what might be useful in a year 7's school bag (not the bag itself but contents)

DCs have to leave their bags in lockers slung on the floor It doesn't help with this situation though since they still have to get the right stuff to school on any given day.

In addition LOADS of stuff gets nicked.

how does a no bag policy work?

the lockers are all in the outer reaches of the school. in the morning they put their bags in the lockers and take out whatever they need for lessons 1 and 2. At break they go back to their lockers, and replace with items for lessons 3 and 4. At lunch they go back to lockers and take out lunch (if they have a packed one). At the end of lunch they go back to lockers, put away lunch box and take out things for lessons 5 and 6. All the DC keep diaries and pencil cases in blazer pockets and teachers tend to hang onto exercise books unless they need to go home for homework. They don't ever take text books out of classrooms; and don't have them in most subjects (thought this was normal nowadays).

The school is in multiple linked buildings (and on 2 campuses, but they don't move between campuses). I "think" you can get everywhere to everywhere without going outside, though going outside is often shorter. It's a good 5 minutes walk from one end to the other though (and they have a one way system in corridors, due to the corridors being narrow, which is why they have the no bag policy). The first thing the DC do when they get new timetables is to work out how they get from x to y and groan when they discover they have to get from science in lesson 1 to MFL in lesson 2 (rooms about as far away as it is possible to be). They do a lot of walking - it was the main thing we noticed when both DC started - how knackered they both were from moving so much!

It does sound like a palaver but they are all used to it and it seems to work! Having to carry everything by hand does focus thoughts on what they really need and I imagine reduces hassle in classrooms.

I agree @user12398798768657

I'd be way more wound up if I left all this til the end of August

Calculators - the post about having one at home and making it the same model.

If your child has left their calculator at school then there is one on your computer. When you open it it's a basic add/multiply etc but if you click on view or the three horizontal lines (depending on your version of windows) you can select scientific.

I realise you may know this, but I worked with a guy who had a pHD in a science subject and was searching for his calculator.I think he thought I was some kind of witch.

The school I work in has a no bag policy too. Not all one building. There are six periods in a day - five minutes before registration starts a bell sounds which is “locker time”. They collect everything they need for registration and the first period then. At break, after 15 mins (of the twenty min break) a bell sounds and they collect everything they need for the next two periods. Similar at lunch - bell sounds five minutes before the end of lunch. At the end of the day students go to their lockers before leaving school for buses/to walk.

Students with SEN or any reason that might make locker use a challenge are supported by TAs at the start of the day to organise what they need ready for each two period block and at the end of the day to make sure things that need to go home do.

Of course, there are a few students that carry bags - eg. those with disabilities that make carrying books and pencil cases problematic or students who for whatever reason just can’t get on top of the system even with support - that’s fine.

We have a system where the duty staff carry master keys for the lockers so even if students forget their keys, they can get to their books.

I really like it and thin It works really well. It means that we don’t have students and teachers tripping over stuff in class all the time and that students aren’t carrying loads of stuff around all day, which must be good for their backs. Hardly any “miss, I left it in my locker” moments too, which might surprise lots of people! But, it’s a culture we had (and sometimes, with new students still have) to work hard as a school to instil.

RedSky how does a no bag policy work? Don't they have text books etc?

Is the school all in one building? Just thinking about DS's school where buildings are spread across a wide campus, they would spend so much time having to go back to their lockers to get things and then it would get wet/blown away!

Re lockers...DC's school has a no bag policy so use of a locker (and thinking about what goes in it) so pretty much mandatory. And this was not mentioned at any welcome meetings, we only found out when DC started. So my advice on all of these types of threads is to find out what your school does and also take your actual child into account. DD, who has an organised mind, keeps all her books neatly filed at home and has a folder with 5 pockets which she fills every evening with papers / books for the next days's lessons in order. DS adopts the"keep everything at school unless it absolutely needs to come home" approach. Neither would appreciate being forced into the other's organisation method.

I would add a wallet with a couple of pounds in change - not for lunch etc (my kids schools use 5e fingerprint system) - but for the seemingly endless charity/ rag cake sales!

@LolaSmiles

Yes I would expect that too - we asked the question at transition evening and were told they weren’t allocated to all but you could pay a fee and get one. They promised to send through info on how to get one.

They sent nothing, we chased, turns out they don’t have lockers any more.

One of many things that haven’t impressed us about DC2’s school!

No recommendations for content but do not skimp on cost of bag. After getting fed up of cheap bags falling to bits I spent £40 on a Herschel bag for DS which has lasted 4 years.

We have a basket for exercise books but I like the idea of the expanding wallet now, labelled for each subject!

When ds 1 started in y7 I gave him 3 wallets, each a4 and a different colour. One was for homework that needed to be done, one was for homework that needed to be handed in and one was for other bits of paper. In hindsight I would try to get wallets that open from the top so that they don’t even need to be dragged out of their bag to be used.

Ds ‘s school use treasury tags through worksheets and exercise books to keep things together initially but sometimes they need to have an actual file. The teachers specify a ring binder but ds has found that the thin plastic ones that have 2 wire prongs are absolutely fine and much lighter and thinner to carry. If there’s a subject where it becomes too small he’ll get a small ring binder to keep the bulk of the work and just have the current term/topic with him.

Best time for stocking up on stationery is after the start of term - hit it right and you can get 90% off stuff. Pens don’t last forever but geometry sets and files, folders, etc do.

Having a home set of everything is a great idea and I also keep a few bits in reserve for exam time.

A small set of colouring pencils (small both in size and number) and pens in a separate pencil case for work in school and a full sized set for home.

Mark calculators and similar on the inside of the battery compartment as well as on the outside. If they don’t want their name then make a mark as previously suggested and take a picture on your phone so there’s proof that it’s theirs.

Getting them to take a picture of everything important that they get given - letters from school, homework etc - on their phone.

If they have cookery lessons then get hold of whatever recipe book or leaflet(s) the get given and make sure you take a picture of each recipe as soon as you can, so that you’ll always have them with you if you need to buy the ingredients and they don’t have it to hand to tell you. Make sure you flag the A’s favourites so they are easy to find months later too!

Having a print out of the timetable at home where you can all see it and marked up with when extra bits are needed like cookery ingredients and PE kit etc.

Having a single space at home that if they take things out of their bag then that’s the only place they get put so you don’t have late nights / mad mornings looking for things.

Re plasters - break the shoes in over the holidays - the last thing she needs is blisters on the first day at school!

AliMonkey
It will depend on the school. I would expect a school with good transition information to let parents know the locker situation at their summer transition evening on the transition days.

Do you know if they even have lockers? We assumed DC2 would have them as DC1 did and uses it all the time (different school) then discovered none at DC2’s school. So we wasted money on a barrel type bag for PE which he can’t comfortably carry round all day as well as backpack so now uses drawstring type bag that can go in backpack if not too full. No locker also means only thin coats that can be shoved in bag are practical.

Unless school very close, get them to take bus pass. DC1 uses train but also carries bus pass in case train problems. DC2 walks but carries bus pass in case change of plan eg going to friend’ s house or weather makes bus a better idea.

They may be given a planner with useful pockets for letters etc so no need for plastic wallet. Or they may not...

Amazing, so many great tips to learn, thank you.

We got one of these for DD2. It's been incredibly useful - 1 pocket for each subject, which keeps letters, subject handouts, books, etc., organised. Yes, it's plastic, but it still looks as good as new one year on, so can be reused next year.

www.amazon.co.uk/Exacompta-Expanding-File-33x25cm-Sections/dp/B007C2E4K6/ref=mp_s_a_1_15?s=gateway&keywords=exacompta&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1564139687&sr=8-15

actually those ones I linked to are A5. We have the A4 ones

Well I can't pretend that nylon isn't plastic but they're certainly not single use. Mine have now had them for two years and they are now going into their third year of use. A couple have lost the little zip pullers but we just added keyrings to pull the zip along.

Thanks user. We had plastic ones this year which have all got broken, plus plastic

If you’re keeping a spare calculator at home, make sure it’s the same model as the one in their bag. Different calculators have different modes, button marking, order of button presses that can cause confusion. They get taught how to use their calculator at school so it needs to be consistent. Having cousin jimmys old one from 5 years ago at home is not helpful.
(Maths teacher here!)

www.amazon.co.uk/Elcoho-Folders-Supplies-Cosmetic-Accessories/dp/B07PWZM6PD/ref=sr_1_19?s=gateway&keywords=stationery+zip+lock+bags&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1564128984&sr=8-19

Zipped folders
They're more of a nylon mesh but useful since you can see through them and they're all different colours so can be grabbed easily.

Oh and when DD started Y7 she had her wee pack of sanpro even though she hadn't started her periods. As I said to her - someone might ask if you have any spares and if you're the one able to help them out, you'll make a friend

Where are the fabric zip lock bags from please??