Start a new school is tough. Perhaps even tougher than ever given the stresses and strains our kids have been under with their school life and education over the last couple of years. Giving children the best possible welcome to school is so important. Many pupils have anxiety, lots of them feel lonely. Creating a school which feels warm and inviting is integral to getting those students through the doors. How can you do that though? What
Utilise Technology
One of the best things about our modern day schooling is the ability to lean into technology. New teachers can be quite intimidating, especially if you’ve never met them before or heard stories about how strict they are. By using apps and video technology, teachers can film a short video of themselves, introducing the classroom and taking away that awkward first moment. They could even go ‘live’ so pupils can engage with them and maybe ask questions. This is brilliant for new starters in junior schools, but also all children moving from one year to another. The transition to high school can be extremely intimidating so having had a short interaction with the teacher ahead of the first day is a great thing to do.
Create A Place They Want To Be
The school building can look scary. Imagine being a small child, four or five years old and entering a huge building you’ve never really been in before. Even high school kids can feel like their new school is easy to get lost in. No one likes the unknown so creating a warm and friendly place for children to thrive in is important. Everything from the colour of the walls to the reception desk counters needs to be thought about. The teachers, dinner staff and other members of the team can be so kind, but the atmosphere that the children spend there time in is also important.
Include Them In Decisions
It’s also really important to include kids in the decision. Obviously not the running of the school, but things like the art work on the walls and the after school clubs that they’d like to take part in. This is their school. It’s the workplace of the teachers and the staff team but it’s the school of the children. They develop so quickly through the years of school so if they can have an input now, they’ll want to have input in things later in life. These are the future generations of our society. They’ll have important roles to play. If they start giving ideas know, they’ll continue when they are perhaps more important.
These are just three ways that you can create a warm welcome to the world of school. Childhood is hard. Much harder than many of us give children credit for. We expect them to just show up with a smile on their face. However there are feelings behind the not wanting to enter the classroom in a morning. There are thoughts behind the outburst in class. Let’s nurture our kids and give them a educational environment which helps them thrive.
