ParentguidetoGCSE - the (back) story
Paul Hughes
Helping your teen to develop the punchy personal statement required for their university application by helping them overcome their writer’s block || 1:1 Mentoring ￡350
My story about how the ParentguidetoGCSE and Parentguidetopost16 websites came to be started back on 5th January 2004. I began my teaching career at Stanground College on the very same day as another trainee teacher by the name of Emily.
Fast forward four years, and we were married with a daughter. Two teachers getting together at the same school is huge gossip for the students, trust me!
Long story short, teaching nearly broke Emily and we started exploring ideas about a business outside of schools that harnessed the wealth of knowledge we’d built up over 31 years of classroom experience.
It was Emily (who else!?) who had the brainwave when she saw on a mum’s Facebook group some questions that mums didn’t understand to do with schoolwork. ParentguidetoGCSE was born.
During another conversation about the fledgling business, Emily tentatively suggested that she should leave teaching. I’d agreed that it was a brilliant idea long before she got to the end of her sentence. I stayed on in teaching for another year to ensure a salary was coming in that would help the costs of developing the new business.
As teachers we knew that parents’ evenings were not ideal. How do you get across all the information about how their child should be working at home, the different revision techniques to try, what mind mapping is, list a bunch of great revision sites to try, and how to create a suitable working environment etc etc. The 5-minute appointment flies by and before you know it your next appointment is there and looking grumpy as they are already 2 minutes behind schedule.
As parents, the tables were turned. We queued for ages, got to see the various teachers and got very little information apart from that they’re ‘doing great’. How is 5 minutes once a year going to be enough to get all the information parents need? And let’s face facts, the teenager isn’t going to give you the information willingly.
That is where ParentguidetoGCSE and Parentguidetopost16 really steps in. We support and empower parents of teens from year 9 through to year 13. There’s less ‘grunt’ and more discussion. Our ‘secret sauce’ is a way for parents to bypass the bit where your child gets defensive because ‘you think you know everything’, and instead face any challenges together. Yes, that’s actually a real thing! Revision doesn’t have to be a battle – you’re on the same side!
Touch Typing Specialist Empowering Children & Adults to Achieve Writing Confidence by Helping Them Master Touch Typing. ??Dyslexia & SEND ??DofE Accredited ????Groups & 1:1| Customised Learning|??????Access to Work
4 年Loved reading your story of how you set up your business. I wish I’d had your ‘secret sauce’ when my son was going through his GCSE’s. It was a nightmare time for the whole family. You have a fantastic business model - I wish you every success!