Tips for a Smooth Transition to High School

You have gone to great lengths to find the right high school for your child, now how can the transition go as smoothly as possible? There are many new expectations placed on children such as; navigating new environments, meeting new people, managing a diary (that usually alternates on a fortnightly basis), and an increase in workload. Here are some tips to assist with a smooth transition:

Contacting the school:

Get in contact early with principal, year coordinator, homeroom teacher and learning support team.
Discuss if your child can go into school prior to orientation day to familiarise themselves with the environment.
It may also be helpful to mention developing a transition plan. This is a tool for sharing information about your child with secondary school staff. This information helps staff understand your child’s abilities, learning styles and other supports needed.

Family ideas:

It is Important to talk to your child about how they are feeling about going to high school. Writing a list of things they are excited for and nervous about can help prepare for any challenges. If they are finding it difficult to come up with ideas, role play some scenarios that might come up at school and ask for their response.
For example:
- You feel anxious because you don’t understand what the science teacher is telling you. All the other students seem to understand. What could you do?

- You’re 10 minutes late for class. The teacher has already begun her lesson. You are standing outside about to walk in. What will you do and say?

- You are trying to complete your homework but you feel confused about what it is really asking you to write about. What could you do?
Together, develop an ‘about me’ to provide to their home room teacher and learning support team, discuss what’s important to them and how much they would like to share about the supports they need.
Create a calendar with important dates; including orientation, carnival days etc.
Develop a social story on what your child might expect transitioning to high school. (How to develop social story can be found in our blog https://occupationaltherapy.com.au/how-to-write-a-social-story/)
Create a morning routine together so your child knows what needs to be done and how long they will take, before leaving for school each morning.
Pack their bag together and make a checklist of what is needed every day and then a list of what is needed on specific days.
- Everyday items: lunch, water, change of clothes, fidget
- Specific day items: Sports uniform, specific textbooks
Create a study space at home for when they have to do homework. Having emotional and sensory regulating items in this area could help your child to decompress after a big day.

Transport:

Practice the new transport route that they will be taking to get to school.
Moving to high school, some children may want to increase their independence by catching the bus to school.
- Consider if the bus is public run or school run. If public, it may be useful to practice catching the bus together before starting and practice getting on/off
- Practice what to do if your child gets off on at the wrong stop so your child has a back up plan and knows what to do.

Social aspects:

If your child expresses concerns that they will not have any friends at their new school. Reinforce that they will still be able to keep their primary school friends. Making a plan together on how they will maintain seeing their friends may help put their mind at ease. This could include organising fortnightly catch ups booked into the family calendar.
Role-play conversation starters to help your child feel confident on their first day of school, other role play ideas include how to ask for for help from someone if they are lost or need help.
Generate a plan if your child has concerns of bullying and who to report to. For example, telling a trusted member of the learning support team (or other faculty).

At orientation:

Find out where the locker will be and how they will open and close the locker. Does their locker have a key or combination? Consider the best way your child will remember the combination eg. Birthdates.
Walk around the school to know where all amenities are.

Parent tip

If comfortable, connect health professionals with learning support team. This can create a clear commutation pathway to ensure all stakeholders are on the same page with your child’s needs.

We acknowledge that everyone’s circumstances are different, and these are general tips for support. If you are wanting a more tailored high school transition support plan for your child, please contact our OT team.