what might be useful in a year 7's school bag (not the bag itself but contents)

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any tips from those who have gone before please.

So bit of money (in blazer ideally I suppose) for emergency, bus card, sanitary towels, tissues, plasters (new shoes and long walk), pencil case (calculator, pens, pencils, geometry stuff etc), small notebook (? thought might be useful in first few days? she suggested putting a little post it pad in her pencil case), umbrella and/or packamac, plastic bag for wet umbrella, obviously lunch and water bottle.

anything I am completely forgetting?
thanks

Agree their bags get so heavy so you don't need to start adding extra stuff just in case. It may have been mentioned already but a plastic wallet type folder is really useful for letters, work sheets etc which otherwise would just shoved in and then ruined/unreadable. And kind of obvious really but a drink bottle that doesn't leak. More essential at secondary where they are carrying their books. In the same vein, make sure the bag is waterproof too.

Not for the bag but we have spares of the pencil case type things at home. Spare science calculator, spare science goggles, spare pens and pencils, spare compass etc. It's not too expensive to have a spare set and it's been used when a school bag has been misplaced, pencil case left behind etc.
Better than having a mad school night panic going round supermarkets trying to put a kit together ready for the next day.

I like labelling everything but my middle DC doesn't want his name on everything so we put a tiny tipex dot on things like calculator and ruler so he can spot which one is his and claim his if things get mixed up.

MAke sure she will use the locker. I paid for one for my daughter and she never used it! Mix of dodgy lock and limits on when they can go to her locker meant she just takes her stuff back and forth every day

Spares of everything at home is definitely a good idea. Other than that keep it light, mine both carry their bag around all day (different schools). There isn't time to keep going back to their lockers, they are only used for PE kit. Get a photo of their timetable in their phone (and yours). Keys and coins are kept in pockets.

We discovered pretty quickly that the lockers are more hassle than they're worth so we didn't keep it. It does mean more has to go in the bag but none of the kids we know wanted to go back and forth to the lockers between school and the bus.

I can’t believe the weight of DS’s school bag, the amount of books etc he has to carry around. There is also no way his sports kit would fit in it too, he has a separate hold-all for that. I guess all schools are different.

When DS started in Y7 he had a separate pencil case at home to prevent the possibility of forgetting it at school. He also carries a spare one in his blazer pocket.

I also second a plastic wallet to put all loose papers in, including letters from school.

DS also has a kagoule stuffed at the bottom of his bag but I don’t know whether it has ever seen the light of day.

Where are the fabric zip lock bags from please??

Oh and when DD started Y7 she had her wee pack of sanpro even though she hadn't started her periods. As I said to her - someone might ask if you have any spares and if you're the one able to help them out, you'll make a friend

www.amazon.co.uk/Elcoho-Folders-Supplies-Cosmetic-Accessories/dp/B07PWZM6PD/ref=sr_1_19?s=gateway&keywords=stationery+zip+lock+bags&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1564128984&sr=8-19

Zipped folders
They're more of a nylon mesh but useful since you can see through them and they're all different colours so can be grabbed easily.

If you’re keeping a spare calculator at home, make sure it’s the same model as the one in their bag. Different calculators have different modes, button marking, order of button presses that can cause confusion. They get taught how to use their calculator at school so it needs to be consistent. Having cousin jimmys old one from 5 years ago at home is not helpful.
(Maths teacher here!)

Thanks user. We had plastic ones this year which have all got broken, plus plastic

Well I can't pretend that nylon isn't plastic but they're certainly not single use. Mine have now had them for two years and they are now going into their third year of use. A couple have lost the little zip pullers but we just added keyrings to pull the zip along.

actually those ones I linked to are A5. We have the A4 ones

We got one of these for DD2. It's been incredibly useful - 1 pocket for each subject, which keeps letters, subject handouts, books, etc., organised. Yes, it's plastic, but it still looks as good as new one year on, so can be reused next year.

www.amazon.co.uk/Exacompta-Expanding-File-33x25cm-Sections/dp/B007C2E4K6/ref=mp_s_a_1_15?s=gateway&keywords=exacompta&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1564139687&sr=8-15

Amazing, so many great tips to learn, thank you.

Do you know if they even have lockers? We assumed DC2 would have them as DC1 did and uses it all the time (different school) then discovered none at DC2’s school. So we wasted money on a barrel type bag for PE which he can’t comfortably carry round all day as well as backpack so now uses drawstring type bag that can go in backpack if not too full. No locker also means only thin coats that can be shoved in bag are practical.

Unless school very close, get them to take bus pass. DC1 uses train but also carries bus pass in case train problems. DC2 walks but carries bus pass in case change of plan eg going to friend’ s house or weather makes bus a better idea.

They may be given a planner with useful pockets for letters etc so no need for plastic wallet. Or they may not...

AliMonkey
It will depend on the school. I would expect a school with good transition information to let parents know the locker situation at their summer transition evening on the transition days.

Re plasters - break the shoes in over the holidays - the last thing she needs is blisters on the first day at school!

When ds 1 started in y7 I gave him 3 wallets, each a4 and a different colour. One was for homework that needed to be done, one was for homework that needed to be handed in and one was for other bits of paper. In hindsight I would try to get wallets that open from the top so that they don’t even need to be dragged out of their bag to be used.

Ds ‘s school use treasury tags through worksheets and exercise books to keep things together initially but sometimes they need to have an actual file. The teachers specify a ring binder but ds has found that the thin plastic ones that have 2 wire prongs are absolutely fine and much lighter and thinner to carry. If there’s a subject where it becomes too small he’ll get a small ring binder to keep the bulk of the work and just have the current term/topic with him.

Best time for stocking up on stationery is after the start of term - hit it right and you can get 90% off stuff. Pens don’t last forever but geometry sets and files, folders, etc do.

Having a home set of everything is a great idea and I also keep a few bits in reserve for exam time.

A small set of colouring pencils (small both in size and number) and pens in a separate pencil case for work in school and a full sized set for home.

Mark calculators and similar on the inside of the battery compartment as well as on the outside. If they don’t want their name then make a mark as previously suggested and take a picture on your phone so there’s proof that it’s theirs.

Getting them to take a picture of everything important that they get given - letters from school, homework etc - on their phone.

If they have cookery lessons then get hold of whatever recipe book or leaflet(s) the get given and make sure you take a picture of each recipe as soon as you can, so that you’ll always have them with you if you need to buy the ingredients and they don’t have it to hand to tell you. Make sure you flag the A’s favourites so they are easy to find months later too!

Having a print out of the timetable at home where you can all see it and marked up with when extra bits are needed like cookery ingredients and PE kit etc.

Having a single space at home that if they take things out of their bag then that’s the only place they get put so you don’t have late nights / mad mornings looking for things.

We have a basket for exercise books but I like the idea of the expanding wallet now, labelled for each subject!

No recommendations for content but do not skimp on cost of bag. After getting fed up of cheap bags falling to bits I spent £40 on a Herschel bag for DS which has lasted 4 years.

@LolaSmiles

Yes I would expect that too - we asked the question at transition evening and were told they weren’t allocated to all but you could pay a fee and get one. They promised to send through info on how to get one.

They sent nothing, we chased, turns out they don’t have lockers any more.

One of many things that haven’t impressed us about DC2’s school!

I would add a wallet with a couple of pounds in change - not for lunch etc (my kids schools use 5e fingerprint system) - but for the seemingly endless charity/ rag cake sales!

Re lockers...DC's school has a no bag policy so use of a locker (and thinking about what goes in it) so pretty much mandatory. And this was not mentioned at any welcome meetings, we only found out when DC started. So my advice on all of these types of threads is to find out what your school does and also take your actual child into account. DD, who has an organised mind, keeps all her books neatly filed at home and has a folder with 5 pockets which she fills every evening with papers / books for the next days's lessons in order. DS adopts the"keep everything at school unless it absolutely needs to come home" approach. Neither would appreciate being forced into the other's organisation method.

RedSky how does a no bag policy work? Don't they have text books etc?

Is the school all in one building? Just thinking about DS's school where buildings are spread across a wide campus, they would spend so much time having to go back to their lockers to get things and then it would get wet/blown away!