Helping your child settle in

What can you do to help your child settle in?

Clare Crick, Associate Assistant Principal at St Peter’s Collegiate Academy, offers tips for parents preparing children for secondary school

The transition from primary to secondary school is a very exciting step, but it is also often a daunting time for children and parents alike.

As adults, we often remember our own first day experiences – the butterflies in our tummies about the day ahead but also the excitement about all of the new experiences to be had and the friends to be met and made.

Every child is different: some will be champing at the bit to get started while others will feel anxious and uncertain. This is completely normal, but it is important to talk to your child to see how they are feeling and talk through any worries they might have.

Common worries include: n Feeling daunted by the size of their new school and worried that they might get lost

n Not having the ‘right’ uniform or equipment n Not being in the same class s or school as their friends from primary sc chool n Having different teachers for r difff erent subjects

Here are some practical things you can do to support your child: n Practise the route to and fro om their new school to ensure you u both feel confident that they’ll know how to get there and back safely. If there are other children attending from the same primary school or area, perhaps look at whether they can travel to and from school together. n Look at the website for their r new school – there is likely to be lots of useful information on there such as school day times, lunchtime arrangements, uniform and equipment lists and lunchtime and afterschool cl lub timetables.

n Help you ur child to pack their scho ool bag with everythin ng they need for their firs st day then build a routin ne with them so the ey know what to pac ck each evening in p preparation for sch hool the next day y. n P Practise getting into o their school uniform. If your child isn’t confident with tying a tie, the en now is a good time to practice! n Check the s school’s mobile phone policy. You may wish for your child to have their phone when travelling to and from school but it’s likely they will need to turn it off and put it in their school bag before they enter the school gates. Knowing this in advance will avoid any unnecessary sanctions. n Talk through clubs they might like to join or activities they might want to get involved with e.g. joining the football team or learning to play a musical instrument. Getting involved with clubs from the start is a great way to make friends and build confidence and independence.

Remember, this is the start of a truly exciting journey – one which will see your child grow into a young adult. They will make mistakes along the way – and it is important that they know that this is simply part of the learning process – but, ultimately they will flourish, becoming confident, kind and courageous members of society.