Current YR 6 children going into YR 7

[yourmumsnet]

Is there anything we should be doing from now until September that I may not have thought of?

Uniform order and practice journey there and back.
Encourage enjoyment and cherishing last month of secondary school.
Slowly allowing more independence.

Anything else? I feel like this is quite a big transition and I'm anticipating lot of growth from seeming like a child to admire teenage like over the summer.

I want to allow that growth but whilst keeping good boundaries and not allowing to do too much and selfishly, maintaining family things rather than the focus shift all on friendship groups.

My son has been having a little more freedom. He now walks comfortably half way to his new high school and during holidays this will increase and I will encourage him to make the journey a few times so he's confident (1 mile from
Home)
We've been ensuring homework is done daily for the whole of year 6 to get into a good routine.
He's also started making his own pack lunches and ensuring his bag is done by himself.

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Agree a phrase that they can use if they ever feel out of their depth and need to be rescued. Ours is any mention of Uncle Bob? If they ever ask this in a call or a text, I call and say they need to come home immediately. This allows them to extract themselves without losing face in front of their mates
Eventually, hopefully, they'll have the confidence to do that themselves but oin the meantime.....

Write your phone number on a piece of paper and put it in their blazer pocket/bag. If they lose/misplace their phone they can use a friend's phone to call you if needs be, but they can't do that if they don't know your number because its only stored in their phone.

Be friendly to everyone, but don't necessarily expect to meet your new best friends in the first week.It takes time to settle down and get to know people.

this is a very useful thread! Mine has a long bus journey every day on a public bus and the one thing I don't feel confident about is what to tell her to do if (when...) she encounters a bus creep. I just can't think how to phrase it so she doesn't feel freaked out by the idea but is confident enough to do something if it happens!

We are doing lots of maths practice over the summer as that’s DS’s weakest subject and I think after SATs he had become rather complacent.

Somebody earlier this thread mentioned buying MS Office. DON'T.
If the school uses MS Office they will have a licensing system that ties in with the students school email address and gives the students 5 licences to use at home.
If they use something else they are likely to have a similar licensing agreement

Your phone number written in their planner in case they forget or lose their phone. As teen says one pencil case that stays in their bag always so they never forget to take it to school. Ds had 2 pencil cases in his bag, one for all lessons, one with coloured pencils in, maths equipment and spare compulsory equipment because some little shit will find it hilarious to nick your white board pen when you aren't looking and then next class you get in trouble for not having it.

Key attached inside their bag on one of those retractable key rings. A set block of time for homework, if no homework then reading around a subject ie they did the Grand Canyon in Geography, watch some YouTube videos on it. Free time starts at a particular time every day.

A tick list or visual plan of what they need to do in the morning and the evening. When they get a timetable copy it and stick them up round the house, ours were in the kitchen at the breakfast bar where they ate breakfast, in their rooms for packing their bags and on the back of the front door.

Talk through organising their books. DCs had magazine files with days of the week, every night bag emptied and books put into the next day they have that subject. We also had a notice board where they pinned up what their homework was under the day it was due in with a date written on it. They could instantly see what was a priority.

Getting a prepaid debit card has been useful as so few places accept cash post-Covid. Not for school itself (they have a fingerprint system for lunches), but for using at shops / cafés / public transport on the way to or from school plus weekends out with friends.
We use HyperJar as it's free.

don't overthink it. there will be a big cohort of y7 newbies going through the same thing.

consider getting a phone.(check school policy). a simple payg is fine.

if the school offers locker hire - take one.

practice the usual route to school but also consider alternatives in case of strikes, bad weather, changed timetables, detention...

Tell them the first 6 weeks/half term is probably going to be awful. They’ll have tests they weren’t expecting, homework is going to feel momentous, friendships will be wobbly. They’ll probably be told off, might even get a detention (forgotten homework, lost kit, talking/answering back etc).
But it gets better.

I firmly believe that Secondary’s work year 7s harder than they have to for the first half term. When they go back after Oct break it will seem easier, more relaxed. By Christmas they will be old hands, and will be able to roll with the punches more - they’ve just got to get there.

practically, do you have anywhere they can set up a homework station? A desk in their bedroom, the unused kitchen table? Having a dedicated space helped my DD and meant she always had what she needed to hand. She also did revision cards pretty much from the start - just little notes on new things she’d learned. Made a hell of a difference when she got to GCSEs.

Buy lots of extra stationery as they go through glue sticks and pens so fast. Get their own bank account and card if they will be using public transport or walking by the shops.

Find an area at home where they can store exercise books etc.

If they will be letting themselves in, get them used to spending time alone.

DC is Y7 and she found the transition tough which I didn't expect as she has always been happy-go-lucky. It took two terms to settle. Don't be afraid to contact the school if there is an issue. Y7 pupils in a new school still often need their parents to advocate for them. They learn how to manage things more independently during the first year.

Also, for the parents rather than the pupil, set up an email alert for the payment system that shows when you are running low if your child will be buying meals at school.

Make sure they have a key and cheap phone (switched off in day) to keep in their bag, especially if they need to use public transport. My biggest school issues have been around the rural public bus that can be very unreliable and they do need to be able to contact me if it’s late or doesn’t show up etc.

Make then realise their Yr6 friends may well move on to new friends very quickly so get to know the others in their classes from the start.

Yes.
-Sort out a homework space for your child.
-Put together a tray with spare stationary: rubber, ruler, gluestick etc that lives I one place and is available just for homework (avoids all the faffing and not getting started because ruler is missing).
-work out the rules about homework, at least to yourself. How involved are you going to be, what time do you want it started by/finished by (for ours it was finished before dinner at 7.30pm in y7-9 and I would check it was done but not comment on quality).

As you can see the big change from primary to secondary for us was the amounts of homework.

A wall calender so your child can write homework due dates /trips on etc. This helped my child and also myself so I could remind him in the early days. Also ask if school have a list of the stationary you need, I found it was a lot more than I expected. Hopefully you will have a induction day in the next few weeks where they explain in all.

I don't think you have forgotten anything. Just came on to say, be prepared for a change in your child.

My DS changed going into year 7. Not in a good way, or a bad way, I guess it's called growing up but I really noticed a difference. There are so many more new influences, lessons, teachers and new kids to make friends with. Luckily DS took it all in his stride and is thriving, but I know some find it difficult.

This is a brilliant thread thank you.

Mine are just finishing yr 7 now.

This one is horrid but depending on your child, sometimes some gentle guidance on stuff like backpacks and pencil cases is helpful. Dd2 can be a little young for her age so I steered her towards plain stuff in black/blue rather than anything too 'young'. I felt a bit shit doing it tbh but she doesn't always find friends easy and it was a way to make her not stand out in a bad way.

Everything is black. Coats/bags the lot. Dd1 has extended this to her knickers so no more sloth prints :(

Get the apps etc all on your phone so you can monitor homework without getting over involved. Mine found it a real transition and need a bit of a push sometimes but I tend to leave quality to them - if they fuck it up or can't be arsed, their issue. Obviously I help if they ask but less collaborative than primary.

As pp said, agree protocol for going to/from school, after school clubs, stopping at the park etc. mine can go but we need a text for example.

Let them be your tiny cuddle monkeys when they get home! Dd1 is quite a cool kid at school and I've found that sometimes she still just wants a cuddle of the sofa with mummy. I think sometimes they need to feel safe and looked after. She does sometimes tell me it's all a bit grown up and overwhelming so I listen and coach but don't fix.

Oh and never ever try and keep up with yr 7 girl friendship issues. Check phones etc and check in to make sure no bullying of course but jeez it changes on an hourly basis! No idea if boys are the same as I have girls.

Thank you for starting this thread, so much useful advice. I'm a bit worried about all the pronoun stuff. Friends of mine say its rife in their daughter's school. I've explained to DS that science rules and biology is real but seems it a very pervasive fad.

This one for girls only - an emergency bag in the bottom of the rucksack with spare pants & pads, and small bag to put other pants in. Maybe a small packet of wetwipes.

If walking with friends arrange in advance what time/where they will meet and contingency plan if friend is not there. The first few days DS found very stressful and was in tears before school started because he hadn't made definite plans of when/where to meet. (I think boys are generally a bit worse for this type of thing)

Completely agree with this!

Definitely a 'if they haven't arrived by X time you must go on on your own.'