Following Primary School topic, please post your top tips for a new starter to Secondary School.

[Chinwag]

My DD is in year 6, moving up this time, and I would love to hear your top tips!!

These are very useful. Any tips on homework? How do you organise it (routine); motivation; where to keep it before and after it is done?

Chinwag. . .
Try and get an 'intray' 'outtray' system going - they put homework they need to do in the intray, when they get home with a yellow sticky note thing on it with the handing in date on it. Then, have a specified time when they do their homework every night, so it becomes a routine (don't make it too late or as soon as they get in from school). When the homework is completed, put it in the outtray, with the same label on it, so that they know what day it has to be handed in. This way, they can keep track of what work needs to be in, and when.
Also, a small whiteboard (Ikea do them cheaply) which they can write all the homework down on, and when it is due in also helps.
Another thing, make sure she doesn't do the homework the night before it is due in, this way, she has time to do longer projects, and can also go and ask the teacher if she has problems before the work is due in.

One more point: Make sure she doesn't pack her bag last thing at night, or first thing in the morning. This will help her be prepared.

They usually get a journal in which they record all the homework set and when it has to be handed in.
I spent a lot of time with DS1 (now Y8) setting up a routine and filing system as Chestnutlodge says. The intray / outray works very well, each child has his own shelf for school work with the trays and books on it.
I also insisted that homework was done on the day it was set as far as possible, rather than the day before it's due in. Otherwise it's possible to build up quite a backlog.I don't think it's fair to make them sit down and do homework as soon as they get in. I let him have an hour to chill first.
I also made sure he got his bag ready at night for the following day.

Now DS2 starts in Y7 in September and while I will do some of the same stuff I think I made a mistake in continuing to organise DS1 once he settled in. At the induction day we were given a useful booklet of tips for parents.
It's called 101 Tips for parents" by Julie Casey.
One of the tips is "never do anything regularly for your child that they are capable of doing for themselves".

I realised I had done this for DS1 when he got undeserved As for organisation at the end of his first year.

thanks for this thread! Came looking for some hand holding for me! I am terrified, ds is insouciant

but he has his taster days this week....

Yes, thank you, lots of good stuff here, esp. about homework and encouraging independence (suspect my y6 DD would go to school in her pyjamas without my constant supervision at the moment - I know the fact that I fuss over her is at least part of the reason she's not more organized).

Some schools have lockers and some, particularly the larger ones don't. Or don't have enough. Even if they have lockers lots of the kids won't use them because they may not be in a convenient location.
The upshot of this is that they have to carry all their stuff around all day. This includes PE or Games kit as well as their coat in winter if they can be persuaded to take one. (Don't be fooled into thinking they will actually wear it just because they leave the house in it).
As faeriefruitcake says that's a lot of weight.
My poor DS put his PE bag down at the first break and lost it. The full set of brand new fully labelled kit. It turned up almost a year later. Of course I had replaced it all by then. Still, it means DS2 can have new instead of hand me down.

"(suspect my y6 DD would go to school in her pyjamas without my constant supervision at the moment"

She sounds just like my DD Pyrocanthus

DD1 had her transfer day today, and has come back very enthusiastic. I am so relieved.

I have borrowed the Julia Casey book, and I would highly recommend it. It has tips and tick lists to adapt and use to jog their memory before and after school. Very useful.

Bruffin - following a bit of a row discussion yesterday morning, DD got herself impeccably and ostentatiously organized this morning.

When she came out of school this afternoon and I asked her where her glasses were, she clutched her face and cried, 'Why, aren't they there?', and sprinted back towards the school gate...

Am thinking of nailing her blazer on for the first half a term.

I'm after that book, Chinwag. Glad your DD had a good day.

My DD had transfer today and had a lovely day.

I am bit annoyed as I went to M&S to get some uniform and they don't seem to do any of the tradional style uniform anymore, just fashion types.
I wanted a navy blazer for her, but the style they have now is more like a suit jacket. Can't get plain short sleeve open necked shirts and their skirts are too short and not the right style either. I have to go over to St Albans to get the uniform which will be a lot more expensive.

Have you looked at the Next directory/online? It has some suitably demure skirts. I got some short-sleeved shirts from them, but DD has to wear a tie next year, so I'm not sure whether they do open-necked. Not much good for blazers though.

I have had a look at Next, They do the right shirts but the wrong colour we need blue and they only seem to do white, also unfortunately the skirts are not quite right either.

How about BHS? - they've just been stocking their back to school stuff. they have all sizes of shirts out so you can try them on and they seem to have loads of blue. debenhams had a good supply of stuff too.
Although didn't notice if open necked or not
I looked in our M&S and they had rows and rows of white shirts and about 4 packs of blue long sleeved........but i want blue short sleeved!
Will neeed to drag DS to the shops soon to try stuff on - he's just too tall and too skinny to be a normal fit

Thanks cupateaplease
BHS seems lot better than M&S, DD is tall and thin as well so needs a 13yr but their website is sold out in her size for the shirts, but at least they sell them.

Thank you for all of these tips, especially the 'in tray out tray' ideas. My DS is very disorganised and was the only child on familiarisation day to leave his jumper behind at his new school! I also take on the point Mumwhensdinnerready made about not continuing to organise him throughout the year - it is something I would have carried on doing!