Your role in your child’s education: Intermediate Phase |

Your role in your child’s education: Intermediate Phase

The Parent

In this phase your role remains to teach, guide and assist your child in their educational, physical, emotional and social development. You should also still work with the teacher so that your child progresses confidently through school. It is advised to continue checking homework and assisting when necessary. If your child is battling with concepts, you should work with them until they understand the concepts, independently.

Intermediate phase (Grades 4-6)

This phase is about using foundational concepts to build their knowledge and learn new concepts. A child with strong foundational skills is more likely to succeed in this phase, and to develop a sense of independent learning. Your role as a parent in this phase is to guide and instruct your child and for them to attempt the work individually without your continuous involvement. This does not mean your child is expected to work unassisted, but that they are required to work for periods independently, knowing that you are available should they get stuck.
This phase teaches them how to use their previous knowledge to learn new concepts. Your child is now at a stage where they are learning to work independently and develop their skills, but they are still reliant on the teacher and yourself to teach, instruct, and help them.

The parent and the teacher

The teacher’s role remains to introduce and practice new concepts at school. Your child then comes home and attempts to perform the concepts and tasks independently. It is your role to assist your child as needed at home and to continue to bring the teachers attention to any concepts your child cannot grasp. The teacher will advise you on how to assist your child with school work at home. Assistance may include organising extra lessons or getting extra work to do at home. Time management may play a role here as your child will need to spend more time on school work – but be careful not to overload your child.

The way forward

In the Intermediate Phase, children are introduced to new concepts like time management, study/revision timetables and more advanced assessments. The use of goal setting and time management (homework books, daily activities and calendars) are essential. It is vital to teach your child how to do these. A positive starting point is goal setting. Remember to assist your child so that they will be able to use these skills independently. It will be less stressful in the high school years!