Starting high school is a big step up from the primary years. Your child is taking a lot more responsibility for their learning – they’re juggling different subjects, new teachers and a lot more homework than they may be used to. As a parent, your role has evolved, too – it’s now more about being a ‘consultant’ advising your child than a ‘manager’ who makes the decisions for them. It’s all part of their journey towards independence. That said, your support is important during this big transition as they learn to navigate their new environment and take charge of their education.
SEE ALSO: Senior High School: A Practical Guide for Families
What Students Will Learn: Core and Specialist Subjects
The transition into high school learning will bring an expansion of the key learning areas from primary school, as well as more complex subjects. “Starting high school emphasises deepening core skills in English and maths, with science and specialist subjects like languages and history broadening students’ knowledge,” says Bharti Sharma, a primary school teacher and tutor from Success Tutoring. “English and maths remain key pillars, with a focus on advanced skills in analysis and problem-solving. Science begins to develop, introducing lab work and hands-on learning.”
At most schools, students can expect a more rigid day-to-day schedule and transitioning between classrooms for each subject, as opposed to learning primarily in one classroom as they did throughout primary school. This means that students will need to build out their time management and organisation skills to balance their homework for different classes.
How Families Can Support Them: Encourage Their Organisational Skills
Planning and organisation are key for students moving from primary into high school as their days and weeks become more structured, so providing them with a dedicated study space and organisational tools will help them stay on track. “Ensure they have all the tools and resources they need to succeed at school and study at home. Provide a planner, study essentials and any required tech,” says Bharti. “Set up a dedicated study space for them. This [should ideally] be a quiet, organised area for focused work. [Also], assist them with time management. Help them track assignments and deadlines, and support them with healthy food, breaks when studying at home and emotional support.”
What to Try
- Studymate Study Cards 127x76mm 80 Pack White
- Studymate Study Card Box 127 x 76mm Pink’
- J.Burrows A-Z Index Card Dividers 127 x 76mm
- Otto Manhattan Desk Calendar
- Peanuts Snoopy Undated Desk Calendar © 2024 Peanuts Worldwide LLC
What Students Will Need: A Dedicated Study Space
With the extra homework load that comes with starting high school, your child needs a dedicated study space that’s free from distractions – a desk and a chair in a quiet corner of their bedroom or another room in your home. “I don’t encourage them to have their gaming station in the same place as where they’re studying, and it can be helpful if they leave their phone in another room,” says Amanda Lecaude, academic life and executive function coach at Organising Students.
What to Try
- Sheffield 2 Drawer 1115mm Desk White and Oak
- Otto Kronborg Curved Desk White
- Pago Ash Chair Black
- Otto Kronborg Ergonomic Chair Green
- Otto Mistral Chair Natural
- Otto Floral Pencil Case
- Otto A5 Embroided Notebook Linen Look 192 Pages
- Otto B5 Tri-fold Notebook Natural Linen Look
- Otto A5 Notebook Floral 192 Pages
- Otto Floral Metal Pen
- Studymate A4 8mm Ruled Exercise Book 96 Colourblock 5 Pack
- Studymate A4 Recycled Exercise Book 240 Page
How Families Can Support Them: Encourage Independent Choices
Amanda recommends supporting your child to make their own choices rather than issuing blanket rules, particularly around device use. “It’s about encouraging kids to make the right decisions,” she says. “If you nag, they may do the exact opposite.”
If they’re struggling to get started on their homework, Amanda suggests workshopping a plan of attack. “Talk to them about what they need to do and how they can go about it.” Encouraging your child to make good choices about how they spend their time helps to set up healthy study habits for the future. “If kids don’t do the work, they end up getting stressed and overwhelmed. Good routines and habits are really important,” she says.
SEE ALSO: 10 Healthy Kids’ Lunch Box Tips
How Students Might Feel: Nerves and Anxiety
Feeling nervous about starting high school is “totally normal”, says clinical and educational psychologist Sophie Smith, clinic director of The Young Mind Clinic. “It’s our brain doing its job looking out for things that might present challenges to us and getting us to focus our mind on them.”
It can be helpful to explain to your child that the newness is temporary. “You might also talk about times in the past when they’ve encountered new situations, perhaps when they started in upper primary, and how they felt about that and how they coped,” says Sophie.
How Families Can Support Them: Create Opportunities to Debrief
Keeping your family’s daily routine simple and predictable can help to ease nerves and help your child settle into high school. Focus on family mealtimes and plenty of downtime. “Keep things at home low-key – try not to have lots of exciting events going on that might disrupt them,” says Sophie.
Just like in primary school, talking with your child and creating opportunities for them to debrief as they start high school is really important. “Lots of things usually come up, particularly in those first six months of high school when they’re trying to deal with a huge transition in terms of how their school day works,” says Sophie.
And when it comes to having these chats, Sophie says they’re often less intimidating when you’re not sitting face-to-face. “You might be in the car or going for a walk or lying on their bed staring at the ceiling before they go to sleep.”
