What kind of academic support is useful in 18 months leading up to secondary school?

[TheBrightHazelDog]

My DC is in yr 5 and I've started wondering about ways I could support them academically leading up to secondary school. Would love to hear of things you did that you feel helped, or what teachers feel is helpful.

I'm asking this because when DC was in reception / yr1 during lockdown, they were given lots of work from school and in hindsight I think the main thing worth spending time on would have been reading as it allows you to access the curriculum with ease. I'm wondering if there is something that is similarly obvious in hindsight that it's worth securing before secondary?

DC generally does well academically (aside from spelling, which nothing seems to help with, despite being an avid reader) and has never needed tutoring, this would just be me giving a little targeted support to help confidence when starting. BTW, the school is a high-achieving comp.

Thank you!

I would say that focusing on self organisation, independence and not losing stuff is going to be more important if your child is already doing fine academically

This is what we’ve found the real step up

Generally the work in secondary school, particularly in Year 7, is actually less demanding than the Year 6 curriculum. The main thing to focus on, I would say, is developing organisational skills as they'll be expected to be much more independent in having the right equipment on the right days, managing homework etc. With these skills in place, everything else they need will be taught in school.

@minipie Thanks, organisation is definitely going to be a struggle - both DC and I struggle with that. Interesting that is the real step up, above standard of work expected.

Totally agree with PPs - focus on organisation and independence. If he will be travelling to school on his own, getting him used to travelling on his own. If he's not already doing so get him used to things like making his own breakfast and lunch and packing his own bag. Does he remember he has to hand in his homework on Tuesday or are you reminding him?

Teach him problem solving techniques - what would he do if he got lost? If he needed help?

@mintgreensoftlilac OK, ha, this is definitely going to be tricky for us. Independence should be fine, school v close and DC already walking to primary, but time management and organisation so hard for both of us. I'm not sure how to build up those muscles quite. Hmm maybe I asked the wrong question...

The key thing is that it shouldn't be a real step up! It should be baby steps all the way through primary school, not doing everything for them until Year 6, and then expecting them to cope with a school transition, learning new routines, meeting new people and having to learn a whole bunch of extra skills that they never needed before.

I found that the first few weeks were dreadful organisation wise as there seemed to be a new message from school or lost item or tech issue (mine uses a laptop) most days! But then things calmed down. If you can, prepare to be around a bit after school in the first few weeks to help deal with these issues.

It’s hard to prepare for in advance tbh other than reading any practical info the school sends (about lost property etc) and get your child to read it too.

@RedSkyDelights Good ideas- nope does not make lunch or breakfast. I think I need to start another thread asking how to help with organisation - at the moment I'm thinking box files etc, but having no idea how the h/w systems will work is hard. A clock in their room maybe?

Also, please just enjoy the next few years. You can try and prepare them too much for secondary and miss the precious years Y5 and Y6 are.
you have the summer of Y6 to make plans for high school. For now enjoy not being at high school! Xx

@RedSkyDelights This will definitely be my focus then. And having confidence that they can do stuff will help the feeling of security general, hopefully. Because I think really my original post was about finding ways to help build them up before starting.

@Pearl97 Thank you for the reminder. I find it hard sometimes to shut out the noise of everyone else "prepping" for secondary. The last thing I want her to feel is like a project I'm trying to perfect.

Definitely a clock in their room

A watch is a good idea (basic not smart watch) although DD has lost hers 🤦‍♀️

Write out a grid of what kit they need on which day and stick it up in bedroom and kitchen

Remind them to check any electronic messages… DD gets teacher messages on both email and Teams which isn’t very helpful

Can’t do most of this till school starts of course! And you may find your child gets a lot better at this stuff between y5 and y7 - ideally he should be getting used to doing bag packing, morning routine and hw independently by now.

Whoops she not he!

Most schools have a relatively easy year 7 academically as the challenge is organisational and social.

So:

Does you child travel to school independently? Will they need to for secondary? If so, practice the journey multiple times and plan for what if something goes wrong.

Do they have a key? Are they capable of not losing it? We put a key box on the house because ours lost so many keys.

PE kit system set up with boxes in their room.

Chances are high they will be in a form with a few kids from their primary who they may or may not get on with. Practice social skills for making new friends. Most secondaries mix up the entrants.

Homework. Do you have a system for doing it? Most secondaries have detentions if homework is not done (after the first few weeks). Most students either have a folder for it which they carry around or do it in their book.

@Octavia64 @minipie Some great ideas, thank you. She doesn't get h/w at primary (which I love), but will next year in lead-up to SATS. Getting to school will be very easy and we will get a key box. Friends- will be trickier. She's had the same gaggle since y1. She is quiet and a bit shy, an observer for sure. Am hopeful she'll find her crew as I can't (and wouldn't want to!) change her personality x

@TheBrightHazelDog my DS (now Y8) is a complete disaster when it comes to organisation (he has ASD and ADHD)

Things that have really helped us (although we still regularly cock it up!):

• Timetable stuck by the front door, colour coded lessons and a note at the top of each day listing what extra things need packing (eg Games bag, lab coat, music lesson instrument/folder)
• Individual A4 zip pouches for each subject - these live in those magazine boxes (one for each day) on a shelf in his room, and are returned there each day into the box for the next day that lesson is. DS is rubbish at sticking in bits of paper, so at least everything goes into the pouch and we can sort it later if necessary. We also store flashcards / revision materials in there. Makes life so much easier to just grab the next day’s 4 pouches and know everything is there.
• Be RELIGIOUS about packing the bag the night before, maybe with a checklist (the number of times the pencil case or laptop doesn’t make it back in to the bag…..)

Once you get into the swing of things, a homework timetable is good - absolutely do not get into the habit of leaving things until the last day. We also had an advice session that suggested starting each afternoon’s homework by jotting down a few bullet points on what was covered in each lesson that day - good early revision skills.
In fact, learning how to revise has been by far a bigger challenge so far than actually covering the curriculum.

Remember everyone will be in the same boat, and schools usually cut the kids some slack in the first half term as they get to grips with things.
I also think learning to fail (i.e. getting something wrong / forgetting to bring something) is a great skill to learn… if it leads to a detention, then oh well, that’s the consequence for messing up, but no big deal, and hopefully that will be a deterrent in the future (I appreciate that attitude may not work for everyone, but with an ASD child, it is important that they don’t get fixated and anxious, as that is totally counter-productive)

ooh i like this thread! Ds is for secondary in september and organisation is not his forte ! Already had to drop his lunch box in for him twice this week! I wont be able to do that once he leaves primary as he is a bus ride away.

Clock in room
A space for DC to do homework with desk lamp and storage
Lots of file holders to organise books + notes
When they start then print off at least 4 x copies of lesson timetable + 1 x copy of homework timetable. Put the lesson timetable by their desk, in bag, in blazer pocket + on fridge. Homework timetable above desk.
Get them into habit in Yr 6 of organising their own schoolbag, water bottle + PE kit each night before bed.
By Yr 7 they should be capable of getting themselves up, breakfast, ready for school with bag packed for the right lessons for that day.
In Yr 6 get into habit of doing homework the night it is given. Saves arguments at weekend etc.

Basically organisation, resilience + independence skills over academic.

The most important thing is organisation and independence. With my English teacher hat on, though, I would say don’t stress about whether your child knows technical terms but instead make sure they can confidently write in sentences and paragraphs. You would not believe how many kids come in knowing what onomatopoeia, alliteration etc are but who are clueless about how to structure their writing!

@TeaandHobnobs Wow, so organised! Zip pouch system is ingenious. I think my DC would also be prone to taking detentions hard, so I see what you mean.

@twistyizzy Super useful, thank you. So glad I asked this question!

I love this thread! That's a lot of great ideas I could try out with DD.

@Moglet4 Really reassuring to have the importance or organisation etc reiterated by a teacher. Re writing - English is her favourite subject so thankfully she's ok with paragraphing etc!

For girls if they haven't already started period when they start Yr 7 then make sure they know how to use pads/period pants and send them with spare pads + pair tights (if wear skirts) in a cute small toiletry bag to be kept in school bag and re-stocked as needed.

@meuntilmarch2025 So useful, right? Really not the answers I expected, which is actually great.