Your Question
Hi, my daughter will be starting secondary school in September and I want to support her as best as I can. It’s going to be such a big change for her and would like any tips on how best to manage the transition, I can’t find any articles on your website about it
Answer
Hi there,
Thank you so much for reaching out with your question, supporting the transition to secondary school is important and it can seem overwhelming for parents as well as children!
We are delighted to hear that you have been trying to use are website as a resource to help you through this time and thank you for your feedback that it has been hard to find our articles on this topic. Here are some links to articles you may find helpful: https://www.ispcc.ie/moving-from-primary-to-secondary-school/ ; https://www.ispcc.ie/body-image-and-back-to-school/ ; https://www.ispcc.ie/homework-life-balance/
What is important is to normalise this transition stage for your daughter, everyone is in the same boat as her in starting in a new school. Encourage her to speak about how she feels about starting and any thoughts or worries she may have.
It also helps to familiarise children with their new school. You could start this with baby steps such as walking to the school, or driving past so that she will be familiar with her new commute. Secondary schools are often aware of how this can be an overwhelming transition for some children so it may help to get in touch with the year head or principal to let them know if this is the case.
Managing the different subjects and books can also seem overwhelming for children, it may help to try and identify a system such as colour coding books to a subject, encourage her to ask for help if she ever feels she needs it.
We hope you have found this helpful, but if wish to discuss this further and you can contact ISPCC’s Support Line which can be contacted by email to [email protected] by phone from Monday to Friday 9am – 1pm on 01 522 4300.
Take care,
Robyn
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