Children and transition to secondary school - your advice/experience.

mrcow

Get a copy of her timetable and her homework timetable.
Help her pack her bag each night so she doesn't get into trouble for forgetting stuff.

Try and invite some friends (1 or 2) over in the first term just to get to know them and help her with her friendship group.

But the main thing is keep in contact with the school. If she's not coping or is worried about anything (including not being able to do a particular piece of homework), then a quick note to the teacher in question will stop her from getting into trouble or being stressed about things.

Year 7s usually settle very quickly. Has she had an induction day yet?

newcook

I don’t have any kids yet but can remember when I first started senior school – I used to get 2 buses in the morning and again in the afternoon. Luckily my mom had already started getting me used to buses from an early age (she doesn’t drive) and by the time I was about 10/11 I was getting buses on my own to go out with friends to the local shopping centre or to go swimming etc.
this also helped me get familiar with different areas so if ever I got the wrong bus or got off at the wrong stop when I started school I didn’t panic as I wasn’t in a strange area!

So, short end of my waffling is get your daughter to spend the summer travelling on buses around your local area – it will help her confidence for when she travels to/from school and will also give her a bit of independence.

I would also like to say its great to hear that she will be getting the bus – too many parents these days feel the need to wrap them in cotton wool and ferry them everywhere!

tyllwyd

*mudangel* wrote: »

balletshoes, YES! You are so right about all the gossiping. There's been so much of it for the last few years even at primary school. I think that's a great tip about talking to her about the perils of gossiping - we'll definitely have a chat about that.

And on a similar subject, have a think about Facebook. She may or may not have it, but her friends and others in her year will. Make sure that she knows that anything she says online, she should assume that it will get passed on, so never say anything that you wouldn't want repeated!

balletshoes

tyllwyd wrote: »

And on a similar subject, have a think about Facebook. She may or may not have it, but her friends and others in her year will. Make sure that she knows that anything she says online, she should assume that it will get passed on, so never say anything that you wouldn't want repeated!

absolutely - you can't stress that enough! same with twitter, skype, all that stuff.

Spendless

How is she travellling there? School bus, public bus walking? If it's school bus make sure she knows what to do if bus breaks down, doesn't turn up etc (eg the walking route home or the alternative public bus route).

Do a copy of their timetable and hi-light the days they need PE Kit. My son's school has a 2 week timetable so it's not as easy as just thinking they need it on a Thursday. Help pack their bag to start off with but make sure you tell them this is for a certain period and then it's up to her, otherwise you may find as a friend has you are still packing school bag at the end of yr 8. My own son when we withdrew this support decided that the best plan was to take every single book every day instead with him! But hey ho it's not me carrying it.

balletshoes

you may also find they don't bring textbooks etc home at first - they don't at my DD's school in the whole of year 7. They get their homework home on worksheets, or have instructions given to them in class to put in their planners for their homework assignments.

*mudangel*

tyllwyd wrote: »

And on a similar subject, have a think about Facebook. She may or may not have it, but her friends and others in her year will. Make sure that she knows that anything she says online, she should assume that it will get passed on, so never say anything that you wouldn't want repeated!

Very good point. No, she doesn't have Facebook - I've tried to steer her away from any of that. She was using Instagram and we had the whole 'the Internet never forgets conversation'. I'm not totally sure it sunk in, so a gentle reminder's probably not a bad idea.

Glad I started this thread - replies have been so helpful! I would feel more relaxed if I felt she was set up for success, so the practical tips about organisation are particularly useful. I feel calmer already!

*mudangel*

Spendless wrote: »

How is she travellling there? School bus, public bus walking? If it's school bus make sure she knows what to do if bus breaks down, doesn't turn up etc (eg the walking route home or the alternative public bus route).

She'll be getting the bus. Contingency plan is a bit tricky (it's not an easy or particularly safe walk home if there's a problem). I think I'm going to have to loan her a mobile phone so she can contact us if there's a problem.

balletshoes

*mudangel* wrote: »

She'll be getting the bus. Contingency plan is a bit tricky (it's not an easy or particularly safe walk home if there's a problem). I think I'm going to have to loan her a mobile phone so she can contact us if there's a problem.

Good idea.
You could put a mobile phone of her own on her xmas list ~ it may be different in your area but here all the year 7s have mobiles.

*mudangel*

balletshoes wrote: »

Good idea.
You could put a mobile phone of her own on her xmas list ~ it may be different in your area but here all the year 7s have mobiles.

She has an iPod Touch, but no actual mobile yet. We do have 'family mobile' - we termed it that as we didn't want her to think of it as hers! It's a really cheap PAYG phone with £10 credit for emergency calls. It's only got our contact numbers stored.

I do wonder if she'll get laughed out of the school for it!

What phone is acceptable for most year 7s? I'm reluctant to spend much until I'm sure she can take care of it.