Help DS set up system to be organised for starting secondary

My DD is in Year 9 and has always just kept her stuff in a pile! When homework/paperwork doesn't go back in that area that's when it's prone to disappearing resulting in last minute panic. I wish it was tidier but she never forgets anything.

They do have a lot to think about in Year 7, so if you can get a copy of the timetable & homework rota (not 100% up to date but ours were on the school's website) that's handy. DD didn't want me anywhere near her work or sticking my nose in(!), but I did have a quick check in her bag the first few weeks while she was settling in to make sure everything was in there. If it wasn't I'd just say when does that brilliant piece of history homework have to be in and that prompted her!

I print out a copy of the timetable with the subjects in the same colours as the labels.

DS1 started Y7 using a plastic foolscap wallet for each subject, but he found that it took extra time when getting books out and putting them away in lessons, and he also got some weird looks.

Pretty much what everyone has said.

DD has a Really Useful box with drop files in. One tab for each subject and a copy of the timetable taped to the lid. And a plastic wallet for homework and letters home.

Now she colours in her timetable so all the subjects are the same colour. This helps her apparently.

DD packs her bag every night before bed so no rushing around last minute in the morning but she nearly always forgets her PE kit.

This system worked well for the older two (one v.absent minded and the other with ASD & ADHD) so we are doing the same for the younger two. They keep all books at home, unpack bag as soon as they get in, do homework then pack bag for next day.

In my (quite recent) experience main subjects that happen most days, like maths, english, science etc will very quickly come to him. He will remember that he has them most days and pack them automatically. Homework for them will also become part of a routine quickly.

It is subjects like tech, art, music, PE etc that only come once every week (or two) that it is easy to forget. For something like tech this can mean you have no work to do in the class if you have forgotten your project.

Have a copy of the timetable yourself so you can prompt for the first year at least, then make sure his bag is packed the night before and that if he decides to leave books in his locker, he makes a list of them in his planner. That way, when he is running around at 8pm looking for his chemistry book he can make sure whether it should actually be at home or not. Equally, if you leave lots of books in your locker it can fill up and becomes easy to 'lose' books in there.

My DS has a plastic storage box to keep everything in at home. All subjects are in their own folders/envelope thingies and he can then just go through his timetable each night to pull out what he needs for the next day (remembering to add in any homeworks that have to be handed in even if there is no lesson that day). Seems to work reasonably well. He keeps everything at home, despite having a locker at school, as that is what seems to work best for him. This does mean that he is lugging a whole days-worth of books etc round all day including the bus/train, but that's his choice!
You will probably find your DS will need some help organising everything at first. Make sure you have a couple of copies of his timetable, and homework timetable, easily accessible to help with last minute panics