There are many reasons why a child might have to move to a new school. Perhaps the family is having to relocate due to job commitments or maybe the child is being bullied or perhaps not progressing well at their current school.

Whatever the reason, the transition can take its toll on a young person, so it’s important for parents to consider the ways in which their child might be affected so they can act accordingly. We have teamed up with a senior school in Hertfordshire to explore further. We know as parents there is a lot of worry about how moving schools will effect your child. We have experienced moving schools twice now so we understand the concerns.

Firstly it’s important to note that when a child moves to a new school, there are lots of things they have to wrap their head around – not just the building itself.

They will also have to adapt to new teaching staff, who may approach their class using different methods.

If your child is either ahead or behind in certain subjects, they might lose interest during lessons, so parents and teachers will need to monitor them and provide them with a little extra support if they need it. 

As a parent, try not to criticise your child if they are performing poorly in any of their lessons. It will take some time for them to get used to everything and settle in. Perhaps consider hiring a private tutor during the transition period to help them.

Another big change for a child moving schools is that they will have to make new friends. They will likely miss their old friends, so if possible, you should try and arrange for them to meet up. This will help them feel less alone when they move. We found the best way to settle in was to have a little gathering of some children your child has started to interact with. Having them back to your home and doing some basic things like a playdate, movie night with food, all helps. It cements your child’s place in the class and they stop being the ‘new person’.

You could also consider contacting some of the parents at the new school and arranging a park trip so that your child has the opportunity to socialise in a more relaxed environment. It can also be the perfect way for you to make new friends with other parents and help each other out with carpooling or play dates.

For the above reasons, your child might suffer with anxiety which is only natural. To alleviate this make sure you keep some calm routines and decent bedtimes. A story in the evening or some reading time for older children helps. As does a bit of exercise after school to get that tension out. Explain that this initial period will pass and that making friends and getting used to change is hard for all of us.

We found that our youngest child settled in quickly as younger children are less concerned with existing friendship groups and friends change from week to week.

For our older child it took about 6 months to get used to all the new teachers, lessons and friends. They are much more aware of how new they are and often by this point friendship groups are smaller in classes which means it takes longer to find your place within one of them.

Joining school clubs and sports also helps as your child becomes ‘part of the furniture’ as one teacher told us.

Try and lift their spirits as much as possible and be positive. If your child can see that you are confident and optimistic about the change, they might start to feel the same.

It’s always worth paying the school a visit ahead of the start date so that they can familiarise themselves a little. If you are going to be in the new area before term starts join a local Facebook and ask if any parents fancy a meetup before school begins. If your child knows someone ahead of their first day this can be a huge help.

Disclosure: This is a collaborative post.