What skills will you equip your Y6 child with this summer before they start secondary?

[Acunningruse]

DS's transition days went really well, but it still feels like such a jump! I am thinking things like:

• Play out with friends in our village (DS already does this)
• Be able to go to the shop (in our village) and buy something by himself
• Practice getting on buses together, building up to taking the bus on his own
• Basic cooking skills (currently at toast level 😂)
• Some writing every day (maybe a holiday diary)

What will you be doing with your Y6s to get them ready for "big" school?

Mine has already walked the school route with his sister. (45 mins) I'm allowing him to come home from primary today aswel. He normally meets me halfway, but chicken pox has hit the youngest, so he gets the opportunity to walk the whole way.

I've told the older ones I won't be making them lunch this summer hols, it will be on them to sort, and this can continue into making their own lunch on return to school.

A few trips to the shop solo over the summer aswel now he has a mobile. And a solo trip to the barbers, I've told him.

Similar thoughts here OP.
Village also. DD is finishing yr 5 going into yr 6 in sept.

DD has recently met her best friend half way down through the village and walked back up with her to ours for the first time.

She's been walking to and from school on her own (only up the road, but still ...) for a year.

She's going to be allowed to walk down to the camp shop alone when we go on holls next week with a little cash. (caravan park)

I prob won't worry about doing buses because we have a school bus which 90% of her mates will be getting on when the time comes.

We need to replace her little phone cos it's on the blink. But i'm not letting her have a smart phone yet. For as long as poss actually. There's been bother with some other yr5s sharing some bad stuff :(

One thing we have done is booked a maths tutor for the holidays ! I'm sad to say that even in our little village school the standard of behaviour from a minority of pupils is taking up the majority of the teachers time and the middle to top students are just left to cruise, not pushed to improve. DD needs a push!

We practiced all of the above. Plus...
Doing up a tie.
Phone skills.
Navigating, either on bikes, or by me driving and ds giving me directions to get to the supermarket (5 miles) etc.
Basic highway code, so he can cycle safely to his friends
How to mend a bike puncture.

Even then, on DS' first day at senior school, I dropped him off at the school bus, then went to collect him from the bus stop as agreed, at 4.40. He wasn't there. He hadn't thought where to get off the bus, so stayed on until the end of the route, and then panicked.

The bus driver turned around and drove him back via every stop, until they reached me. Apparently it happens every year. 😀

Mine are older but I would add:
Learning parents' mobile numbers in case they have to borrow a phone
Navigating using Google maps. We dropped DD out places with a smartphone and had her find her way home.
Know the back up plan - what to do if bus or lift hadn't turned up etc, and school chucks them out, and it's dark. A default plan that doesn't rely on your phone, such as walking to a friend's house or the library.

@Meadowfinch bless the bus driver!

When one of my older ones went to get on the (public) bus for college and then realised she hadn't got her course work, and stepped back off, the driver asked what was wrong and she told him and he said 'run and get it! I'll wait'.

He must have noticed over the months that she lived right by the stop 😊 I thought that was v kind. It only took her 2 mins.

Edited to add, we only have 3 buses a day in/out of the village so that really was helpful of him.

Oh bless him @Meadowfinch! We had a similar incident on the first transition day, him madly texting me "where do i get off Mummy?"... thank goodness for mobile phones now but I agree they have their downsides too, @Laiste

Doing up a tie is a brilliant one.

I'm thinking general independence, so perhaps going into town together, and letting him go off then meet up after a couple of hours.

How to lock/unlock the front door for before/after school, how to work the thermostat so they can put the heating on if home first.

Drove her and friends into the city and let them go off on their own, navigate shops and lunch etc with the odd check in so I would know they were okay.

My eldest learnt some chores like hoovering and mopping that she would do every day when she got in before me - took her 15 mins and earnt her £10 a week in pocket money and saved me a little time too. Taught her responsibility and she loved having her own money.

I always feel the giving of a house key is quite a big thing. And one that i put off !

We do have a spare buried in the garden and DD knows where ....

Practise working out what they need for each day at school (PE kit, text books, calculator for maths etc) and how to check they have it. Bonus points for packing a bag the night before!

Keeping track of belongings - e.g. checking they have two PE shoes in their bag before they leave the changing rooms, they have picked up their pens / scissors / supplies before leaving the classroom.

Asking teachers for help if they don't understand - parents are a bit more removed in secondary, plus you can't develop the same relationship with all of the subject teachers as you can with a single class teacher in primary. Get them used to asking quesitons if they don't understand an assignment / homework etc and doing it ASAP not the day before it's handed in!

Will he be having school lunch? Help him with budgeting so he doesn't spend his weekly lunch allowance in the first 2 days. A few of my DC friends did this as they could but as much /little as they wanted at break and lunch!

Really great tips. He has an excellent memory so I think he will like the challenge of remembering mine and DH's phone numbers!

Good point! I need to figure out what happens with school lunches, it seems they run on a thumb print system but I agree the bill could rack up easily- apparently they do bacon rolls at break time!

I got my DS to contact his friends to arrange catching up with his friends to encourage his independence). They're all still a bit rubbish at checking their WhatsApp so I had/have to ask the mum to give their kids a nudge to reply (DS has just finished his first year of secondary school).

Join a new club if possible (sport etc), it's very useful to have an outlet to forget about high school woes. Also gives them the chance to practice meeting new people/making new friends before sep

Memorising key phone numbers is good advice. letting her go to town for a mooch around with friends, go to the supermarket and buy something. open and safely close front door. arranging meet ups with friends using her phone. cooking a pasta dish, make tea for me. be confident speak up and able to problem solve.

Walking the school route/various bus stops
Walking to Granny’s house from school
Using his bank card in the shops
Doing his tie
Packing his school bag/PE kit
Phone numbers is a good one
Things we have done for the last 6 months to a year.
He has had a key for the last year & unopenes/locks the doors and puts the alarm on.
Making basic meals for everyone coming home and setting table.
Loading his laundry into the washing machine
Loading/unloading the dishwasher
Checking his own timetable for his sports/band practice and organising what time we need to leave at

The biggest really is looking after their own stuff. Anything you do over the summer, expect them to be responsible for their own things. Going swimming? They need to get their stuff together, a weekend at grandparents? They pack etc.
Then get them used to helping themselves. Ordering in restaurants, asking shop assistants for things, asking for directions. They need to be happy asking others for help, it will make that transition so much easier.
If they haven't already got a watch get them one. Get them used to being in the right place at the right time. If they are late, teach them to apologise for it.

I think packing up bags for the day is a good one I will do more of (currently does this but with varying success and timeliness!) and cooking own lunch (actually likes doing this but is lazy).

I think the big thing we’ve been focusing on is staying in your own lane, staying out of drama and also knowing when to talk with a grown up about a concern.

It feels like she’s gone from very ‘kid’ worries to very grown up ones recently. On transition day, she saw another child be attacked and another racially abused. 😳 We definitely don’t have stuff like this happening at our little village school. The secondary school is definitely a lot ‘rougher’ and there are well known behavioural issues that she’s definitely not had to deal with before.

Also just dealing with quite big issues with friends. She has a friend who has a very difficult home life and recently threatened suicide (yes, they’re 11). We had to make a report to the school and dd was interviewed as part of the investigation. It feels like lots of things have been thrown at her that are very adult issues.

So we’ve been talking a lot about what to stay out of and who to stay away from (kids who are saying horrible things, starting fights) and what to do when a friend needs you and not to carry those worries around trying to deal with them yourself, but take them to a grown up. I think that’s almost going to be more important than the practical stuff for next year.

Teaching my 11 year old to look when she crosses the road.
Teaching her some strategies to deal with potential bullies.
Improving handwriting.
Revising times tables.

Teaching her some strategies to deal with potential bullies.
@NonBinaryBlanket would you share some of the strategies? I often find it hard to suggest anything meaningful.

If they’re getting a phone for the first time, teach them to leave any groups that have bad stuff posted, not to add anyone that they don’t personally know (friend of a friend isn’t good enough), to not send anything that they wouldn’t want parents/the headteacher to read in front of them, including photos. A reminder that whatever they send can be screenshotted or forwarded to anyone they are talking about is also useful.

@mindutopia was that within the normal cohort or the transition day cohort?
Either way I'd be making a huge fuss

At our school the year 7s seem to struggle most with organising their things and their work.
They leave their lunch card at home/don't write down their homework properly.
At lot are also too nervous to ask for help so encouraging them to be able to speak to adults in school would be useful.

@noblegiraffe 💯everything you say about phones.

Plus check your dc's messages a few times a week. It's en essential part of responsibly parenting your dc's tech use. Be prepared for lots of swearing on groups even from the loveliest kids from 'good homes' 🤔