Making the move: How to prepare your child for secondary school

Advice for parents like me: practical year 7 transition tips to support your child as they navigate this important milestone.

Mhairi, BSc Psychology and PGDE Primary Education

Mhairi has extensive experience as a primary school teacher in the UK. Her insights are shaped by varied experiences across the educational system, in both additional support and mainstream school settings

Starting secondary school: A big step for your child

Leaving primary school and starting secondary school is a big milestone in your child’s educational journey. Understandably, this transition comes with a mix of emotions: children will feel excitement and nerves as they are challenged with new routines, higher academic expectations, and new social dynamics. 

As a parent, you want to make this transition as smooth as possible to ensure your child has a positive experience. In this post, we will explore my year 7 transition tips for navigating this period, supporting your child socially, emotionally, and educationally, and helping them adjust to secondary school.

Understanding the challenges of starting secondary school

One of the key things to do for your year 7 learner is to consider the challenges they are facing this year. At secondary school, children are introduced to new subjects, more teachers, moving classrooms throughout the day, and are expected to be more independent. 

In addition to this, the academic demands on year 7 students are also higher. In particular, learners find there is a leap in expectations in the content of the core subjects: maths, English and science. 

Having open and honest conversations with your child about these challenges is the best place to start. From there, it is easier to devise a plan to support them by either regularly checking in or arranging private tuition to boost confidence.

Get familiarised with their new school

Have your child visit their new school as often as possible. Many schools host open days, transition days, and school tours, but you can also reach out to the school to arrange an additional visit, where possible. Your child may be having their transition day or week this month! You can even practise the journey to school together over the summer.

Spend time studying school maps, timetables and routines together, helping your child plan their routes between classes and learn where they are expected to be and when. A tip I always recommend is for children to take a picture of their weekly timetable and set it as their mobile phone’s lock screen - that way, there is no excuse for not knowing which class is next!

Encourage independence and organisation

Charge your child with being responsible for organising their belongings, such as school books, PE kit, stationery, and uniform. This encourages them to be prepared and think ahead. 

Show your child strategies for managing their time. A study schedule will help them achieve a good balance between time for homework, extracurricular activities, and relaxation. Did you know this is something that our tutors can help with?

Build up their social skills

Talk to your child about what it is they would like in a friend. Do they want to befriend someone with similar interests? Someone funny? Someone kind? Someone they can do homework with? 

The next step is to suggest some good conversation starters that your child can use with others. Here are a few I have recommended in the past:

• Which primary school did you go to? Did you like it?

• Do you have any brothers or sisters? How old are they?

• What did you do over the summer?

• Do you have any pets?

Encourage your child to join clubs or sign up for extracurricular activities as they begin their secondary school journey - I promise you, they will not regret it. These clubs bring together children with similar interests and schedules, allowing them the opportunity to make friends more easily. 

Most importantly, it is key to encourage a positive mindset towards meeting new people. Emphasise how exciting it is that they will soon meet people they could be friends with for a long time. If you have any friends whom you have known from secondary school, draw your child’s attention to this!

Keep academics ticking over

The summer holidays are the perfect time to begin private tuition for year 7 children. In my experience, they are less tired than they would be during the school term, which means they come to sessions with more mental stamina. Tutors can use the comments of your child’s year 6 teachers and the recently published SAT results to create a personalised programme of work.

Offering your child this academic support can help them feel more confident as they start year 7 and leave them with more mental space to process all the other changes going on for them as they begin secondary school.

My recommendation

Preparing for secondary school requires emotional support, academic preparedness, independence, and social readiness. Every child’s transition experience is completely unique, and it is important to remember that their journeys are not always linear. 

If you would like to give your child a supportive boost as they prepare for secondary school, we are here to help. Get in touch with Birchwood Tutors to explore tutoring options tailored to your child’s year 7 transition and help to achieve your academic goals.