8min read
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8min read
Starting secondary school is a significant milestone in a child's life. It marks a passage into adolescence and brings about several significant changes. They will go from being the oldest in school to being the youngest, having to find their way around a large new school with different teachers for different subjects. They will also have to take more responsibility, such as:
All of this will have to fit into your child’s new routine, alongside their other interests and the often daunting prospect of becoming a teenager. It can take time for children to adjust to these new responsibilities.
You may worry about choosing the right school; how you can help your child prepare and how to help them get the most out of secondary education. Choosing a school can be really difficult with many open days and visits to prospective schools and a tight deadline for applying. The following top tips may help to make the process a little easier.
You may worry about your child's personal safety at secondary school and it is important to ensure your child knows they can turn to you if they are concerned about anything. Bullying can happen face to face or online, or in any indirect form that makes your child feel uncomfortable. It may happen on or off school premises or on the way to and from school. Tell your child that bulling in any form is always wrong and that they can tell you or another adult if it happens to them. Children may find it hard to talk about bullying, but there are signs to look out for that may suggest there is a problem.
Once your child is at secondary school, you may feel more isolated and out of touch with other parents and carers as well as with the school. It may help to:
The move to secondary school can come as a shock to both parents and children. They will usually have more books and equipment to carry around and may find it difficult to stay organised. At secondary school, your child will be expected to take greater responsibility for their own organisation. You can help to encourage this at home with the following tips:
Once your child has started school, make time to talk and listen to your child each day to check how things are going. Just giving attention in this way can help your child feel supported and more confident. However, resist the temptation to ask too many questions, especially when a child first gets home from school and is likely to be tired, hungry and short-tempered from coping with many new people and things. If your child is attending boarding school, make arrangements for him or her to be able to contact you or other members of the family on agreed days and times.
It may help to chat to other parents on our forums to find out how they are dealing with this issue within their family life. You can also talk to us online via our live chat service, email us at askus@familylives.org.uk or call us on our helpline on 0808 800 2222 to speak to trained family support worker.
Watch this video from BBC Bitesize on helping your child prepare for this transition