Starting High School: How To Prepare Your Child.

Starting high school tips: 

1. Talk to your child about their worries and fears.

   • Talk about their feelings, ask them how they feel about starting a new school.
   • Address any fears and discuss anything that they are worried about regarding their first day of freshman year.
   • Share any positive experiences you may have about your high school.
   • Reassure them that there is nothing to worry about and tell them what to expect.
   • If your child does have any special needs, learning difficulties or struggles with mental health issues, no matter how small, let your child’s school know in advance. Most schools have a counsellor or school nurse that your child can see at any time.  

2. Pay a visit to the school

   Make sure your child goes with you to all the open days, induction days and meetings. Try to meet one of their friends on the day so they can explore and get a feel of the school together.
   Induction days are a great way to meet the teachers and other students in a relaxed environment and are a great way to see what the school has to offer. 

3. Visit the school website.

   Have a look at some resources, photos or videos from the school website so they can see first-hand what it’s like and what type of opportunities and education are on offer.
   The school website is an excellent way for your child to a familiarise themselves with the school and maybe even do a virtual tour, so they don’t get lost on the first day.

4. Write a list of what your child will need.

   Sit down with your child and write a list of everything that they will need, like uniform, stationery, lunch boxes and new shoes. You should receive a full list of everything you need to buy from the school. As you buy each item, tick it off the list.

5. Read the school rules

   Run through the school rules with your child, so that they know precisely what is allowed and what isn’t. Chat with them, so they understand the rules regarding makeup, nails and uniform standards. 

6. Check out the timetable

   Run through the timetable with your child. Show them how to read their schedule and how to check every night that they’ve got the equipment they need for each lesson. 

7. Explain the differences in expectations between primary and high school

   Emphasise to your child that unlike primary school, the teachers in high school will expect them to be self-reliant and to be able to do things for themselves, ask them if they have any concerns they want to discuss. 

8. Talk about the different subjects

   Explain to your child that there will be a lot of new subjects that they will be learning, maybe even new languages. 

9. Help your child understand time management

   Help them with time management skills, discuss what time they will need to get up, shower, leave the house etc. 

10. Discuss lunches

    Chat to your child about lunches.
    My daughter’s school has a fingerprint system for school dinners, so the children never have to carry money into school with them.
    I add payment via the parent pay app, and they buy their lunch by using their fingerprint.
    They also have the choice to have a packed lunch or a school dinner every day so they can chop and change.
    My daughter has a packed lunch on the days that she doesn’t have much to carry, and on the days she has sports, she has school dinners. So, these are things you might like to discuss with your child.
    I also ran through the school’s lunch menu with my daughter to explain how everything worked. You should receive a copy of the menu in the welcome pack on induction day.  

11. Talk about friendships

    Speak to your child about friendships, explain that they will make lots of new friends and it’s ok if their friends make new friends too. Remind them that they may be in a class full of children from other schools but this is a good thing as will have the opportunity to make lots of new friends too. 
    
    

12. Encourage them to try everything

    Chat to them about the opportunities available to them such as school trips, sports, music, drama, all the things they couldn’t do at primary school and middle school. Explain how joining sports teams or drama classes will help them make more friends.

13. Prepare them for the induction day

    Speak to them about the induction day. Get them to arrange to go with a friend, explain what will happen on the day. Make sure they pack their bag, and they have everything they need for the day. 
    
    

14. Prepare your child for the homework.

    Talk to your child about homework, when they should complete it and how to plan to do each piece of work without leaving it all until the deadline. 

15. Run through travel arrangements

    Run through travel arrangements. Whether your child is cycling, walking or catching the bus, talk them through the route, then do a trial run with your child and their friends.
    We did a trial run of the route one evening when the roads were quiet. Starting at the furthest away child’s house, we picked up other friends along the route. The mums walked some way behind, while the kids negotiated how to cross the roads on their own.  We ended up having a lovely evening and some giggles along the way.  

16. Allow your child to have a bit more freedom

    Start to give your child a little bit more freedom. I started by letting my daughter go into a shop to buy stuff while I waited outside in the car. Then we moved on to allow her to walk ahead to school in the last year of primary. Then gradually in the holidays, we let her meet up with her friends.
    It’s challenging when you have to start giving your child more freedom in life, but it’s something they need to learn before starting high school.
    
    

17. Remind your child about stranger danger

    Address stranger danger with your child; it doesn’t need to be a huge deal, just remind them again about not talking to people on the way home, especially people in cars and vans.
    You don’t want to worry your child, just a gentle, casual reminder at some point before they start walking on their own. 

18. Talk to your daughter about starting her period at school

    some girls will already have started their periods by the time they get to high school and you will more than likely have chatted to your child about them, however, now is a great time to discuss what to do if your daughter starts her period during lessons. Make a little pack or get a one here to give your daughter to carry in her rucksack, so she has everything she needs for when the time comes.  

19. Keep things positive and upbeat

    Remember to keep everything upbeat and exciting. If your child sees any worry or doubt on your face, they will start to feel anxious and worried too.
    Chat about high school throughout the summer holidays and tell them how much you wish you had the opportunities at school that they have today.  Big it up as much as you can!