Preparing your child for the next school academic year

After a long and (hopefully) carefree summer holiday, thinking about the upcoming school year can feel stressful for both parents and children. This can be particularly heightened if your child is transitioning from primary to secondary school, or is in the process of moving schools. Here are some tips to help your child prepare for the next academic year as the summer winds down and the nights begin to draw in.

1. Get organised early: ensuring that your child has the correct school uniform and necessary stationary early is a great way to avoid a last minute, panicked shopping spree and gives you sufficient time to respond to any sudden growth spurts.

2. Create a routine: as hard as it is (and it’s just as hard for teachers) try and gradually push back your child’s lie-ins so that the 7AM alarm bell on the first day back doesn’t send your child into a complete state of shock. If your child is changing school it might be worth doing a trial run of their new journey to check the route and how long it takes to get there.

3. Make learning fun: try and ease your child back into learning by finding some fun activities for them to complete. This could include online maths games, finding some creative writing prompts, watching some YouTube Science experiments, or doing some drawing/painting.

4. Enjoy the last of the sun: getting outside and enjoying the fresh air as much as possible is a great way for your child to feel physically and mentally refreshed for starting back at school in September.

5. Plan some fun activities for the Autumn Term: the thought of hours of classroom learning and regular school assessments is understandably stressful, so planning some fun after-school and weekend activities for the first term back can give your child something to look forward to and keep them positive and motivated.