With exams season upon us, this webinar will offer practical tips and strategies to help you support your students with their preparation, revision and wellbeing.
We will discuss how we can support students who are stressed and anxious about their impending examinations. We will offer tips for exam preparation, including revision ideas and advice, and look at how schools can prepare their environment (and their families) for success.
We will consider how we can spot students who are struggling as their exams approach and what kind of “in the moment” interventions might help in the run-up to or indeed on exam day – including strategies to calm and support panicking, overwhelmed or anxious students.
We will offer self-care tips for teachers to pass onto students in the run-up to exams as well as “night-before” advice and things to do on the day.

ABOUT OUR PARTNER

Academy21 is an online alternative provision specialist which works in partnership with schools and local authorities to help students re-engage with their education. Academy21’s range of provision is designed to provide vulnerable students with access to the high-quality education they need and deserve.
Academy21 has recently become the first online AP to be accredited under the Department for Education’s Online Education Accreditation Scheme, which recognises high standards of education and safeguarding arrangements for students. Visit https://academy21.co.uk/alternative-provision

HOST
Pete Henshaw is the editor of SecEd and Headteacher Update and has specialized in education journalism for more than 20 years.

MEET OUR EXPERTS
Dr Pooky Knightsmith is a passionate ambassador for mental health, wellbeing and PSHE. Her work is backed up both by a PhD in child and adolescent mental health and her own lived experience of PTSD, anorexia, self-harm, anxiety and depression. Pooky is director of Creative Education.

Christian Lloyd is head of year 9 and lead practitioner for alternative provision at The Cooper School, an 11 to 18 comprehensive school with 1,300 students in Bicester, Oxfordshire. Christian works with students via three fields – SEND, behaviour and attendance. He provides external and internal opportunities for these students via a range of county-wide provisions. He was recently named TT Education’s Teacher of the Year for Alternative Provision.

Dr Gohar Khan is director of ethos and an associate senior leader at the Ridgeway Education Trust in south Oxfordshire. She has cultivated a thriving culture for student leadership, wellbeing and empowerment for more than 2,500 young people across the trust. Gohar works to promote equality and diversity in leadership opportunities for young people and has a special interest in young people's mental health and wellbeing. Gohar is the author of Empowering Young Leaders, due to be published in April (Routledge).

Natalie Kelly is head of year 10 and lead practitioner for rewards at The Kings, an 11 to 18 academy with 726 students in Kidsgrove, Stoke-on-Trent. In particular, Natalie's work has included a focus on supporting students' revision and homework for the past three years, including via the use of online platforms.

Sandro Capozzi is executive headteacher at Academy21, a UK-wide provider of online alternative provision.

THIS WEBINAR WILL ANSWER KEY QUESTIONS
• With the summer 2024 GCSE exam series beginning on May 6, how should students tackle their last-minute revision? What does effective revision look like at this stage?
• What role can teachers/schools play at this stage to support revision and preparation?
• How can we support vulnerable year 11 students ahead of exams in particular? What vulnerabilities should be on our radar?
• What kind of structured timetable can we put in place for students in the run-up to exams – including wellbeing support as well as revision and exam support for students who are struggling?
• What kind of wellbeing advice can we offer students to help them handle the stress and anxiety that exams create? What can teachers do?
• What kind of health advice can we offer (diet, hydration, caffeine, sleep/naps, leisure time, exercise)?
• The night before: What advice can we offer students?
• On the day: What techniques can students use to keep calm? What can school staff do to support students (tips for talking to stressed students; how can we calm students if they panic)?
• Case studies: We will hear from two schools about their approaches for supporting students’ exam preparation, revision and wellbeing

Question & answer from the audience
We will leave time for audience questions at the end of the webinar