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Secondary education

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

Original poster

About to start year 7?

160 replies

Phox · 19/07/2021 20:27

Thought it might be good to chat all things new starter, plus a distraction from the mess of the end of year 6 - DS effectively had his last day on Friday without knowing, as the call to isolate came over the weekend. So no leavers events or party at least for now. He did manage to get to an induction day for his new secondary school thankfully, which has settled some of his nerves.

Anyone else looking ahead to y7 in September - summer schools, crazy-priced uniforms and ‘they are just too young!!’ panics?

OP posts:
HoliHormonalTigerlilly · 01/08/2021 06:58

@MrsWooster

Frozen juice boxes for packed lunches-keep it cool in the morning and defrost in time to be drunk. Though ds is so overexcited at being able to buy his own dinner by the magical power of his thumbprint!
Fab idea about frozen juice boxes thank you! We also have the magical thumbprint system to look forward to. But great idea for summer camp! Smile
TeenMinusTests · 01/08/2021 07:11

re fingerprint systems - they are fab, nothing to lose and makes lunch queues much faster too.
(In case anyone worries, they don't store the actual fingerprint. They convert the fingerprint to a number and then store the number and use that.)

UncomfortableSilence · 01/08/2021 07:41

Fingerprints- My school and DDs have actually changed to cards or fobs since Covid. This was seen as more hygienic rather than wiping the pad after each use. It is a pain though as I'm now seeing a steady stream of pupils who have lost their cards and they are charged for replacement.

Might be worth reading your pack to see what your school are doing and planning for this, I know some schools have lanyards, I'm putting her fob on her locker key ring until they go back to fingerprints.

Original poster
Phox · 01/08/2021 17:36

I hadn’t realised that the thread had taken off, good to have so much good advice in one place. I do have an older dc going into y9, but at a different school, and he was much more ‘secondary ready’. It does feel like the past 18 months has meant missing out on quite a lot of coming of age stuff that would normally happen in year 6 - school residentials, positions of responsibility etc, so they seem younger.

Are many dc going to be at summer schools before the official start in September? DS will be in for four days at the end of August, which I’m hoping will help a lot in meeting people, as none of his friends are going to his new school.

OP posts:
AlwaysLatte · 01/08/2021 17:42

Great thread. Can I ask what type of phones you are planning on getting your kids? I was thinking really basic brick one just for emergencies. Will that pass muster?
Definitely a smart phone that can cope with the WhatsApp and YouTube stuff, we usually let them have our slightly older iPhones when we upgrade, so still very usable but not £100s if they lose it and it has to be replaced.

AlwaysLatte · 01/08/2021 17:52

I find it helpful to get completely organised the night before, so I clean the shoes, pack the bags, fill water bottles and put in fridge, put fresh sets of uniform downstairs for after their morning showers, and I check their homework every evening to make sure there are no morning panics. It helps enormously of they're calm and relaxed before school, instead of rushing around. Also a routine: breakfast, showers, teeth, shoes at the same time every morning.

AlwaysLatte · 01/08/2021 17:58

No fridges at my sons' schools. I set up lunch cards for them but the older one prefers a packed lunch as he likes to play basketball at lunchtime and the queuing uses up valuable time!

Eatenpig · 01/08/2021 18:07

@AlwaysLatte

I find it helpful to get completely organised the night before, so I clean the shoes, pack the bags, fill water bottles and put in fridge, put fresh sets of uniform downstairs for after their morning showers, and I check their homework every evening to make sure there are no morning panics. It helps enormously of they're calm and relaxed before school, instead of rushing around. Also a routine: breakfast, showers, teeth, shoes at the same time every morning.
For high school kids?? I'd expect Yr6 to dk this themselves and certainly Yr7 up. Our high tells parents to not do it for them. They also tell the kids not to expect parents to do stuff for them and that they have to be totally responsible for themselves.
careerchangeperhaps · 02/08/2021 19:59

@Phox unfortunately our high school is only offering the summer school to free school meals pupils.
It means DD will start there on 7th September having never stepped foot inside the school before.

pinkcattydude · 02/08/2021 20:34

@Phox ours are in for 4 days of fun and games next week, so hoping they get to meet a lot of future friends.

Walkingbkwrm · 02/08/2021 22:06

Fingers crossed next week goes well for minipinkcattydude. No summer school here (the school isn’t doing one). We are in Wales though so maybe a bit different.
Expectations on being self sufficient may vary - having spoken to parents with older kids round here most seem to help them with getting up on time/ organisation quite a lot at the start as it’s so different from primary but step back over the year so they are independent by the end of yr7 (in theory).

Eatenpig · 02/08/2021 22:19

Yes expectations will vary. Here it's the norm that Yr6 become very independent to get them ready. The high schools really stress that they need to be accountable.
Most parents I know have tales of short detentions for lateness, forgetting books etc and they learn very quickly lol. Also tales of DC having to get organised at lunch to avoid missing a club they want to join, or having to remember sports equipment for after school stuff etc.
By half term they've nailed it.
Apart from announcing at 9pm they need cooking ingredients for the morning haha

londonsaint · 06/08/2021 17:42

Fab thread - thanks for all the tips.

Can I ask whether people give their kids money and if so, cash or some form of card? DD will have a bus pass and thumbprint pay system for the canteen.

I'm also thinking through to weekends / social. What do people do then? This is all a bit new to me!

Porcupineintherough · 06/08/2021 21:19

Do your kids get pocket money @londonsaint? If not you might find it cheaper to do that and let them save to pay for their own social life than to provide (or argue about providing,) money on tap.

DonGray · 06/08/2021 22:03

@londonsaint

Fab thread - thanks for all the tips.

Can I ask whether people give their kids money and if so, cash or some form of card? DD will have a bus pass and thumbprint pay system for the canteen.

I'm also thinking through to weekends / social. What do people do then? This is all a bit new to me!

I provide money on tap Small amount of emergency cash on them Social just as and when - I dole out cash for cinema or book tickets if necessary
Eatenpig · 06/08/2021 23:47

I'm about to move onto a weekly allowance plus chores based system with my DC. Just need to decide the amount! This is for non essential stuff like sweets, hot chocolates in park etc. Next year I'll prob include clothes and trainers

UncomfortableSilence · 07/08/2021 06:54

@londonsaint

Fab thread - thanks for all the tips.

Can I ask whether people give their kids money and if so, cash or some form of card? DD will have a bus pass and thumbprint pay system for the canteen.

I'm also thinking through to weekends / social. What do people do then? This is all a bit new to me!

We use a card rather than cash, our bank do an account for 11-15 so I can easily transfer money to them, it worked well with DD1 so I will be doing the same for DD2 especially as I don't really carry much cash anymore.
londonsaint · 07/08/2021 07:18

Thanks for the replies! Good to hear what other do Smile

pinkcattydude · 07/08/2021 07:38

@UncomfortableSilence is that Santander we are planning on opening an account for DS?

TeenMinusTests · 07/08/2021 07:45

When our DDs started secondary we switched to a monthly system direct to a Nationwide bank account. They started with cash cards and upgraded to debit cards when older. They walked to school so didn't need cash or card on them normally.

UncomfortableSilence · 07/08/2021 07:50

pink - No that's with Barclays but I assume most banks do the same? We have their video banking app so just did it that way, was really quick.

capturedbyasquid · 07/08/2021 08:02

Lots of the banks do cash or current accounts for over-11s. We use TSB as they have a 2% interest rate. We pay in pocket money by standing order, and then DS can get cash out or pay for things by card in shops if needed (I think he can also use his card to pay online, though he hasn't done that yet). He never really spends any money, but he's just starting to take an interest in being able to do so recently (he's 13 now). At school, his lunch is all paid for, but we have a deal that if he wants a snack, he can either take something from home, or if he wants to buy something from the shop then he pays for it himself (he normally chooses the free option but occasionally treats himself!)

ilovesushi · 07/08/2021 08:33

@TheSockMonster The premium school shirts from Next are decent quality - a lot less see through than most. I would still recommend a little crop top underneath though.

onemouseplace · 07/08/2021 14:30

I opened an over-11s account for DD with Natwest last week - it was really quick and easy actually as I have online banking with them and they did the ID verification via an app.

She's getting public transport to school, so I wanted her to have access to a contactless card in case she loses her Zip card.

hedgehogger1 · 11/08/2021 11:20

Dd is currently at her summer school induction. She's missed the first day so hoping she makes friends easily