11yr old ds in tears over summer school.

It's great that he gave it a go. I always say to my ds it's fine to decide something isn't for you, but only after you've tried it.

Going in for the first day is a huge step. Good for him.

Could you speak to one of the teachers running it (privately) to say he's feeling worried and anything they can do in terms of helping him forge a pal who can be his partner in a game the following day would be great.

Peer pressure and the desire to be part of the group is a lot stronger than mum!

And do your best to look totally casual and relaxed about the whole thing- any flicker of anxiety on your part will make him panic a lot more.

Fingers crossed for him. My dd did a summer school thing with her school years ago and loved every minute of it. Made loads of new friends from different primary schools and proved very useful! I think they were grouped up with their new tutor groups. Some she met that day are her better friends still today

Well done. DD didn't want to go to her 3 days in the summer, but had a great time and it made her more confident when she started.

well done.
fwiw my yr5 dd has spent the last few days since the end of term dozing which is really out of character for her. she is just exhausted. the yr6's must be even more so! no surprise the thought of more school was not appealing!

do let us know how he gets on.

Well done OP - that is exactly what I would have done, just make sure you stick to it and don't make him go back if he's not coping, it would be counterproductive.

As an aside, my 11yr old does not have any additional needs but nevertheless we spent an hour and a half yesterday with him inconsolable and adamant that he was not going to secondary school... EVER!

The end of term has been emotionally fraught and the transition to big school is hideously daunting - an epic meltdown under those conditions is probably par for the course.

Kissme do you have a contact number or email for someone at school? I would want them to know how he feels and why. (Has he said why?)

It sounds as though it was presented as a negative or punitive thing to him, rather than a privilege/fun thing. Too bad it wasn't framed as an "orientation tour" or something like that instead of "summer school."

Well done Kissme. My girl suffers from anxiety and is under cahms so I know how hard it is.

We run a summer school and the year 6 in to 7 pupils love it. Some don't want to attend so parents decline but many then want to attend when they hear their friends going. I would contact school and say you are hoping your son will attend.
In previous years this has been funded by the government for pupil premium kids (your DS would qualify due to Camhs). We have found that the transition for these pupils has been brilliant and they have not had the issues previous years had. Sadly government have cut this funding. We are still running it but sadly now only those that can afford to pay can make it (we have this year been able to cover some pupils but won't in future).
Try and encourage your son to go and sell it in a team building exercise. They are usually really good fun

Just to add a different perspective
My friends dd who is also known to cahms and is a "looked after" child was invited to one of these pre secondary school holiday clubs

She attended all sessions and had fun visiting places of interest and taking part in crafts/ games etc
No problems with actual content/aims

The problems started when she began school and my friend found out that lots of the other children who attended had issues with behaviour etc in previous school
In this case her dd found it difficult to integrate with the children who hadn't been invited to summer school and felt stuck with the dc she had previously met

Fast forward and at least three of these children were in continuous exclusion and two were moved to different schools before the first year ended

The point that I'm trying to make is that my friend feels her daughter has been labelled as "different" not least because of this invite and when offered chance again for looked after dd2 she has politely declined

You of course know your own ds
Wishing you both a happy and peaceful summer holiday whatever you both decide

What a great result, well done. Fingers crossed this gives him more confidence for September.

I'd accept the place on his behalf, but I'd back right off talking to him about it so he does not feel 'badgered'.
Then revisit the whole thing when the first class comes along.

Poor you and your poor DS.

Not that this is the same thing but DS(8) was recently told he needed surgery and he just went ape , refused to even think about it, did not want to talk about it or find out more about it, totally blocked any attempt to find out what worried him so much.
So we just shut up. And after a few days he came with questions which we just answered with nothing else added. He eventually agreed to having it done (there really was no choice in the matter btw, but obviously it was distressing to see him that distressed).

I find backing off like with shy horses often works.

Good luck

Ours did this but only for those on FSM. We are low working income, dd has SN and was going up alone and we were gutted she wasn't allowed to do it as she would have benefited hugely.

They did clay, 3D printing, animation, film making, drama and sports. They had a ball.

I see you've already made this suggestion to him but I would persuade him to go for one day with the agreement that he doesn't have to go to the rest if he doesn't want to. Then take each day as it comes, always with the agreement that he doesn't have to go to the next one.

kiss I'm so pleased. And you're encouraging such good behaviour and habits for him for the future- learning your first reaction isn't always the right reaction is a tough lesson, and if this is a success then you've got a brilliant life lesson right there.

I hope he loves it! All the teachers will be on super positive happy mode too, so hopefully he will be really surprised and love it and make some good friends.

My dd went on one last Aug before starting Y7.
She really enjoyed it, there were 20 children and they did lot's of games, cooking, sports etc and were supported by 6th formers.
It was a really good way for her to get to know the school a bit more and not feel quite so anxious (suffers from bad anxiety) when she started as she didn't know anyone before she started.