Parenting 

Advertisement

Dealing with the first day at secondary school

Moving on from primary to secondary school is a huge step for any child, but you can make that all-important first day easier with a little thoughtful preparation

For most children, secondary school will be bigger in every way: the class sizes; number of classes per year; scale of school and number of staff can be very daunting at first.

Here's how you can diffuse some of these anxieties before the big day.

I might get the journey wrong

If your child will be making his way to school and back on his own for the first time, make sure you have several dummy runs in advance of his joining date. You might not want to leave this until the summer holidays, when the traffic will be lighter and there will be fewer people around. Why not make the journey straight after school during the last few weeks of Year Six?

Accompany your child on the first two or so trips there and back, but let him take charge of the route the second time. Next, let him make the trip independently, but follow along in the car. Finally, let him go and come back unaccompanied the week or so before he's due to join.

Reassure your child that you'll let him take a mobile phone to school with him so he can contact you if he's feeling panicky (although obviously not during lesson times). If he's really unsure of himself, try to make arrangements to go with him and pick him up for the first day or two of term.

Jackie Bacon, former head teacher and founder of website Parents in Touch, which offers worksheets, advice, posters and charts for all ages and stages of education, says: 'There may be an older child at the same school who lives nearby and who would be happy to accompany your child on the first day.'

I might be late

Once you've gauged the average journey time, ensure that you leave 20 to 30 minutes extra on the morning of his first day. The night before, gather all his kit together, pack his schoolbag, sports kit and uniform, and lay it all out ready for him. Make sure you get him up in plenty of time in the morning.

Don't follow the routine you honed for primary school, but get him up half an hour earlier, at least for the first few days, so that he feels confident he has everything he needs, and so that he has time for any butterflies to subside before he has breakfast. (Don't expect him to eat much though - pack him a mid-morning snack to have at break time.)

Delicious     Digg     reddit     Facebook     StumbleUpon

  Get the latest iVillage news on your desktop    Sign up for more iVillage RSS feeds

© iVillage Limited 2000-2008. All rights reserved. | © iVillage inc. 1995-2008. All rights reserved.
iVillage Ltd is a UK company registered in England & Wales (3837269) at 80-110 New Oxford Street, London WC1 1HB