Helping your child prepare for Secondary or High School
- Help your child make that huge leap from primary to secondary or high school. Here are some things to that’ll build your child’s confidence, resilience and self-esteem.
Things you can try
Start by understanding why it’s hard, it can really help
Reassure them it’s normal to feel excited and scared and nerves help us prepare for challenges
Remind them it may take time for them to feel settled and they might get things wrong as they get used to a new situation, and that’s OK!
Talk to them about how they coped with changes and transitions in the past
Remind them that not everything is going to change – some routines will stay the same – and plan ahead.
Consider other things they may be worried about before they start their new school
Once your child starts secondary or high school, be understanding of the strain that changing school brings
Try talking to your child regularly about it.
Listen out for how they’re getting on making new friends and how they feel about their peer group
Check that all’s well on social media. Encourage your child to develop new friendships, for instance support them meeting friends outside of school.
Prepare yourself (as a parent). It’s okay to be worried too
Your child is unique and we hope there are some takeaways here that work for you. If you’re looking for help parenting children with additional needs, you can get specific advice from specialist organisations. Check out our list of support that we can recommend.
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