Strategies for tackling exam pressure and stress (STEPS)
High levels of exam anxiety can be damaging to the wellbeing and academic achievement of adolescent students. Fortunately, brief and low intensity cognitive behavioural interventions have been shown to be effective in providing adolescent students with the skills to manage their exam anxiety.
What is the STEPS programme?
The intervention was initially developed in 2011-12 by Professor David Putwain and colleagues. In 2014, it was trialled as a self-help tool with Year 10 and 11 secondary school students aged 14-16 years. Further evaluations took place in 2018 and 2021. These studies demonstrated that successful completion of STEPS was better achieved through delivery in small groups with a facilitator rather than as a self-help tool. As a result the programme was updated to use a facilitator-led approach with the aim of improving completion rate. The materials were then further refined in response to student feedback.What will I learn?
The learning outcomes for this course are to be able to;
- Identify which students would likely benefit from intervention for exam anxiety.
- Examine the root causes of exam anxiety.
- Apply the principles of cognitive behavioural intervention to highly exam-anxious students.
- Deliver the STEPS intervention.
- Monitor student progress through the intervention.
- Evaluate whether students benefitted from intervention.
- Implement the principles of effective group facilitation.
What is the course structure?
This is an online course designed to complete in your own time. This eLearning course contains three modules and a range of supplementary materials to enable you to deliver the six STEPS sessions. We expect it to take approximately two hours to complete. You will need to allocate additional time to work through the material for the STEPS sessions before you facilitate the sessions.
Once enrolled, you have 12 months to complete the course.
Once you have completed the course, you will receive a certificate of completion.
This course is available in English only.
Is this course right for me?
If you are a teacher and part of the teaching staff working in a school or college supporting students who will be undertaking examinations then this course has been designed for you.
How much will it cost?
Price: £75 (+VAT).
Extended access can be purchased at the end of the 12 month period.
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In addition to the site policies this course is subject to additional terms and conditions
Our accessibility statement gives more details on our approach.
Group discounts
If you or your colleagues are looking to book onto this course as a group you can make savings by booking five or more places.
Invoicing
In order to request a quote for five or more learners, please email cpd@bps.org.uk. If you are looking to book for fewer than 5 learners please proceed directly to requesting an invoice.
To request an invoice for you or your group, please complete this invoice request form. We also provide guidance to support this process. Please note, to raise an invoice you will need to provide a Purchase Order. Once the invoice has been paid we will provide your learners with details of how to access their learning.
Contact
You can contact us at cpd@bps.org.uk with any questions.
You may also be interested in our other courses on BPS Learn, including those related to mental health and wellbeing and your personal development.
You can also explore the range of BPS books available via Routledge, including Understanding and Helping to Overcome Exam Anxiety: What Is It, Why Is It Important and Where Does It Come From? By David Putwain. BPS members are entitled to a 25% discount.