New Year 7 tips...

I gave ds enough folders for each subject and made sure he had the stationary he needed. He has trays/drawer on my office desk to keep his school things in and he had the space to study /do homework there without distraction from other things in his bedroom.

I gave advice such as pack bag night before, it's best to do homework as soon as you get it, use an app for timetable, discussing why he got a demerit for forgetting homework and how to avoid in future (he only got 2 in the first year of secondary, none in second) etc but other than that left him to find his own way.

The first year of secondary is the perfect time for him to learn what works best for him, I'm a bit of a control freak and would loved to have organised his work and timetables etc my way so it was really hard to stand back and let him get on with it, but it has worked out well.

Ds has one of these in his bag. It keeps everything tidy and holds loads. They don’t have lockers at his school for he first year so he has to carry a lot of stuff around.

In contrast to Dixie DD has never had to cover any books. She also doesn't need a big box for books as they are kept in school and it's pretty hard to get them home at all!

Attitude to books is very school dependent!

Buy roll of Sticky backed plastic. They needed to cover their books.
Big Box in room for books. If it’s not in the box it has been handed in to teacher.
I sat with dd while she packed bag each night for first few weeks.
Timetable stuck up in a few places at home.
Yes to printer easily accessible in house with ink and paper.
Make sure you apply for bus pass asap, in our area there are limited places on school bus. Passport photo needed for bus pass.
See if there is a year 7 parents WhatsApp/Facebook group to join.

For less 'with it' children (e.g. less mature, ASD etc), go through the new 'social rules' of secondary:

• mind your own business unless it is really serious (eg smoking, drugs, bullying) or affects you directly
• don't be cheeky to the bigger kids
• don't be over keen in class (no Hermione-like putting hand up all the time

Talk to people on 'going up days' and in the first weeks. Don't just stick with friends from primary.

Parents - some children need more scaffolding than others for longer than others. Set up systems and support your child in taking ownership.

Good quality still A4 plastic wallets are great for carrying work sheets too and from school.

Insist that everything is written in the planner , homework, messages, the fact there is a letter. It's OK to forget things but not OK to have not written it down.

Talk through some 'what ifs' both for journey and things going wrong at school.

Take copies of their timetable and display it somewhere eg kitchen/hall.

Pack bag the night before.

Have a rule regarding mobiles in room overnight. It might not be an issue now, but it is easier to put the rule in now than in y9.

Good thread - thanks OP! I suspect DS1 will struggle with the organisation, and would put serious money on a lost phone or bus pass before the end of the first term.

Any good bus pass tips?

Things I have found helpful -

Having a copy of the planner/ timetable stuck on the wall above the desk
Having a to do list for homework with due date
Doing homework as soon as possible rather than leaving it for 2 weeks and the night before
Having a printer, paper and plentiful ink is essential
The saying ‘everybody is going’ and everyone is wearing non uniform socks/ shoes/ makeup etc. is of course not true
If not already doing so - make them learn to pack and organise their own bags the night before for the next day
Agree firm rules on an allowance and lunch money
Most importantly have rules and boundaries in place for phone and social media use

Over the Summer, practice the travel. My dc walk to school, but, if they want to walk with new friend A or new friend B, they might take different routes. In that Summer between Yrs 6 and 7, we did a lot of walking and bike rides around the neighbourhood, learning where all the paths and cut throughs were, and where you ended up if you took route X or route Y.
If they are starting to go by bus or train, then practising using it on their own - what to do if it doesn't come or if they get on a train bus that is an express one and doesn't stop where they were expecting it to, etc.

If your child already uses social media accounts, make sure you have full access to them, including private messaging. If you intend allowing your child to have access to social media accounts when she starts Y7, make it an explicit part of the arrangement that you will have access to anything and everything she posts/shares.

Get your uniforms in ASAP many outlets run out.
Make sure you have the right equipment pens for some reason they need purple pens , calculator etc. They get a negative if they don't have what they need even if it's really minor.
Get the best shoes you can afford they walk a lot.
Cashless system make sure she has money in her account.
Bus pass if she needs one.
Let her know that overall it's very different but quite fun.
Label everything.

Definitely keep a stash of spares of all the stationery they need and be aware of anything that might trip them up. At DS's school, for example. they have to have their journal every day, or the money for a new one, or they go into isolation, so he has £3 in a zipped pocket in his blazer, just in case. He's never forgotten it but it took that worry away for him that maybe he would. We also have a spare school tie and a couple of pairs of black socks in the spares box in case of emergencies!
Remind her that everyone is new, no one knows where they are going for the first few days and to write down as much as she can. They get so much information that some is bound to go in one ear and out of the other. Good luck!

The main things my DC struggled with were organisation (DS found out the hard way you couldn't leave homework to the last minute when you had 4 pieces due on Friday and were out on Thursday night) and tiredness.

The tiredness was not something I'd even considered as the secondary school was actually physically closer than their junior school but they weren't used to walking round all day plus all the pressures of meeting new people and constant noise and business (bizarrely neither were remotely tired after starting Reception, which is when lots of well meaning people told us not to plan anything for after school!) - however it helped to try to make evenings low key and relaxing.

In terms of organisation, it's a tough one as I think you have to let them find their own way and in some cases it's trial and error. DD has a complicated filing system going on at home, whereas DS leaves all his books at school ...

It's useful to have a stock of stationary, paper, glue sticks etc at home. If they don't have access to a printer and/or the internet at home, think about how they will do homework.