.

So let me share with you 2 things that your child must never do in their 4+ Assessment.

1. They must not go in upset.

Seems logical but many parents overlook this. They are so focused on preparing their children academically that they skip this step.

If your child goes in crying, screaming, doesn’t want to leave you. is clinging to you, refuses to go in with the Assessor, this will be an immediate no (in most instances)

2. They must not refuse to do something that they are asked to do.

Again seems logical to me but if you don’t explain this to your child then they will not know that it is an expectation. Children at the ages of 3 and 4 naturally want to do their own thing. But if your child is asked to do something in their 4+ Assessment and they don’t do it or they refuse to do it then in will be a no.

Need bespoke Assessment preparation for a teacher who has over 14 years’ of experience with all of the top inner and outer London schools? Book your Sample Lesson today.

How your child expresses themselves will be very important in their 4+ Assessment

Language and communication is a key skill to get right when preparing for the 4+ Assessments.

At the age of 3 or 4, your child will be expected to express themselves very well in their 4+ Assessments.

Here are some examples of what this might look like in the actual Assessment.

1. Answering questions with clarity and confidence

2. Answering questions by going into more detail

3. Talking to other children calmly and politely

4. Talking to other adults with confidence

5. Asking for something politely

Here are some examples where students have not been able to express themselves well and therefore were unsuccessful in their 4+ Assessments

1. Giving short answers or no answers at all

2. Not being kind and polite to other children - eg. snatching something or not giving the other child the possibility to have a turn.

3. Not wanting to speak to the adults in the room.

4. Asking for something and not saying please or thank you.

Here is one example that I heard from one of my current clients who is now preparing her son for the 7+.

A bright boy, her son went into these 4+ Assessments filled with confidence. I had no doubt that he would pass most of his 4+ Assessments. He went into his Assessment and was asked to go to the lego table. He looked at the Assessor and said ‘No, I don’t want to.’

Here is another example.

One of my students was a little timid and struggled to answer questions. She didn’t like to answer questions even when it was someone familiar to her asking her the questions. The Assessor asked her to describe the flower. She said ‘It is pink!’ She should have gone into a lot more detail in order to successfully answer this type of queation.

Here is another example.

A boy went into his Assessment and half way through he told the Assessor, ‘I’m bored!’

So if you are preparing your child for their 4+ Assessment, work on this part. Work with your child to support them to express themselves. To communicate with others well. Don’t take it for granted that your child will just know how to do it. They will need to be taught how to do it. To practise how to do it and to know the expectations in their 4+ Assessments.

Book your Sample Lesson Today.

Nurture Social Strength by frequently and consistently exposing your child to new experiences.

Your child’s social skills will be assessed in their 4+ Assessments.

How they interact with other children.

How they interact with other adults.

I believe that the only way to master these skills is by frequently and consistently exposing your child to new experiences.

New experiences where they will meet new children and new experiences where they will meet new adults.

Just going to a nursery everyday will not be enough. Those people are familiar to your child and they will already be comfortable around them.

In their 4+ Assessment, they will have never have met the children in the room (most likely) and they will definitely have never met the adults in the room.

Exposing your child to new experiences is the best way to work on their social strength and empower them to go into their assessments socially ready to handle anything!

New experiences could be going to new play groups, visiting different restaurants, going to the zoo, going to museums, going to different clubs. If you can leave your child somewhere new even better. There are so many things that you can do in London!

Need further support with developing social strength in order to be successful in the 4+ Assessments?

Book your Sample Lesson today!

Empower your child's reasoning and thinking skills by doing this one thing.

In their 4+ Assessments, your child will be observed.

They will be amongst hundreds of other children also being Assessed.

The Assessors will be looking for many different things but amongst these will be how your child thinks.

Independence of thinking is a quality that will be observed.

How your child reasons and uses their logic will be observed.

This 100% can be prepared for.

In each of our lessons, we encourage our children to think. We ask so many questions. Different types of questions that help our students to develop their thinking.

Do this one thing every day consistently for 6 months and see your child’s thinking and reasoning skills go to the next level!

Provide your child with something new and unfamiliar to do every single day. You don’t need to spend money every day on new resources to do this. Use your imagination!

Give your child a new puzzle, a new lego construction to create, a maze to complete, a page in a book to answer questions about, a physical task to complete.

By giving them something new and unfamiliar to complete, you will be supporting their reasoning and thinking skills because they will have never done this task before.

What we tend to do (myself included!) is provide our children with the same or similar activities to do every day. This is ok and children of course improve the more they do the same thing.

However, if you are preparing for the 4+, remember that you are sending your child into a new and unfamiliar environment and they will have new and unfamiliar activities to do.

If you don’t expose your child to new and unfamiliar things to do, this will be challenging for them and they will not be able to fully demonstrate their reasoning and thinking skills.

Need further support with 4+ Assessment preparation?

Book your Sample lesson today.

How we prepare each of our students for their 4+ Assessments

Many parents wonder if it’s possible to prepare for the 4+ Assessments.

Absolutely, yes.

Here is how we prepare each of our students for their 4+ Assessments.

Most parents book a Sample lesson before beginning their Assessment preparation journeys with us. After our online Sample lesson, parents then make a decision about continuing their Assessment preparation with one of our exceptional teachers.

The Sample lesson is an opportunity to see the style and structure of our online lessons and to establish a connection with your new teacher.

At the end of the Sample lesson, you will have a discussion with your teacher about the schools that your will be applying to and choose the day and time for your weekly lessons.

See some of our exceptional reviews here!

Your teacher will then plan and prepare the Assessment preparation for your child based on the schools that you are preparing for.

You will then meet with your teacher weekly and receive bespoke home learning based on the needs of your child and to support everything that they will need to be able to do at the Assessments that they will be going to.

You also have something that is not available anywhere else in the Assessment preparation market.

You will have ongoing access to your teacher at any time.

Book your Sample Lesson Today.

A true story - 4+ Assessment preparation. Here is Sam's story.

I care too much about you to let this one thing happen to you. 

My client told me she was happy for me to share her story with the hopes that it might help someone else. 

So here it is. 

This is Sam's story. 

Sam contacted me in January of 2023. Her son was preparing for his 4+ Assessments for several top London schools including Highgate, UCS and Habs boys. 

When I spoke to her she had many reservations such as 'he's too young', 'he's not ready', 'I'm not sure online will work' 

She told me that she would wait. 

We kept in touch over the course of the months and I answered all of her questions and was able to support her as much as I could over email. 

She contacted me again in September. 

This time her energy was very different and she told me she was all in and ready to go. 

Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time. 

Her son was not ready for the three schools that she desperately wanted him to got to.  

He passed fist round at UCS but not the second. 

He passed first round at Highgate but not the second. 

He did not pass the first round at Habs boys. 

He is now preparing for his 7+ at all three of these schools with me. 

So rather than spending 9-12 months preparing for his 4+ and being successful (I have no doubt that he would have been), Sam is now preparing for the 7+ and will spend 12-18 months with me. 

A much larger investment in terms of money and time. 

He is doing really well in his lessons and I have no doubt that he will have tremendous success in his 7+. 

The point of this story is to get started and not wait until the last minute. 

Spaces with me are filling up fast so book your Sample lesson today and let's go. 

Everything that you need to know about confidence in the 4+ Assessments.

Confidence is key when it comes to 4+ Assessment success.

Because ultimately if your chid doesn't go in happily and confidently how else will they do well?

How else will they show their capabilities?

How else will they show how much they are able to do? 

If your child goes in upset, they won't be able to show confidence. In fact, if your child goes in upset, they will not pass their 4+ Assessment.

If you are preparing your child for their 4+ Assessments, work on confidence from very early on

Take them to new places where they need to interact with new children and new adults. 

There are so many options available living in London. 

Please don't just assume that taking them to nursery is enough. Their nursery is familiar to them. The adults there are familiar to them. The children there are familiar to them. The building is familiar to them. 

When they go to their 4+ Assessments, it will all be new to them and if they havent practised, they will find it challenging. 

Even adults find it challenging to go somewhere new. Even adults struggle with change. 

Imagine a 3 or 4 year old? 

Put yourself in their shoes.

They arrive a new and unfamiliar building to them. How will they be feeling?

Probably a little bit overwhelmed.

They are escorted by a teacher or two to a room they’ve never been to before. How will they be feeling?

Probably a little bit worried. A little bit anxious. A little bit confused. Perhaps overwhelmed?

They are placed in groups of 6-12 other children that they’ve never met before. How will they be feeling? Or they are put in a 1:1 situation with an adult they may have never met before.

It is up to you to prepare your child for all of this

I tell my students EXACTLY what to expect at each Assessment. Remember that each Assessment will be different and it is vital that your child understands exactly what will be expected of them at each different school.

I go through with them step by step exactly what will happen, what they will do, what they will hear what they will see, how they might be feeling. All of this helps them to go in with confidence and be their naturally confident selves.

If you would like further support with 4+ Assessment preparation, book your Sample Lesson today.

Don't choose someone to prepare your child purely based on the fact that they can come into your home.

All of our lessons are online.

They have been for the last 4 years.

I moved everything online for one reason and one reason only.

It works just as well as in person tuition.

I did in person tuition for 10 years before deciding to move everything online.

In person tuition works well. With the right person.

To me the ‘right person’ is not just a teacher who is qualified.

To me the ‘right person’ is someone with experience with the schools that you are applying to.

I spoke to a client the other day who wants her child to go to Highgate. I personally have over 14 years preparing my students for this school.

I answered all of her questions and then she told me that she would prefer to go with the teacher who can come into her home.

I asked her if this teacher had experience with Highgate at 4+. She said no but she is an eyfs specialist.

Irrelevant.

Yes, you will be teaching your child the EYFS curriculum (not only this!) but yes in part.

To me it’s irrelevant because if you want your child to go to Highgate, you absolutely need to work with a teacher who is familiar with the Assessment procedures at this school.

This particular teacher charges £100 for a one hour session. Nothing else is included.

So a 6 month commitment with this particular teacher would e a £2,400 investment.

We charge £60 for a 30 minute lesson and this includes ongoing communication with your teacher and home learning, guidance specific to the schools that you are applying to and entrance exam support. So a 6 month commitment with us is £1440.

Yes some of the parents I speak to choose to invest the £2400.

Ultimately, you are free to spend your money where you wish.

But wouldn’t you rather invest your money into something that will have a higher chance for success?

My online lessons offer the highest quality of tuition available on the market in my opinion. The fact that I offer ongoing support to my clients (included in that price) is something that no one else currently offers. Tomorrow, I’m jumping on a call with my current clients to discuss their choice of schools and the progress their son is currently making. This is all included in what they’ve already paid for their lessons. I never charge extra for consultations with my current clients.

So when considering who you want to prepare your child for their 4+ Assessments, please think carefully. Someone coming into your home is 100% not better than working with someone with so much experience who can support your child bespoke to each individual school that you are preparing for.