Starting school

school children and teacher

School is not just a place where your children learn, grow and develop, it's also a place where they have social groups and a sense of routine. 

Starting school may lead to feelings of anxiety and uncertainty for children. Changing from a home routine to a school routine can be daunting and children may struggle with different feelings and thoughts when they go into a classroom and meet new teachers and other children.

Changing schools, moving into another class or transitioning from primary to secondary school can also bring challenges for children and families.

There are tips and advice to help you and your child settle into school life and make the most of the opportunities they get from being at school.

Going to school

Going to school in Sandwell

Latest information about schools in Sandwell.

Free School Meals in Sandwell

Help with buying a school uniform

Help with travel costs in Sandwell

Sandwell Local Offer 

Support for children and families with special educational needs and disabilities.


Top tips for starting school

Make sure your child starts their day with a healthy breakfast.


Go along to any open days or settling in days.

Show your child their classroom and where to find toilets and coat pegs.

Talk to your child about their teacher and the other children in their class.

Tell them about the school day and how they get in to the school.

Talk about what they are allowed to do and what they are not allowed to do in the classroom.

Talk about what to do at lunch time and what happens when the school day ends.


Show your child how to wash their hands and talk about why they do this.

Help them put on their school clothes, pack their school bag and fill their lunch box.

Show your child how they get to school. Make it fun for them, pointing out things like shops, post boxes, the street names and so on.


Help your child to be school ready by reading, writing and counting with them and build their confidence socially. 

Talk about all the fun things they will be able to do at school and what they will enjoy learning and finding out.


Ready Steady Grow 

Getting ready for school in Sandwell. Ready, Steady, Grow has been created to make sure all young people in Sandwell are school ready.


Starting primary school

BBC Bitesize has lots of information for parents on starting primary school.

Getting into a routine

Encourage children to go to sleep and wake up at a regular time.

Make sure they start the day with a healthy breakfast.

Try to get into a habit of having regular mealtimes.

Avoid snacking before bedtime. 

Switch of devices an hour before bedtime.

Read a bedtime story with them.


Healthy sleep tips for children

Get children in to a healthy sleep routine.

Feeling anxious or worried?

Reflexions

Reflexions is a Mental Health Support Team (MHST). The service aims to help increase access to mental health support for children and young people in schools.

Information is available for children, young people, parents and carers.

Kooth

Online mental wellbeing support for young people

Krunch

support for young people in Sandwell

School Nursing Teams

Early help and extra support for children and young people at school

Sandwell Healthy Minds

Help for people experiencing mental health problems

Black Country Emotional Support Helpline

Freephone 0808 802 2288

KaleidoscopePlus

Talk to someone or use the self help toolkit

Manage Anxiety

Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families support for children and young people struggling with anxiety.

Health and Wellbeing

Sandwell's 5 ways to wellbeing

top tips on supporting your wellbeing.

Route2Wellbeing

Sandwell directory of health and wellbeing services.

Healthy Sandwell

Health and wellbeing suppport in Sandwell.

Health for Teens

NHS website to support teenagers with health and wellbeing.

Health for Kids

Health and wellbeing resources for families.

Place2Be

Helpful advice on starting school and changes at school.

Page last reviewed: 26/09/2023

Actions

Get in touch with us

Family Information Service

family_information@sandwell.gov.uk
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