How to be organised in Y7?

We had a list on the back of the front door, giving everything needed for each day.
So, Monday: PE kit, flute + music, etc.
School bags plus all these extra were placed by the door and checked before going to bed. Then there was only the lunchboxes to add, I put those mostly ready in the evening and added fresh items while they ate breakfast
Uniform put ready, including underwear, at bedtime, shoes by the door with the bags.
We had a strict rota for morning showers; DTD first to allow time for hair faffing.
This routine was followed pretty much all through secondary, even sixth form. I had to drive them to school and then drive back again to my own school which was practically on our doorstep, and I liked to arrive by 8:10.
Looking back, I’m glad we’re done!

Yes to having an evening timetable. No TV or internet until Hwk is done etc.

Buy multiple stationary items like rulers, protractors, rubbers, glue sticks and it just 1 of each. They get lost or broken all the time. Keep a spare set at home which is never to be taken to school so the stuff is always there for homework. Do a pencil case check every Friday night so any missing items can be replaced and if you do need to buy more,not here is time. Not possible if you find out on Sunday night or more likely Monday morning.

Have copies of the timetable pinned up by the door and night next to each subject what is needed for it, such as ex book, text book, apron etc.

At least in early stages, ask your child to show you their homework planner and also their homework each evening. They don't like showing you crap work so it's motivating. If it looks crap, don't be afraid to send them back to improve it.

Often those who have pore organisation get little oractical help from parents in terms of looking at their books and checking or having them do homework to start with at the kitchen table or somewhere communal. They need more help than many parents imagine and the idea that they are secondary now and should be left to develop independence and be wholly responsible is just a leap too far for most to start with.

Keep a couple of spare pens and a pencil in the pocket of their bag in case pencil case gets forgotton.

Name label all the clothing....you'd be amazed how many don't.
Buy uniform or spares of PE kit from the second hand sale. It can save a fortune when they lose items.

otherwise it's best to let them make a mistake sometimes and realise that the world won't end if they get a warning or whatever.

And this is great advice. Start in Y6 with teachers that they know!

He does have a locker at school but he prefers to keep everything at home.

Same in this house. There was much excitement at the idea of having a locker in Y7 but it just increased the potential for having the wrong things in the wrong place. I do encourage DC to keep some emergency stationery supplies in their locker though.

I cringe at the weight of their rucksack though.

Homework for the first couple of weeks will probably consist of covering their exercise books in clear sticky plastic film. If, like me, you're all fingers & thumbs you could invest in the re-usable slip on versions this also gives them somewhere to tuck in odd sheets of paper.

Mine have a couple of ikea trofast trays to keep school books in. They have a copy of their timetable in the tray as well as a copy by the front door and one in blazer pocket. They do have a small a4 wallet in their bag for loose sheets but don't use it much. They get their bag ready the night before but I only helped for the first half term. Also ipad/ phone plugged in overnight. They got into a routine themselves after a while and I have done occasional emergency drop off of PE kit if I'm not at work but otherwise it's best to let them make a mistake sometimes and realise that the world won't end if they get a warning or whatever.

It depends a bit on the system the school has.

My older two (different schools) started with a binder with folders and dividers with paper and in-built pencil case. My DD was given a planner by her school.

After the first term, my DS still used the binder (still uses it now in Y11), but my DD was down to just one folder with a popper closure to bring home papers and a couple pencil cases for supplies with her planner. DS gets a lot of papers to keep track of, but DDs school uses exercise books that they stick print outs in and the books with the binder was making her bag too bulky and she was never actually using the binder. For her it was more useful to have more supplies in pencil cases whereas DS didn't use as many.

For routines, asking about homework after school and getting that done (or having another set time for it) and a space to keep the things they don't need to take out. We use magazine files for the latter.

And we do house key and phone as part of 'going up the secondary'.

IKEA has metal magazine files which will last forever.

Making a space for them to work and help their books is really important.

For my kids I have a set of those magazine file boxes in the dining room (one per subject) and their exercise and text books plus any loose sheets go in those each day so it is quick to find them. I also have a big shoe box that at the start of every year I fill will pens, pencils, prittstick, spare rubbers, pencil sharpeners etc. They are forever losing equipment and I just buy in bulk from Amazon.

1. Start now - packing her own bag / pe kit the night before. Asking ‘what do you need?’ Rather than ‘have you got xxx?’.

2. a desk so they can keep all their stuff in one place.

3. a laptop - lots of homework is online.

4. timetable stuck to fridge and in pocket

5. always always pack bag in the evening

I was going to add find my iPhone switched on to save me embarrassing him
By texting “did you get the bus okay?”

@RomainingCalm we set up this system for DD in Yr7 and she still uses it in Yr10 so it must work!

DS has a two week timetable. He has a plastic box storage from home bargains that he keeps all his folders in. He has a clear plastic popper folder for each subject. He has 6 lessons a day and I always think his bag is so heavy. He does have a locker at school but he prefers to keep everything at home.

He keeps his pencil case in his school bag and we have a stock of stuff at home he uses to do his homework with. I found that they would only tell you that they needed a new glue stick/ ruler etc when the old one had totally run out or broken and they then needed it that day for maths.

When they have a big back to school stationary sale in august, buy a clear plastic pencil case. They are 50p or something. DD only mentioned to us that she needed one of these the day before her first year 7 exams. They are easy to get hold of in august not so much the rest of the year round.

Best thing I did was buy masses of pencils, plastic rulers, pens and gluesticks. Organised files were rejected in favour of one big pile which lives on a table, also no luck with doing hw the day it's set. Ziplock bags and clear a4 folders are useful for single sheets. Take a photo of timetable as soon as you see it, and of other bits of paperwork, language vocab to learn etc. The school planner is key but in y7-8 I also kept our own calendar to write deadlines on.

I love the sound of all this, and DD (Y7 I'n September) would do too but... where does all this filing storage live? She wouldn't have it on her desk with all her carefully curated objets, and we haven't got an office. That's clearly going to be my summer holiday project.

We followed this advice from a teacher friend and it's worked well...

5x cardboard magazine files, each labelled for a day of the week
1x plastic wallet for each subject

DC takes all of Monday's folders on Monday. Monday night they empty their bag and put the folders into the right file for the next time they need it. Bag for Tuesday is then packed with Tuesday's folders.

Sounds a bit 'Janet and John' but it's helped to have a routine. In the early days I could do a quick glance at the files to see whether bag had been packed with the right folders for the day.

My DD year 6 has a house key on a lanyard clipped onto her bag - never falls off. We do give her only 1 key (our front door has an extra lock) so if it does get lost/stolen we can lock the front door with the other key.

Check with the school. Folders are not required at my child's school.as all work is done in separate books for each lesson (provided by school) and all printouts are glued in. Pens and equipment again ask school.for list as requirements can differ between schools.

Brilliant thread thanks all!

As a teacher I always tell my Year 7s to do homework on the day it is set, NOT the night before, so that they have time to ask for clarification if needed.
Pack bag each night.
Bring a well stocked pencil case and teach your kids not to take pens apart. The amount of “exploding” and disassembled / destroyed pens I see on a daily basis is mind boggling!

Barely trusted DD to cross a road in Y6... somehow she manages to get herself to school (with train changes), attend the right lessons in the right places, do all her homework (Show My Homework is great for checking without asking) and according to school report she is extremely organised. This is somewhat of a surprise to those of us who have seen her bedroom...

• A4 zip wallets with different coloured zips - amazing and stops sea of scrumpled paper at bottom of bag.

• Filing box to keep them in so they can be grabbed in the morning (or evening if DD could actually get into the habit of doing bag the night before).

• bulk order pritt stick, gel pens (red/black/blue) on Amazon. Also sticky name labels.

• DD has house key, season ticket for train and a debit card from Metrobank (you are on the account too so can see on the app where they are spending money and they can't overdraw).

• Life 360 tracker on phone so I can check where she is!

• Leakproof water bottle (rucksacks with external bottle pocket are to be recommended or soggy sea of paper at bottom of bag is the result).

Year 11 - to form tutor: "Can I borrow a ruler miss, I've got maths today; I've got a pen though," produces chewed-up inner element of a Bic from trouser pocket.

I recommend keeping a jar of biros or preferably the 4in -1bics and pencils near the front door so they can grab one as they go out the door.

My year 7 s seem to start the year with lovely, well stocked pencil cases but by half term it's generally a pen and chewed pencil in their blazer pocket instead.

sorry, one other point. We had a single space for school books etc (originally downstairs then in her bedroom) so books could only be unloaded from schoolbag into that place and would always be there when school bag was to be packed.