Parent adviser Michaela's tips for starting school
Friday September 7, 2018

This month thousands of children will start a new school - whether
that's moving into secondary education or starting school for the
very first time.
Our parent adviser Michaela, who works on the special
education team of our helpline, speaks to parents every day about
their child's education. In this blog Michaela shares her top three
tips for making sure you and your child are as prepared as you can
be for their new adventure.
If you prefer you can listen to these
tips instead in our latest podcast.
I am a parent adviser on Contact's free
helpline. I've written this blog to share with you a few of my top
tips for starting school. These tips can be applied whether your
child is moving to a new school or starting school for the first
time.
Starting school can be a scary time for many
children, particularly children with additional needs. You may have
worries about how they will cope with the new environment and what
kind of support they will get, especially in the early weeks as
they settle in. These are my top tips.
Share information early
My first tip is sharing information early.
The preparation process should begin once you have confirmation of
the school your child will be attending.
First, let's look at children moving from one
school to another. You will provide information in admissions and
registration forms, but it is important that your child's old
school shares as much information as possible with their new
school. This will help the new school plan how it will meet your
child's needs.
Some children have an Education, Health
and Care - or EHC - plan. This is a legal document that
describes a child's special educational, health and social care
needs. Sharing information may be a different process for these
families. Advisers on our helpline will be happy to provide more
information if this applies to you.
If your child does not have an EHC plan, it
may be useful for your child's previous school to create a profile
of your child that can be given to the new school. This can include
details of your child's particular difficulties, such as with
concentration, communication or mobility. They may want to provide
details of the adjustments needed to support your child's learning,
like writing aids, extra time for tasks or visual timetables. And
strategies that help them manage school life, such as a buddy
system or time out.
If your child is starting school for the
first time, you can provide this kind of information to the school
yourself. But do not worry if you haven't done this before
your child starts. There will be a chance to do this once
the term begins.
Become familiar
My second tip is to become familiar. Most
schools invite parents and children to visit the school and meet
key members of staff.
If you do not receive an invitation to visit,
it may be worth asking for a visit and a meeting with the schools
special educational needs coordinator - often called a SENCO. This
is a good opportunity to build a good relationship with members of
staff and for you to ask questions about the setting.
Visiting is also a chance for you and the
staff to see how your child responds to different aspects of the
setting. This will help you think about what they might enjoy and
what they might find difficult when they begin.
Again, do not worry if you or your
child did not get the opportunity to visit the school
beforehand. You can always become familiar with the school
and meet key members of staff once your child has started. If you
do have concerns, find out how you can effectively communicate with
the school as soon as possible.
Get creative
My third tip is to get creative. A lot of the
foundation in preparing your child to start a new school can be
done at home or with the family.
Your child will be faced with new situations
in their new school that they may be unsure about. It can be useful
to use stories to explain new situations. For children going on to
primary school, these stories can be about lining up for class or
going to the dinner hall. For children moving to secondary school,
these stories can be about moving from one class to the other and
making friends.
Another effective preparation tool is making
an 'All about my new school' booklet for your child. This can
include lots of pictures of the school and basic information about
members of staff who your child will see often. Whenever possible,
practice the morning routine and journey with your child.
As the new academic year gets underway, keep
communicating with the special educational needs coordinator and
your child's teachers. It may be worth suggesting that the school
begin using a 'home-school diary'. These are diaries in which
parents and teachers can write notes to one another about a child's
learning, behaviour and support. Communication needs to be open and
active between home and school, and these are one of the most
effective ways of making sure that's the case.
Adjusting is a process
Discuss changes regularly with your child.
Adjusting to new routines is aprocess. Let your child know that
everyone will understand if it takes a little while for them to
figure out how to manage it all. That includes their teachers,
friends and you.
If you want to find out more about preparing
your child for school or have any worries about your child's
support, please call our free helpline. Thank you for
reading.
Written by Contact
at 17:54