Any schools near you doing ‘summer school’ for new yr 7?

[Mojitofairy]

It seems like a lot of parents of year 7s around the country are being offered a week of summer school for settling in, but there’s nothing at all going on locally, all the kids here are going in a day earlier than the other years, that’s it.
Dd doesn’t have any additional needs, got the school she wanted with most of her friends, and other than the national lockdowns wasn’t off school at all in the last year, so I’m not worried and neither is she, but wondered how widespread these extra weeks are?
When it was mentioned on here as a way of catching up missed learning, most people seemed uninterested back before Easter. Seeing as the weather has been crap and UK holidays so expensive, it seemed interesting to me how many of my friends around the country have jumped at it!

My dd (moving into the 7) did it at the start of the holidays. 5 lessons a day in line with the timetable, free lunch. It was pretty full on and she was shattered by the end - it wasn’t fun like a lot had hoped but she’s very academic and loved it.

Our school did it the first week of the holidays. My daughter had two days before someone tested positive for covid and that was that. It is a shame as I think it would have been really helpful. It is the first time they had been able to visit the school.

Wow no, neither dc had been offered anything at all and one has sen.

I'm having to pay for tutors because without them the school couldn't cope with her very mild sen

Our school did it and it was great! On the days in school they did art, sport, music, drama, dance, plus they had two full days out. I was relieved as all of my child's Yr6 residential, trips etc had been cancelled, as had his transition activities to secondary. They had such a crappy year and this has really boosted his confidence for going into Year 7.
I half wondered if this will become a thing now, although it must have cost the school a fortune for the trips and a lot of teachers had to give up a week in the middle of their holiday.

My dd has had nothing, just like op starting a day or two earlier than other groups which I understand will be the transition days that they would have done in summer term visits of not for covid. We are in Wales though so funding situation may be different.
I did hear of a school in same county that i deal with for work doing some sort of summer school week for year 7, but that was announced quite late for the week we had a UK holiday booked. If that had happened at dd's school she and i would have been quite upset to miss it i think, given the head start those attending would have on making friends, so I actually think it's better to all start on the first day in the same boat.

Yes. My y11 is helping all week. Yesterday she did the same science lesson on repeat all day and will be doing it again today 😆

The school DS is started did 4 days of activity days for the new starters. DS chose not to go to them but has already done half a term of one a morning a week as he has an EHCP and they did an extended transition for him and a small group of others who needed it.

Our next school considered it but cancelled it as so many parents rang in because their child would be away that week. We were also away, so quite pleased from ds perspective that it was cancelled but I can see with more notice (we had about three weeks notice before the end of term) it might have been useful socially. I think unless specifically targeted though it is unlikely to help mich with learning if just some of the class attend because the other half will still need to catch up.

Nothing here. Years 7&11 always go back a day before the other year groups - this year I think it's two days with others having online lessons and LFT at home.

Yes, my DD is doing it this week (South West) The school does it every year though to help them settle in. They do stuff like sports and fun activities rather than work..

Yes. All the schools round here seem to have done this around the start of the holiday.

DH is a teacher and they have just done a week for all the new year 7s. Take up was very high. All the local schools are doing it. Plus he got paid £30 an hour for doing it.

The secondary school our dc goes to did 3 weeks of summer school
First week for new yr 7s
Followed by 2 weeks, each with 100 new year 8s

It was amazingly planned out.
They went on 3 day outings to different attractions and had 2 days on site doing drama, arts, drone flying, PE and other activities.
Lunch was included on each day.
Our dc ( new yr8) had a brilliant time. They signed up for the same week as their friends so they were all together having fun.

It was very similar to the activities week I did annually at secondary school during the summer term.

DD’s secondary did a week for the new Y7 as a team building one, they normally send them camping in September so they did this instead.

But they also did a catch up week for selected pupils at a different time.

None found here. I would guess that like everything else it’s only available for those places where education actually brings rewards, ie London and places close to it. The rest of us have been abandoned for years.

Probably just as well as teachers round here aren’t much cop anyway - the primary requirement for being one is family connections and playing politics.

Not that I know of but DS was unaffected by lockdowns because I’m a witch and I pushed them all every single day and made sure they worked hard . He went for one day at the back end of last month to look around the school and do a few activities. He loved it.

The secondary near us is doing this, but only for a select few - I'm not sure how they're choosing the children, but it's 'invitation only'.

Yes my daughter is there now. Was labelled as only for 'vulnerable' children tho (nationwide) and I guess the primary put her name forward due to some anxiety she's had over the past year. She's actually fine about going to high school but the summer school has done her the world of good already.