Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Original poster

How to be organised in Y7?

40 replies

RoseAndWater · 20/05/2021 14:05

Do kids magically become organised when they start Y7? wishful thinking

If not, please could you share your top tips for getting through Y7 in an well organised fashion? For example, I've read that folders can be useful but what folders work best and do you organise them? A friend uses A4 zipped folders, one for each subject but that seems messy to me as print outs etc are just kept loosely in the folder. Confused

What are some good routines to get into?

Also, do your Y7s have a house key?
TIA Cake

OP posts:
Waiting423 · 20/05/2021 14:12

No - but they improve as the year goes on

Mine has a lot of his homework by email - so we’ve set his email up so I get a copy . I don’t intervene unless I feel he might have too much and need help prioritising it

No house key - but mostly as I pick him up on the outskirts of town ..we are rural

clary · 20/05/2021 15:37

House key - yes. My dc had a key in juniors as I worked in a school and was often home later than them (like 20 mins) so they walked home. I'd be tempted to try this now for Yr 6 summer term.

There will be lots of good advice but I would say, phone is useful, lots and lots of black pens, timetable on fridge, check re tech (it can rotate leading to sudden demands for food ingredients at 10pm).

Swimmum1206 · 20/05/2021 15:43

Plastic popper wallets for each subject and label each one. Check their bag each night, ready for the next day. If they have a door key, make sure it's in a safe place in their bag and not likely to fall out! Make sure they have a small amount of cash in a safe place in their bag for emergencies. If they have a phone, make sure it's charged and they have a charged battery pack as a back up.

It seems overwhelming at first, but quickly it all becomes habit/part of life!

Swimmum1206 · 20/05/2021 15:44

Another thing DS does, he has a copy of his timetable stuck to his desk in his room and another copy in his blazer pocket. The original one stays in his homework diary

AlwaysLatte · 20/05/2021 15:45

I bought one of those concertina type a4 file holders and put the books/papers in each section. To be honest I'm still his secretary and he's in year & now! Keep trying to get him motivated to do it himself. He's brilliant with organising his own homework but packing and unpacking his bag... 🤷‍♀️

AlwaysLatte · 20/05/2021 15:47

Also I print his timetable out once a week and fold it in such a way that each day is on a small square, he can slip into his blazer pocket.

AlwaysLatte · 20/05/2021 15:49

Oh the house key thing, we're both in when he gets home (and collect him actually) so no need, but we have a safe spot outside for a key so on the rare occasions he's needed it. Same when the youngest starts in September.

AlwaysLatte · 20/05/2021 15:51

Oh yes as a PP said check their food tech requirements way before!

You'll probably get all sorts of apps and links with notifications that really help them/you to keep on track with it all.

ChicChaos · 20/05/2021 15:54

Yes to the house key, I got my DD a foolscap sized wallet (bigger than A4 is handy if you can find one) that zipped shut and had a pocket on the front to hold an A4 timetable. All the loose bits of paper ('knowledge organisers') get put in there so they can be found during lessons.

Homework was set via Show My Homework, parents can also get access to this and see what is due. Pack the bag the night before. Make sure they have a map of the school handy, as it can be difficult to find your way around it at first.

We have a plastic basket for school books, so empty out the bag each night and pack the ones you need. Luckily for us, the Food Tech teachers tend to put the ingredients needed on SMHW as well so we get some advance notice!

My DD's school do encourage the parents to help out at first, making sure the bag is packed the night before (I lay out uniform as well) and keeping an eye on homework at first. DD has a homework timetable which details which subjects they may get homework set on for each day, it's not really something I refer to but it is supposed to stop them getting three pieces of work with the same deadline and it does seem to work.

BikeRunSki · 20/05/2021 15:56

DA is in Y7, but at middle school and “moved up” for y6.

There is a lot less paperwork than you might expect. A lot of work is set and done online. Make note of any passwords! DS has a ring binder and plastic pockets, but he doesn’t really use it.

DS has a lot of Alexa alarms about when to leave I’m the morning, what to take with him etc

He’s actually been ok with the moving between lessons scenario, although this has been minimal this year of course.

House key is in a safe box in the back garden.

Goodtohear · 20/05/2021 15:59

House key and bus pass attached to bag on long chain.
We have individual a4 envelope folders.
Routine - morning and after school.
Print off timetable stick a copy in the house and one inside locker.
Pack bag night before.
Check planner several times a week at first.
Homework routine - mine choose their own time but I kept a close eye on it at first.
Down time is needed too but they need to learn how to have a good balance.
Sometimes they have to fail in order to realise how to manage.

DeanImpala67 · 20/05/2021 16:07

We have had lots of logins and passwords to remember, it is definitely worth having them all written down somewhere that can't be lost.
For us books are stored in a hanging set of fabric pockets on their cupboard door and their bag gets packed for the next day every night.
Timetable on the bedroom wall as well as in their homework planner/diary.
Mine does have a door key and it hangs on their pinboard above their bag. They still forget it occasionally but luckily only have to wait for me to get back from collecting their younger sibling.
If they have lockers at school it's maybe worth having two pencil cases & calculators with one set staying at school and one at home so they don't get forgotten.
If possible do the homework on the day it's set, saves having to do a marathon session on the weekend.

1starwars2 · 20/05/2021 17:13

We put a key safe in the porch when DS1 started secondary. It has been really useful. He unlocks the door, then puts the key back ready for the next day.
With covid there isn't so much to take to school, which is a relief.
DS1 has a box in his bedroom for school related stuff, so it's easier to find in a hurry.

Original poster
RoseAndWater · 20/05/2021 20:37

Thank you for all the helpful posts! We'll try the a4 folders or popper wallets. I also like the idea of the hanging basket for books and will bear in mind last minute food tech requirements.

The do have lockers but I wasn't sure what makes sense to store in them.

OP posts:
Nowfeeltheneedtopost · 20/05/2021 20:55

I would agree with PP who said house key on long (concertina, light) chain which stays attached to inside of bag. My DD walked home in Y6 and let herself into house (I was working and came home about an hour later) - definitely worth doing this in summer term of Y6 to help them get used to it.
We also used plastic/concertina folders for different subjects and I supported her in Y7 with helping her get bag packed the night before. But gradually - at the pace that suits the DC - you need to encourage them to organise themselves.

Nowfeeltheneedtopost · 20/05/2021 20:57

sorry, one other point. We had a single space for school books etc (originally downstairs then in her bedroom) so books could only be unloaded from schoolbag into that place and would always be there when school bag was to be packed.

HPandTheNeverEndingBedtime · 20/05/2021 21:04

I recommend keeping a jar of biros or preferably the 4in -1bics and pencils near the front door so they can grab one as they go out the door.

My year 7 s seem to start the year with lovely, well stocked pencil cases but by half term it's generally a pen and chewed pencil in their blazer pocket instead.

clary · 20/05/2021 21:33

@HPandTheNeverEndingBedtime

I recommend keeping a jar of biros or preferably the 4in -1bics and pencils near the front door so they can grab one as they go out the door.

My year 7 s seem to start the year with lovely, well stocked pencil cases but by half term it's generally a pen and chewed pencil in their blazer pocket instead.

Grin Year 7 - Smiggle pencil case with matching felt tips and highlighters: "no miss, it's OK, I've got my own glue stick."

Year 11 - to form tutor: "Can I borrow a ruler miss, I've got maths today; I've got a pen though," produces chewed-up inner element of a Bic from trouser pocket.

OhCrumbsWhereNow · 20/05/2021 21:43

Barely trusted DD to cross a road in Y6... somehow she manages to get herself to school (with train changes), attend the right lessons in the right places, do all her homework (Show My Homework is great for checking without asking) and according to school report she is extremely organised. This is somewhat of a surprise to those of us who have seen her bedroom...

  • A4 zip wallets with different coloured zips - amazing and stops sea of scrumpled paper at bottom of bag.
  • Filing box to keep them in so they can be grabbed in the morning (or evening if DD could actually get into the habit of doing bag the night before).
  • bulk order pritt stick, gel pens (red/black/blue) on Amazon. Also sticky name labels.
  • DD has house key, season ticket for train and a debit card from Metrobank (you are on the account too so can see on the app where they are spending money and they can't overdraw).
  • Life 360 tracker on phone so I can check where she is!
  • Leakproof water bottle (rucksacks with external bottle pocket are to be recommended or soggy sea of paper at bottom of bag is the result).
PenOrPencil · 20/05/2021 21:54

As a teacher I always tell my Year 7s to do homework on the day it is set, NOT the night before, so that they have time to ask for clarification if needed.
Pack bag each night.
Bring a well stocked pencil case and teach your kids not to take pens apart. The amount of “exploding” and disassembled / destroyed pens I see on a daily basis is mind boggling!

Signoramarella · 20/05/2021 22:04

Brilliant thread thanks all!

Plumbear2 · 21/05/2021 12:50

Check with the school. Folders are not required at my child's school.as all work is done in separate books for each lesson (provided by school) and all printouts are glued in. Pens and equipment again ask school.for list as requirements can differ between schools.

Confuzzled2020 · 21/05/2021 15:35

My DD year 6 has a house key on a lanyard clipped onto her bag - never falls off. We do give her only 1 key (our front door has an extra lock) so if it does get lost/stolen we can lock the front door with the other key.

RomainingCalm · 21/05/2021 20:48

We followed this advice from a teacher friend and it's worked well...

5x cardboard magazine files, each labelled for a day of the week
1x plastic wallet for each subject

DC takes all of Monday's folders on Monday. Monday night they empty their bag and put the folders into the right file for the next time they need it. Bag for Tuesday is then packed with Tuesday's folders.

Sounds a bit 'Janet and John' but it's helped to have a routine. In the early days I could do a quick glance at the files to see whether bag had been packed with the right folders for the day.

LlamaofDrama · 21/05/2021 21:23

I love the sound of all this, and DD (Y7 I'n September) would do too but... where does all this filing storage live? She wouldn't have it on her desk with all her carefully curated objets, and we haven't got an office. That's clearly going to be my summer holiday project.