Back to School: preparing for the new year
1. Starting at a new school: building coping mechanisms
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鈥淧repare for some difficult behaviours. Your child is coping with an onslaught of new experiences 鈥� new friends, new teachers, new rules, new routine, new knowledge. This is difficult to manage, even for a child who is really enjoying their first few days at school.
鈥淪o, prepare for some strong emotions and some challenging behaviours and try to keep afternoons and evenings free for active play and relaxation. Your child will likely be more tired than normal so try to allow for an early night. And don鈥檛 forget to congratulate yourself 鈥� starting school is a milestone to celebrate!鈥�
2. Language and Learning
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鈥淵ou will notice a rapid growth in your child鈥檚 language once they start school but setting aside those quiet times in the afternoon to chat and do things together is still really important.
鈥淔or children who speak an additional language at home it is crucial to maintain those skills and consider sending your child to a community language school in order to do so.鈥�
3. Preparing students for a digital future
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Tech skills will enable students to achieve things that were once thought impossible, in fields that don't yet exist.
鈥淚n 2019, every NSW school will start teaching the Digital Technologies curriculum, which will equip students with the skills they need to prepare for and prosper in an increasingly technological world.
鈥淒igital Technologies skills, whether understanding data or coding, is critical to ensure students learn not just to consume technology, but also to create with it.
鈥淔rom medicine to finance to spaceflight, tech skills will enable students to achieve things that were once thought impossible, in fields that don't yet exist.鈥�
4. Setting good exercise habits early: walk or cycle to school听
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鈥淲alking or cycling to school can be an energising way to start the new school year. Children who are active before school have better concentration, and feel more alert, for up to four hours.
鈥淲alking or cycling together can be a great way to spend some quality time together while being outside and getting the mental health benefits of being active outdoors.鈥�
Walking or cycling together can be a great way to spend some quality time together while being outside and getting the mental health benefits of being active outdoors.
鈥淣ot everyone can walk or cycle to school, perhaps because of the distances involved. But it鈥檚 still possible to park the car or get off the bus or train a stop or two earlier, to allow for some time to walk together. This will also have the added safety benefit of fewer cars around the school.
鈥淔or high school students, learning how to catch public transport to school is a positive step towards growing independence that is an important life skill.
鈥淗ow parents/guardians get to work can determine how children get to school, so it鈥檚 important for parents to think about their own travel behaviour, and how they can introduce walking or cycling to work.鈥�
5. Talking and reading matters
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鈥淭ransitioning from preschool to school and from primary to secondary school can be exciting but can also create some anxieties. Returning to school can also be eagerly anticipated and, at the same time, be a little worrying. Ensuring there is always time to talk with children and young people about their expectations and concerns about school and learning and making sure communication is honest and open is important.
It goes without saying that establishing good relationships between teachers and parents is always vital in ensuring children鈥檚 social and emotional wellbeing at home, preschool and school.
鈥淧arents can often use the special time they share when they read with their children as a starting point for discussion. Making time for creative play is also important.
鈥淥f course, it goes without saying that establishing good relationships between teachers and parents is always vital in ensuring children鈥檚 social and emotional wellbeing at home, preschool and school.鈥�
6. Getting past the marketing: healthy lunchboxes
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鈥淭he basics of a healthy lunch don鈥檛 need to be fancy or expensive. Simple components such as wholegrain sandwiches, fruit, cheese and crunchy vegetables can be quickly prepared for tried and true core healthy choices.鈥�
鈥淔or those parents navigating the supermarket for convenient extras, its useful to know a few simple label reading tips. Claims such as 鈥榣ow fat鈥� and 鈥榟igh protein鈥� are often used as a marketing tool on foods that may not be great choices overall. If you鈥檙e interested in a particular nutrient like sugar or salt, you can use the nutrition information panel on the back-of-pack to compare similar products. As we know most people don鈥檛 have time to read these, the Australian government led development of the Health Star Rating as a simple, at a glance way to compare products.
It rates foods from 0.5 (less healthy) to 5.0 stars (more healthy) and works best when comparing products next to each other on shelves. While no system is perfect, Health Stars get it right most of the time. If a product doesn鈥檛 show stars yet on pack, you can use the free FoodSwitch app to scan the barcode and find out how it rates.鈥�
7.听Schoolbags are safe for young backs
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鈥淭he heavy-bag theory of childhood back pain is a myth. Our tells us that school backpacks 鈥� their weight, size, shape 鈥� and even how kids carry them are not an important cause of back pain in children. This means that parents need not worry about adhering to strict guidelines about backpack weight, nor should they go out and buy the most expensive, ergonomic bag available. If the bag is comfortable and the child can carry all the things they need for school - that is a great place to start.
鈥淲e all know how important physical activity is for kids. The best backpack is the one your child wears walking to school, or to and from transport.鈥�
8. Vaccinations for school
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鈥淚n NSW, all school principals must request an immunisation certificate when a child is being enrolled in both primary and high school.听
The NSW immunisation policy acts as a crucial prompt for parents to catch-up any of those late or missed vaccines from those early childhood years.
"While students can still be enrolled if the certificate is not provided, they may be excluded during an outbreak or when they come into contact with a person with a vaccine preventable disease. High schools were added to this requirement in April 2018.
鈥淭he NSW immunisation policy acts as a crucial prompt for parents to catch-up any of those late or missed vaccines from those early childhood years. So, for school it鈥檚 mandatory immunisation record checks rather than mandatory vaccination.
This ensures that all kids can still access school while prompting those who were inadvertently late or missed out. All other states have different versions of these requirements for school entry excepting South Australia which has no requirements at present.鈥�
