Meerkat Coaching

Meerkat Coaching Meerkat Coaching helps parents & carers support their child's learning with the skills, questions and calm that build confident, resilient learners.

Founded by Kate Maher, learning specialist, PhD in Education & SEN experience.

27/05/2026

Modelling how to do close reading of an extract today. ALL the stationery is out, including my treasured Muji ‘window’ highlighter for the neatest highlighting. Frankenstein is such a great novel to revisit, although, I have to be careful not to make too many comparisons to Stranger Things and distract everyone! Dr Brenner is Frankenstein…..and the creature is……



Modelling how to do close reading of an extract today. ALL the stationery is out, including my treasured Muji ‘window’ h...
27/05/2026

Modelling how to do close reading of an extract today. ALL the stationery is out, including my treasured Muji ‘window’ highlighter for the neatest highlighting. Frankenstein is such a great novel to revisit, although, I have to be careful not to make too many comparisons to Stranger Things and distract everyone! Dr Brenner is Frankenstein…..and the creature is……




19/05/2026

Does your child ever just freeze with homework?🧊
They sit down, book is open and nothing seems to happen?
They are probably overwhelmed and have a brain that's hit capacity -too many steps, too many worries about how to do it.
I saw a technique at a recent CPD session on supporting ASD learners recently, and the moment they explained it I remembered how well it can work for any child who gets overwhelmed. Anxious learners, exam stress, big projects, tricky maths questions.
It's called Now-Next. It's two steps that help them get started.
I've written about it on my Substack - the Meerkat Learning Curve — including how I used it on myself to get my tax return done. 😅 Article is free to read. Link in comments.

If your child freezes when faced with a task try ‘now-next’ It's a technique originally used in SEN settings to support ...
15/05/2026

If your child freezes when faced with a task try ‘now-next’ It's a technique originally used in SEN settings to support children get through transitions in the day. I think it is a really helpful tool that works for any child whose brain goes a blank when faced with something overwhelming. My article explains all about the technique and how to use it at home - a tricky maths question, a big project, or a revision session that feels enormous before it's even started.

I've used it myself. It got my tax return done. That's all I'll say. 😅

Link to article in the comments. Free to read.

"You need to write more details." If your child is getting feedback like this and finding it hard to get their ideas dow...
15/05/2026

"You need to write more details." If your child is getting feedback like this and finding it hard to get their ideas down on paper, my article (free to read) has some helpful advice and tips on writing P*E paragraphs. Also! If you're child is coming home with homework to write a P*E paragraph and you aren't sure what one is (it was called something different in my day!), the article explains the framework and has ideas on how to help your child write one.

Link to article in comments.

If you'd like more advice on homework support or learning support, please get in touch!



Being a tutor is fulfilling my 15-year old self’s dream of becoming a prop maker and my 9-year old self’s ambition to be...
11/05/2026

Being a tutor is fulfilling my 15-year old self’s dream of becoming a prop maker and my 9-year old self’s ambition to be a board game designer. Please can one of my students request a Sylvanian Families theme for An Inspector Calls revision session one day 🤗

11/05/2026

Something I come back to again and again with students who struggle to write and show off all the knowledge they have: before any writing happens, just talk. Tell me about the character. Tell me what you think. I'll write it down, or you can use speech-to-text if you're working independently.
It sounds almost too simple. But getting ideas out of your head and somewhere visible before you pick up a pen makes everything that comes next so much easier.
If you’d like more tips, my free article is all about this and what to do next once the ideas are out. Link in comments.

If you feel your child needs a confidence boost and I could help, please get in touch for online and in-person sessions (Sussex).




07/05/2026

Some tips for creating confident writers. If your child struggles to get their ideas onto paper but knows lots of the content, try warming up with some speaking games. Here are some of my favourites. My article has lots more tips and advice and a link to a resource guide.





01/05/2026

GCSEs are nearly here! How’s your child feeling? If they’re need a bit of support to feel more confident, here’s my 4-step guide that will help them feel more ready and guide them through study leave.



01/05/2026

Does your Y10/11 child need some help getting ready for their GCSE year? My approach puts confidence-building first. All my sessions are bespoke, based on your child’s needs and strengths. I can help them get organised, build a realistic revision routine, and show them lots of helpful tools and techniques for studying and the exams. Please email me at [email protected] for more information.

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