How to Run 11+ Preparation at Home: The 20-Minute Session

For a lot of families, most 11+ preparation happens at home, and it is run by a parent who has never been shown how to teach. That is not a criticism. Teaching is a skill, and nobody hands you the method when your child starts Year 5.

I'm Aadam, an experienced maths teacher. This post sets out the method I give parents: how to structure a short session, how to teach something new, how to tell whether it stuck, and what to do when it goes wrong. At the end are the resources that go into more detail, from a printable playbook to a one-to-one session with me.

Keep every session to 20 minutes

Twenty minutes is long enough to teach one idea properly and short enough that your child finishes before they run out of concentration. Every session follows the same four parts, so your child always knows what is coming.

1. Recap. Start with something from the last session. Remembering it a few days later is what makes it stick.
2. Starter. A quick warm-up your child can do, so the session opens with a success rather than a struggle.
3. One concept. Teach one new idea and only one. Two new ideas in twenty minutes usually means neither of them sticks.
4. Test it. Finish with a few questions on today's idea, answered alone, so you both know whether it landed.

Teaching something new: I do, we do, you do

When the idea is new, show it in three stages. First you do one example, talking through every step out loud. Then you do the next one together, with your child making the decisions and you steadying them. Then they do one completely on their own while you watch and say nothing.

The last stage is the one parents skip, and it is the one that tells you the truth. If your child can only do it while you are helping, they have not learned it yet.

If they are still stuck, show the idea three ways. Start with real objects, then a drawing, then the written maths. For fractions, that might be sharing out a chocolate bar, then drawing the bar in equal parts, then writing 3/4. Each version makes the next one easier to understand.

Proof that it stuck

End every session with an exit ticket of three questions on what you just taught. Your child answers them alone, you date the sheet, and it goes in a folder.

After a few weeks that folder is a record of what your child can actually do, rather than a list of what you covered. Those are very different things, and the difference is where most 11+ preparation goes wrong.

Once a week, write down four things: how long work is taking, the percentage your child scored, which earlier skills they still remember, and their mood. The last one matters because a child who dreads sessions stops learning from them long before their scores show it.

When a session goes wrong

Every child has sessions where nothing goes in. What you say in those moments matters more than the maths.

• When the answer is wrong, ask your child to talk you through how they got it. Often they spot the mistake themselves halfway through, which is worth far more than you pointing it out.
• When they are stuck, ask what they already know about the question and point them at the first step only. Giving the whole answer ends the thinking.
• When they shut down, stop. Finish on one question they can do, and try the hard part again another day. Pushing on through tears teaches them to dread the next session.

If your child's schools interview

Many independent schools interview children as part of their 11+, and the preparation is different from the written papers. The rule I give parents is simple: practise the skill, never the answer.

Interviewers test a polished answer with a follow-up question, and a memorised answer has nothing underneath it. A child who has practised giving an answer, a reason and a real example, in short and enjoyable chats, sounds like themselves on the day, only readier.

The free 11+ interview practice tool puts one question at a time on screen with thinking time, so your child can practise out loud. The complete guide to 11+ interview preparation goes through the question types in detail.

If you want more help

These go further than a blog post can.

The 11+ Parent Playbook, £7.99. A 15-page printable PDF with everything in this post and more: a session planner with timings, blank exit tickets, a weekly tracker, word-for-word scripts for the moments that go wrong, a day-by-day plan for the fortnight after a bad mock, and a guide to the final week.

11+ Parent Coaching, £79.99 for a first 60 minute session and £60 for a 40 minute follow-up. A one-to-one online session for you, the parent, with your child off the call. You leave with a written plan and the Parent Playbook included free.

The 11+ Interview Preparation Pack, £9.99. A 35-page printable PDF with 104 practice questions in 8 areas, 7 answer frameworks with worked examples, a four week parent plan and 3 mock interview scripts with a scoring sheet.

The 11+ Mock Interview, £110. A realistic 75 minute online practice interview for Year 5 and Year 6, weighted to your target schools, with feedback in the session and a written action plan afterwards.

An honest word on the coaching. It is for parents whose child is at the start of Year 5 or earlier, because coaching only works when there is time to use it. If your child is later than that, you will get more from our mock marking service and the free resources on this site.

What to do this week

Run one 20-minute session with the four parts above, and finish it with a three question exit ticket. Date the sheet and start the folder.

Aadam, SHLC Tutors