Making the grade: Navigating the transition to secondary school

Making the transition to secondary school can be difficult for children and their parents. But planning and organisation will make all the difference, says Andrea Mara

STARTING secondary school can be exciting, daunting, or a mix of both for any child. It’s often a challenging time for parents too, especially those whose eldest is making the transition. Decades have passed since we made that move ourselves, and now as parents rather than pupils, it’s a different landscape entirely.

From a practical perspective, what can parents do to help children transition to secondary school?

Parent coach Aoife Lee (parentsupport.ie) acknowledges that it can be an overwhelming time. “When children go to secondary school it’s a big leap, and one challenge is being organised, something that many 12- and 13-year-olds find tricky.”

For example, in primary school, children usually stay in one classroom for most of the day and they’re told which books to take out for which subjects. But all of this changes in secondary school, as students move from one classroom to another, collecting and returning books from lockers during short breaks in between lessons.

“It’s helpful to label the material for each subject, for example, put blue- coloured stickers on all their English materials — textbooks, workbooks, folders; yellow for business; red for maths, and so on,” says Lee.

“This will help them get used to what they need for class and where to locate it in their bags or lockers.”

Senior educational psychologist Emma Magee (Iomláin Psychological Services) says it helps to organise by subject. “What can be really useful for students is to have a large, coloured, zipped folder for each subject, for all the books and materials for that subject,” she says. “All they have to do when they get to their locker is grab the specific coloured folder for their next class.”

She also has advice on timetables. “Take multiple copies of the timetable and put them in various places, like the fridge, inside their locker, on their bedroom wall, and store it as an image on their phone.

“It’s useful to colour-code the timetable to correspond with the coloured stickers on their books, for example, English on the timetable is highlighted in yellow, and there is a corresponding yellow sticker on all their English books.”

It’s not just about changing classrooms, says Lee. Students will be taught by a huge number of different teachers throughout the week too.

“Going from one teacher to many is a big change, particularly if all these new teachers have different personalities and expectations. It can be overwhelming, though many students really enjoy moving classes as they have a short break and it’s a novelty.”

However, even for those who enjoy the change, it can take time for first years to get used to it. “Teachers are quite understanding in the first month as they are very aware of all that these young students are taking on. If you find that by month three there’s still a lot of rushing around and your child is often late for class, it’s important to sit down and chat through what they can do differently to help them be more punctual.”

Aside from the practical organisation, there is an emotional element to the transition too.

“Listening is key,” says Lee. “Keep an eye on the work that they are doing, keep communication open with school via the homework journal, check homework regularly, chat to them about what they’re learning, be patient, and tune in to how they’re doing on a given day.”

The early days can be daunting, says Magee. “Don’t be alarmed if they find the first few weeks exhausting. It can be daunting but exciting at the same time, and usually by the time they go back after midterm break, they’ll feel more settled. But if they’re still having difficulties, it’s important to consider if these are coming from.”

Sometimes educational demands exceed a child’s ability, due to an underlying specific learning difficulty that was not recognised or noticed in primary school, says Magee. Or there can be emotional difficulties such as “feelings of anxiety, low mood, feeling overwhelmed, difficulty making new friends”.

The first port of call is to liaise with the school by talking to the learning support department and/or your student’s year head. “They should have an idea on where to access appropriate services, how to get in contact with the school’s educational psychologist, or point you in the right direction with any local private services.”