Helping Your Child Settle Into a New School

A new school can feel like a daunting prospect for children, but it should also be really exciting for them too. A whole new environment, with new friends to make and new ways to enjoy their favourite subjects, with new subjects to pick up as well. For some kids can be a lot to come to terms with, which isn’t a bad thing, but it can be helpful to prop up their confidence. Here are some ways you can help.

Give your child something comforting to turn to

If there are particular worries your child has, then give them something that reminds them of you. This could be a small keyring they can add to their backpack, which isn’t too invasive, or a small toy they can put at the bottom of their bag. This can be used when they are feeling overwhelmed or are struggling with something that is going on at school. Ensure there is something to keep your child focused, that works, as they are away from you for a long time and won’t see for a few hours.

Keep the conversation going

Having a good conversation ready for your child will ensure they are doing the best they can in this new environment. Have a look at what your child is getting up to that will help them with their confidence. Do they have particular strengths that they are showing in school, for example? Are they making friends easily enough?

Ensuring you provide an environment where they can talk to you openly and freely about what does concern them, and even what makes them happy, can give them a lot more reassurance. It’s not bad to feel negatively about something, it’s more if there’s an opportunity for you both to work on a solution together.

Have a chat with teachers

If there’s one group of people that are used to these feelings from students, it will be the teachers. The teachers will already be prepared for moments like these, and will be able to help you figure out the best approach to helping your child with their nervousness, or other reserved feelings. Teachers at this Pre-Prep School in Rickmansworth for example have been trained in pastoral care to better support children at different ages in their studies.

Thankfully there are many ways you can help your child with their enjoyment of school life. It should never feel like an uncomfortable environment for children, as it will be where your child picks up the vast majority of their skills. Make them feel like they can head to school with their head held high with these approaches and see which ones make them feel the best about themselves.