The move from primary to high school is full of excitement and new experiences for most, but it can also be challenging and worrying for some students. Helping your child prepare for high school and making them feel supported will reduce the risk of disengagement from school in the future. Here are ten quick tips for easing the transition.
- Know that relationships will change. Your child will meet new people, make new friends, may feel lonely at times, and will need to re-establish their position within a peer group. They may also miss friends and teachers from primary school who have provided support, care and friendship in the past.
- Understand the school routine will be very different. Your child will be exposed to new teaching and assessment styles and will need to cope with a wide range of subjects taught by several different teachers. They will be moving about the school frequently, needing to be more responsible and organised with books and materials, learning a complex new timetable, and managing much of their own learning with a heavier homework and study load.
- Be aware that new environments can be frightening. Your child will have to adjust to a new school site, get to class on time, and cope with different transport arrangements.
- Become familiar with the school, well before the first day. Attend information / enrolment sessions and open days together. Take your child to public events held at the school (eg fetes and fundraisers, art exhibitions, performances). Review the school website, events calendar, annual report and newsletter. Keep an eye out for articles about the school in local media.
- Understand policies and procedures. Take time to read through all the information provided on information days and download policy guidelines and procedures.
- Encourage responsibility and independence, early. By the end of primary school, children should be confident and competent to cross roads safely, pack their own bags, make a small purchase at the corner shop, keep track of their possessions, remember to hand in notes and to complete homework when it is due, know how to make a phone call, and who to seek help from if they are lost, hurt or in trouble.
- Sort out, and practice, transport arrangements. Try out available options for getting to the new school and work out a preferred way of getting to and from. Run through the new routine several times and work out stand-by plans in the event of a problem such as train delays or buses that are too full to take on more passengers. Reinforce safety rules and behaviour expectations. Let your child travel the route with a friend and on their own.
- Gather supplies. Purchase uniforms, back packs, stationery and other supplies, involving your child in decision making as much as possible. If your child has new equipment to get used to (such as a mobile phone, scientific calculator, laptop, I-pad, etc) ensure they understand how to use it, keep it charged and look after it.
- Maintain routines and friendships from the past, as much as possible. Adequate sleep, good food, exercise and relaxation time does wonders to alleviate stress. Encourage your child to keep in touch with “old” friends, even though they are going to be making new friends. Explain that friends can be collected throughout life and acquiring a new friend does not mean the old friends are discarded or forgotten.
- Talk to your child and listen to what they have to say. Find out what they are looking forward to, what they may be worried about, or what they want to know. Give your child the information they want, and lots of reassurance. Emphasise the positives and highlight the new opportunities your child will have.
