Dd starting high school in a week. Last minute panicking- Do we provide the text books? A few other questions...

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Hi,

This might sound like a ridiculous question, given how little time we have left, but I've concentrated so much on her emotional well-being, I've forgotten about the more practical things, such as what she needs to take!

She has lots of autistic traits and has yet to make friends, so I don't have any mum friends I can ask these kind of questions. We've been working so hard on her attitude, her anxiety etc, that I just didn't think about those (very important) things.

Oh and also, school bags- what's trendy right now? I don't have a fortune to spend, but I want to get her something she feels good wearing, but is also practical. I know bags can be a 'thing'.

Pencil cases- what do they need? I.e should they have a calculator (she's never used one), all the art pencils etc? Or is this something they build up as they go along?

Thanks so much.

Or if she wants a black bag, maybe attach a bright key ring, badge or something else to it to make sure it stands out?

You know, like when you mark your suitcase so you recognise it on the luggage carousel at the airport.

Ds school provides no textbooks. In theory, they shouldn’t need one but in practice, I think they need one to do well.
Teachers recommended some texts and others, I just got cgp ks3 ones.
Wait til she starts then you’ll know whether you need to sort some out or not.

If possible let her start before you buy branded bags etc as she can then see what she wants. She will need a pencil case with the normal stationary plus a maths set and a scientific calculator - all available from supermarket. Try not to worry, my daughter is autistic so I remember this stage - she's starting university next month, it will be ok, keep calm! Top tips are to book an appointment with the senco a couple of weeks in and discuss how she is coping so you can put in interventions before crisis - as simple as being allowed to go to the school office for a mug of tea at break really helped on tough days. Best wishes

Smiggle is quite popular at the secondary I teach at! Though most keep pens and such in their inside blazer pocket. Girls are all about handbags and lads are backpacks.

I have never noticed crazes - I’m going to take a closer look next term!

Timetable - we keep the one the school issues, first couple of years we did a mini version (saved in a spreadsheet, so we could retrieve if necessary) and laminated it. Went in her blazer pocket so she could have a quick look rather than hauling her planner out. Midway through year 8 she discovered an app for school timetables and has used that ever since.

I can't find the equipment list on their website anywhere, but I'd rather over compensate than under.

Galaxy Hype bag ordered!

You may like to wander over to the Secondary Education board. There are other threads there re starting y7 etc.

Have you not had an information pack from the school with uniform lists, info about school day etc in? We had a list in ours detailing what they need each day e.g. stationery, Casio calculator etc.

I see you have already ordered her bag. I was coming on to say that DS has ASD and was terrible at dealing with two separate bags so I always get him a backpack with two separate large compartments and then he has books, pencil case in one and pe kit in the other.

My two have colouring pencils, but not felt tips, for colouring in things in geography. I usually put these in an old separate pencil case so they're not scrabbling through looking for a pen. They have to have black, not blue pens. A cool rubber or pencil sharpener is helpful as I find dd and her friends compare them - boys not really.

Are the school aware of her autistic traits? If not I would email her tutor or head of house/head of pastoral and ask them to keep an eye on her for the first few weeks. If you're not sure who to email then call the school and ask the receptionist who to speak to. My school is really good at this and you can call and speak to their pastoral worker at any time.

DS also sometimes spends his break in the SEN room if it's a bit much for him.

I also get them a small academic diary or notebook to write their homework in, although your school might supply them. Their homework is loaded onto their ipads but DS finds it hard to prioritise from that so the diary helps him see what needs doing first and what can wait.

If they take packed lunch, what do they put it in? I was thinking of getting a plastic tupperware-type box, as I'm guessing a separate insulated lunch-bag is no longer appropriate. Mine has a perfectly good black Hype backpack that we only bought just after Easter so I'm hoping that will be big enough.

Ds has one like this. £2.50 From asda

Our high school has a list on line of pens etc.
The bag has to be back with a logo on smaller than credit card size.

Ours isn’t a private school, just a village high school but worth checking the website as they can be strict.