First of all - DON'T WORRY. Your child will be absoutely fine.
Most state schools are well prepared every year for the new year 7s. They will have spent the last 6 months getting to know the children and your child will probably have visited the school 2-3 times.
We did some research among year 7s last year (over 100 of them from a school in Swindon answered our survey) and they told us their top fears:
1. getting lost
2. being bullied by older children
3. missing their friends
4. harder work
5. homework
6. scary teachers
7. being late
So our children are a little anxious about this significant move - and that's perfectly normal. How many of us like walking into a room of complete strangers? But rest assured that your child will know most of the people they see in September.
They WILL get lost - teachers are used to that in the first few weeks - and the bigger the school the later they will be to class! Make sure your child makes a few friends quickly and that they stick together if they can - although be aware that most schools break children into sets for different subjects.
The school will do what they can to keep the 'big' children away from the year 7s for a while but it's rarely a problem. Some scools offer year 7s a 'secure' area or base where they can go at breaks but your child will soon be roaming free and negotiating the many exciting opportunities and areas within the school.
Get to know your child's tutor - most schools run this system. Your child will probably be in a tutor group with other year7s and they will stay in this group for their whole school life - meeting every day, usually at registration. The tutor is responsible for your child's general well-being and should be your first port of call for any questions or issues - get their email address or try to meet them.
Such an important decision but how do you make it? You can't just rely on rumour and history - or fashion. The school you choose now might be a different school in five years time - just when your child is ready to sit GCSEs. Schools rise and fall, and if you get one on the up you'll never look back. Here are some key questions to ask:
what is the trend of GCSE results, not just last year?
what is the school's Value Added measure? This shows how much difference the school has made to each child.
are the children happy? Watch them and ask them questions when you go to open events.
what did OFSTED say in the last report? If it was over 4 years ago and there have been major changes in staff or result then it might not tell you much.
does the school offer a short key stage 3 and a longer key stage four? This means children have a three year GCSE or Diploma stage rather than 2.
Early Learning Sheets
