Get your child ready for secondary school

Get your child ready for secondary school
June 29, 2022

Starting secondary school for the first can be daunting.  Help to reduce anxiety is at hand.  The more you do now the better prepared and confident your child will be when walking into secondary school this September.  Here are great ideas for transitioning from primary to secondary school:

1. Whilst still in Year 5 or 6 take every opportunity possible for your child to visit “big school” during parent / pupil open days, workshops, taster days, experience the lunchtime routine, fetes, etc
2. Use the open days to ask secondary teachers and head teachers questions relating to how staff will help your child to settle in when starting secondary school
3. Taking advantage of as many visits as possible in Year 6 is an opportunity for your child to get used to the “geography of big school” by walking around corridors, meeting different subject teachers, tutors and getting used to changing classrooms during the course of the day
4. Encourage your child to engage in activities in the open days. The emphasis should be on fun and getting excited about all the great sporting, art and learning opportunities available at secondary school
5. In Year 6, develop your child’s ability to talk confidently to teachers to get “secondary school ready”.  Encourage your child to ask their Year 6 teacher about Secondary school, their learning strengths and weaknesses and what to do to further improve
6. Explain to your child how learning works at secondary school involving self and peer assessment, group work, homework, self-learning, etc
7. Prepare your child to talk to secondary school staff or Year 7 pupils who may visit primary school to meet children starting in September  - a great opportunity for your child to shine by asking questions about how the school will help transitioning to the secondary environment
8. Focus your child on what type of work to expect when starting secondary school by making a colourful portfolio of all their Year 6 assignments they are proud of.  Or ask your child to write about or draw pictures of what they are looking forward to when starting secondary school
9. Encourage your child to keep working over the summer holidays and take work into secondary school in September to show their new teachers what they are capable of achieving (eg read and write a book review or complete maths tasks from a text book – use books with answers and get your child to self-check and mark their own work – this shows the ability to self-learn and independence)