Communication between school,
students and parents will be essential,
and it is worth finding out how this
will work – there may be a weekly
email or letter, but there may be
other ways (such as teachers’ blogs or
parents’ access to areas of the school
website) to find out about things like
drama rehearsals, sports fixtures or
extracurricular activities. And how
– and how often – will the school
report to you on your child’s academic
progress? Can teachers be contacted
directly with any concerns? The more
of the nuts and bolts of day-to-day life
you can sort out beforehand, the more
confident you and your child will feel
when his first day finally rolls round.
A new start
If nerves are surfacing (either yours
or your child’s!) as the start of term
looms, you can rest assured that the
teachers will have been preparing
for their new students for months
beforehand. As well as providing
plenty of information sheets and
booklets for families, schools will
often invite new students to come
for an orientation day, or have them
start term a day earlier to give them
a chance to get to know the buildings
and routine before the older pupils
arrive. Teachers may also plan lots
of “getting to know you” activities for
the first few weeks, so even the most
reserved of students are guaranteed to
meet new people.
As well as meeting other new
students and making new friends, you
can reassure your child that he can
look forward to a much more diverse
day at secondary school as he starts
to study a broader range of subjects,
taught by specialist teachers who are
passionate about their subject. He
may also have the opportunity to
try a whole range of extracurricular
activities – anything from debating to
drama, or orienteering to orchestra.
Such a big change in routine can be
unsettling, but Blake says that teachers
are there to make the transition as
smooth and successful as possible. He
says, “For new Year Sevens starting
secondary school, teachers are there
to introduce them to new ways of
thinking, explore enjoyable ways to
learn and to provide a network of
personal and social support.”
Secondary school can be
an exciting new start, and there
are things we can do to prep our
children for the change. We can help
them learn to organise themselves,
make sure they have all the kit and
information they need for their days to
run smoothly, and be there to listen to
their worries and to ease them
through those first few weeks of
information overload. But as well as
all the things we should be doing,
is there anything we shouldn’t do?
According to Blake, one thing to
avoid is stifling a child’s growing
independence. He says, “While all
families are different, parents not
allowing their child to flourish in
a new environment by not letting
them be independent can sometimes
hold students back.” If we want our
children to bloom at secondary school,
we have to give them the space to
grow.
December 2014
45
