Preparing your Child to Return to School

Since Covid-19 pandemic forced schools to close and children to learn from home, the idea of returning to a ‘normal’ life has been on everyone’s mind. As one of the first steps, children will return to school in the coming days and weeks. While being excited about this prospect, parents and children may also have some concerns. Therefore, preparing your children for this transition will certainly help them to have a great start back at school.

Get back into your routine

Since being in lockdown, families may have taken advantage of a longer lie in in the morning or later bedtime routines. While it may have happened slowly, now is the time to get back on track. Encourage your children to get up earlier, or go to bed earlier, helping to ensure they get the adequate amount of sleep. Also, set alarms in the morning to allow children to ease back into their routine of getting up for school. Ensure that breakfast, snack and lunch times reflect that of the school day to ensure that the child will not be distracted by hunger when in the classroom. Keeping a regular schedule helps to provide a sense of control and well-being. Taking these small steps now will ensure a smooth transition for your child when they return to school.

Have a look at your child's homework 

During this last phase of home schooling, please continue to ensure that your child is completing the work set by his/her teachers. Children will of course have received different levels of support during this process and our teachers will be making adaptations to their timetables and lessons to ensure that the children are finishing the year in line with cantonal expectations. Your valuable help and support though will make this achievement much more attainable for your child.

Try and make time to sit down with your child and see how they are progressing. If your child needs to complete numerous tasks, make a plan together to ensure that they reach their goals before returning. Often a child who dislikes a subject, may be neglecting some of the tasks that are required to do. By helping them work through the tasks, you can help build their confidence and encourage them to start afresh once they return. Also, teachers understand that children have been off from school for weeks, and we will ensure that they get back on track.

Begin talking about returning to school

Returning to school will be a positive step for everyone. Some children however will take time to resettle – and this is completely normal considering they will have been away from their school environment for longer than the duration of a summer holiday. We encourage you to begin talking to your children about returning to school. Remind them about seeing friends again, spending time with their teachers or classroom assistants that have missed them, and completing their favourite subject back in the classroom. Remind them of the joy they have at lunch times, and when they complete extracurricular activities. 

If you are anxious about your child returning to school, speak with your child’s teacher to see how we can support you. Please rest assured that we will follow the government guidelines and strictly implement all safety and hygiene measures. 

Our teachers will work with great effort to assist the children in readjusting to school life again and will certainly take time in class to discuss recent events and give them tips on how to settle and feel comfortable in their school environment again.