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Important update from TheSchoolRun

For the past 13 years, TheSchoolRun has been run by a small team of mums working from home, dedicated to providing quality educational resources to primary school parents. Unfortunately, rising supplier costs and falling revenue have made it impossible for us to continue operating, and we’ve had to make the difficult decision to close. The good news: We’ve arranged for another educational provider to take over many of our resources. These will be hosted on a new portal, where the content will be updated and expanded to support your child’s learning.

What this means for subscribers:

  • Your subscription is still active, and for now, you can keep using the website as normal — just log in with your usual details to access all our articles and resources*.
  • In a few months, all resources will move to the new portal. You’ll continue to have access there until your subscription ends. We’ll send you full details nearer the time.
  • As a thank you for your support, we’ll also be sending you 16 primary school eBooks (worth £108.84) to download and keep.

A few changes to be aware of:

  • The Learning Journey weekly email has ended, but your child’s plan will still be updated on your dashboard each Monday. Just log in to see the recommended worksheets.
  • The 11+ weekly emails have now ended. We sent you all the remaining emails in the series at the end of March — please check your inbox (and spam folder) if you haven’t seen them. You can also follow the full programme here: 11+ Learning Journey.

If you have any questions, please contact us at [email protected]. Thank you for being part of our journey it’s been a privilege to support your family’s learning.

*If you need to reset your password, it will still work as usual. Please check your spam folder if the reset email doesn’t appear in your inbox.

5 things you need to do before starting secondary school

Child in school uniform
Get your child prepared for their first day of secondary school with these top tips extracted from A Parent’s Guide to Secondary School by Kim Thomas.

1. Buy school uniform

The school should have provided you with a uniform list, but if not it will probably be available on the school’s website or you can call them. Remember that as well as skirts, trousers, tops and so on, you will need to buy shoes and socks in the right colour. Uniform will usually also include a PE kit and possibly some gear, such as shin pads, hockey sticks or lacrosse sticks, too.

Buying the whole kit and caboodle can be expensive, so if you’re struggling ask at the school if they have a second-hand sale. Uniforms can sell out quickly, so it’s a good idea to buy everything at the beginning of the summer. But buy shoes later because there’s every chance that your child will have grown a shoe size by the end of the holidays!

2. Make sure they know how to wear it

If the uniform requires a tie, make sure your child knows how to do it up. “Reduce any anxiety you possibly can by pre-empting it,” says child psychologist Ruth Coppard. So practise during the holidays until they are confident.

3. Pick up essential stationery

You will probably have a list of required stationery from the school that includes pens, pencils, compasses, rulers and protractors. Your child will probably need a scientific calculator, too. You may be able to buy some of the equipment cheaply from the school; if not, some of the bigger supermarkets sell kits at a good price.

Our complete secondary school stationery checklist provides you with a comprehensive shopping list!

4. Fill in relevant forms

The school will send you forms that need to be completed before term starts. These will include fairly routine ones to do with data protection and whether your child needs a locker etc. They may also include forms asking about your child’s special circumstances, such as whether they have special needs, or whether they’ve experienced a recent bereavement. There’s often a waiting list to learn a musical instrument, so if your child wants to take one up now is a good time to apply if you receive a form about it.

5. Apply for a bus pass

If your child is taking public transport or planning to travel on a school bus, you’ll need to apply for a pass or a place on the bus. In London, your child will need an 11-15 Zip Oyster photocard (some London schools also use the Oyster card as a cashless system to pay for meals in school). It’s worth applying for any passes early, as forms can take weeks to process.

And finally!

The day before school starts, do a final rundown. Have you got the uniform ready? Is the bag packed? Have you checked what time school starts and finishes? Have you packed a lunch or given your child money for school dinner? Have you put out bus money for them? Being well prepared will help your child to feel more confident about that daunting first day and it will give you peace of mind, too.