Preparing for School

Although moving up to secondary school may seem daunting to your child, you can help to smooth the transition by following these simple tips:

1. Getting into a Routine

Creating an everyday routine can help your child settle into their new environment and ease their worries about adjusting to secondary school. This may include:

Encourage them to pack everything they need for school before they go to bed, such as homework, books, lunch money, sports kit and any other equipment.
Make sure you know your child's timetable, so that you can remind them about things like packing their sports kit.
Making sure they have a good, balanced breakfast before they leave for school. This will give them the energy they need and will also help them to concentrate better in lessons.
Make a copy of their homework timetable and check they're following it.
Set up a system to ensure that you receive any letters or other information that your child brings home from school so they don't get lost. For example, make it a rule that you child sticks all school letters to the fridge or the kitchen notice board as soon as they get home.

2. Staying Safe

As your child grows up, they will become more independent. However, it is important to establish a few simple rules to make sure that they're safe:

Make sure your child knows:

their home phone number
you or your partner's work number
the number of another trusted adult
how to use 999 for emergencies

Try to encourage your child to travel to and from school with friends or siblings.
Make sure your child knows the importance of the Green Cross Code, whether they're walking all the way to school, or simply to the bus stop.
If your child cycles to school, make sure they study the latest edition of the Highway Code. A helmet, front and rear lights (and spare batteries for them) are also essential.
If your child will arrive home after school to an empty house, establish rules about locking doors, answering the door or phone and inviting friends over.

3. Homework

When your child moves up to secondary school, they will have much more homework to do every evening. Follow these tips to help them complete it:

Make sure they have a quiet clear space to do their homework, with plenty of room for their school books.
Never let your child do their homework in front of the TV; they won't be able to concentrate properly.
Try to make homework a part of their routine; doing some every evening is better than letting it all pile up.
Talk to your child about the homework they have to complete; this will show them you're interested and may help them meet their deadlines.

As a rough guide, children at secondary school will be expected to do the following amount of homework each day:

Years 7 and 8
(Age 11 to 13)
45-90 minutes

Year 9
(Age 13 to 14)
60-120 minutes

Years 10 and 11
(Age 14 to 16)
90-150 minutes

4. Dealing with Problems

Although the majority of children quickly get used to their new environment, some may take a little longer to adjust to the new demands and challenges of secondary school. Even if they seem to settle in fairly quickly, it's important to keep checking how things are going.

Keep asking your child how they're getting on. You will probably find that you find out more by asking specific questions ("What did you do at school today?") rather than general ones ("How was school today?").
If your child seems unhappy, encourage them to talk about their feelings.
If you find out that your child is being bullied, inform the school and ask what they intend to do to stop it. All schools should have a clear anti-bullying policy - ask to see a copy.

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