New Year 7 tips...

Placemarking as lots of v useful advice on this thread -l

WhatsApp my be 16+ but if the majority of your DC's peers use it, then NOT being on it, will make their social life harder. Better to let them use it, with safeguards.

PE has been cut to the bone in lots of schools. DD (Y7) only has 3 sessions a fortnight and doesn't participate in out of school sport. Washing her PE kit once every half term is more than enough.

WhatsApp is now 16+ so not suitable for Y7

WhatsApp has been both a good and bad thing for both my Yr7 DDs.

Bad because some of them don't think before they message and arguments & misunderstandings have happened.

Good because they use it to message about homework and help each other out if somebody has forgotten or mislaid work.

Neither of my DCs schools communicate officially by Whatsapp but it is useful if you can get one going with any other parents you know in the year group, then if you or your child miss an official communication, or something in a letter from school isn't clear you can check with other parents.

Mine both bring PE kit home at least weekly for washing and it does need it.

Following with no shame. Was actually thinking of starting a similar thread this morning. Thanks, op and everyone who has contributed.

This is all incredibly useful, thanks for sharing, everybody!

My DD has a basic Nokia at the moment. I imagine she will be very isolated socially if she doesn't have a smartphone, is this true?

Do school clubs and societies usually communicate by WhatsApp?

Bear in mind that whatever cunning plans you come up with to make your DCs life easier, they are likely to be firmly rejected if your child feels they might make them stand out as different. The urge to look, think and behave like everyone else is very strong. Bite your tongue if it doesn't affect you eg. if lunchboxes are suddenly an abomination or pencil cases have to be tiny.

Be aware of the friendship dip which can happen around October half term. They made lots of new friends in September and everyone was on their best behaviour socially. By October some people start showing their true colours and others will turn out not to have so much in common as it first seemed. Reassure your child that they don't have to be BFF with the person that sat next to on day one.

All three of ours are / have been at schools where officially they are not allowed to keep dirty games kit in their lockers so the expectation is that stuff is brought home after each use. If they have showers and therefore the used kit will include a damp towel, you really don't want that sitting around unwashed for any longer than necessary...

On the house keys front, when DS1 started at secondary school, we bought him one of the key rings on an extending cable, but found that after a while, the clip damaged the blazer pocket to which it was attached.

Once a term?!
Mine bring home after each wear, straight in the wash, it stinks!

Rofl at 'just bring sports kit home at weekends'. Once a term is the best mine manage!
Take photo of homework and lesson timetable.
Buy multi packs of plastic rulers, protractors and pens to replace when needed.
Get a whatsapp going with other parents if possible

My dd starts September and I'm noting all the tips here. Very helpful.

I was terrible for misplacing my books, mum bought a magazine rack and all my books went in there so I didn't loose them.
I had an emergency period kit in my bag once I had started which I think was year 9 but each girl is different
I would buy a load of new stationary. Get a large packet of good pens and leave at home for spares and keep two at a time on her. People will not give them back if they ask to borrow them
She will want a scientific calculator but make sure to name it so she doesn't loose it or get it mixed with school ones
Ensure her pe kit is packed the day before
Keeping a copy of her time table on the fridge always helped and when mum was making dinner she could ask if I had any home work for x y z
I would carry hand sanitizer/ packet of wipes lip balm, pads, tissues for any times I needed

See, my DCs are supposed to put their keys straight back in their bags but tend to plonk them on the hall table instead, I tend to think they'd do the same with a keysafe. I'm also not sure if our house is suitable for one as the walls are rendered.

Everyone always opens the door and puts the key straight back in the key safe, haven’t had any incidents yet! You could keep two in there if you wanted

We have the spare key hidden in an outbuilding with a combination padlock on. You could put spare in keysafe for emergencies. I did this as I'm at work when mine get home so they would be stuck on doorstep

My worry about a keysafe is them taking the key inside, going out again and then its not there for the next person.

On the subject of keys we have a key safe on the wall outside the front door so dc don’t need to take one to school. It’s been so handy for everyone, just make sure you get the police approved one that is as secure as a front door.

I know the DCs are a lot more independent at secondary but its still useful to have a few other parents to touch base with when you haven't had a letter you think you should have had, are not sure about a mufti day your child says is tomorrow but isn't on the school calendar etc. So it's worth getting chatting at parents eve etc if you don't already know any other parents.

See if you can chat to any parents who already have a child at the school as lots if these things will be school dependant (eg.we do cover books, but buss pass phto is jpg online, have to take in own padlock for locker and homework appears on show my homework app).

Start the parent organisation early, practice route order any bus passes and check out uniform. That way more time to deal with any issues before school starts so less likely to have extra stresses.

I think a spare cartridge of printer ink in the cupboard is probably universally useful.

I would agree with montenuit that it does depend on homework arrangements. DC's school has a strictly adhered to homework timetable, with no 'in for the next day' work and that has always helped DD to plan. (Very occasionally, an inexperienced teacher breaks ranks and tries to do unscheduled / overnight homework, but DD's form tutor has always been really good at helping to sort that out if it has clashed with a 'long' - 3 hour plus - dance night)

I agree - see how she gets on and if she can get her homework done. DDs school doesn't ask for anything in the next day so she has days when she doesn't do any homework.
Re tiredness also depends how long her day is / journey time.

DD did 13.5 hours of dance every week (pretty much her highest weekly commitment in all her years of dance) in her first term of Y7. Plus being in the netball first team and playing an instrument.

She was fine. She was, and remains, formidably organised.

Thanks, dd is adamant that she wants to keep everything up so I guess it might be a case of seeing what happens.....

Kate - mine has managed an 8.30 to 4.30 school day (inc travel) plus 2 hours swimming, one hour dance, two hours drama, Guides and archery. However all of these are the type of thing where if you miss the odd week it's ok, she's not working towards any exams or similar. She has been shattered by the end of each half term. However she has kept up all her homework with very little help and is happy to do it all.

I would agree about having an endless supply of stationery, ink cartridges, printer paper all to hand. Also copying the timetable and cut a spare locker key. And get a spare tie, spare PE socks, anything small and essential. Name everything.

But they have to find their own way with filing and organising - I tried concertina files, trays with days of the week and they all got rejected in favour of "stuff it all in a bag and panic if you can't find something". Neither DC has ever actually come a serious cropper from failures of this system, and it has taught them to organise themselves.