Anyone else's DCs approaching a change of school this summer...?

[misspollysdolly]

My DD is in her last week of Year 6 right now. Approaching all the changes and transitions of primary-secondary school is pressing lots of buttons for her and she's pretty twitchy about everything...but we are weathering it. Not long starting therapy as a couple/family addressing attachment disorder stuff so we are well supported, but just thought if there are others of you approaching this same big change, perhpas we could support each other...? MPD

Hi Miss Polly,

Sorry to hear of your dd's anxiety, I am afraid I cannot be of use to you as my ds is completely the opposite which brings its problems too. He is soooooooo independant that its not very satisfying as a Mummy.

I pack him off to boarding school (at his request) this coming September and just know he will survive to tell the tale

Hope others with a similar story to yours will come forward soon so that you can share experiences.

Good luck x

Hi MPD - DS1 is off to Secondary School in September as well. He also has attachment difficulty and is struggling with the concept of change. He won't be 11 until the end of August so the poor lad, as well as having emotional difficulties, is one of the youngest too. The school are fantastic though and have offered him and us much support, we are really touched with the help they have given us before he is even at the school. Amazing!
I posted a while ago on here asking for tips and advice from those who have already undergone the transition and got some really helpful advice (I need to look back and I will copy it onto here if you'd like).
I certainly need a hand to hold over the coming weeks so let's make this journey together!

This advice came courtesy of Maryz
The attachment and other issues are a different kettle of fish. In some ways starting secondary will be a good thing, because it is a chance to start with a fresh sheet. However, organisation may be a real problem. I helped ds2 a lot by making numerous colour-coded copies of his timetable, which he had in his locker, his journal, his bag, our kitchen, his bedroom, everwhere. I then helped him organise his books so he had everything he needed for each subject in a zippy folder (for example, for maths he needs two copies, two books, a log book, a geometry set, a calculator and a pencil for each class and has to bring them home for homework - everything in a "maths" folder really helped).

He also has a list on his bedroom door for each day with activities such as sport, pe, music, so he can do a quick check each day that he has everything he needs.

• We are in the process of putting all this in place now for DS1 and he was thrilled when I suggested we could do this to help his memory!