Starting secondary school is both an exciting and daunting time in a child’s life. It is such a big milestone. Everything is new, everything is bigger. So often in my tutoring career when I talk to children about their feelings about maths, they say "I was good at maths in primary school, but this changed when I started year 7". It is always such a shame to hear this. Sometimes a parent will tell me that their child was usually top of the class in primary but since starting year 7 this is no longer true. This does not necessarily represent a problem - it can simply be that the child is now part of a very large year group. Their level of understanding and performance in maths may not have decreased, it is just that by comparison to a large cohort, they are no longer near the top end. Though this in itself is not an issue, it can be demoralising for a child. It can lead to disengagement, and it does, of course, cause worry for the child. Many children do begin to develop problems with progress in maths after joining secondary school, and in my experience, there are a few reasons for this. One is that the new environment is quite daunting, and the child becomes reluctant to ask questions in class. Primary school children are very good at asking questions. They know their teacher well; they spend all day with them, but this is not the case in secondary. The child is trying to get to grips with having a whole host of teachers, and a big year group. Even bright bubbly children become reluctant to put their hand up and ask for further explanations. Another reason is that gaps in knowledge which existed at the end of KS2 become more pronounced in year 7, as a great deal more content is covered and there is a greater reliance on prior knowledge. Key stage 2 lays down so much of the foundation for secondary maths. If the foundation isn’t fully in place, problems can set in. Finally, there are so many more subjects to study. More homework. A child can simply feel over-whelmed and not feel equipped to stay on top of every subject, and some subjects begin to suffer.
So, what can we do? As secondary teachers we are aware that our year 7’s are taking on many new things. I like to devote my first year 7 lesson to simply talking about the structure of the maths lesson, how to set out our books, our workings, when homework will be set, where to complete it, when to submit it. I know my colleagues do this to. The first lesson is about helping the year 7’s to settle in, and understand the new structure for maths lessons. I also ask my students (in all year groups) to write down three things they would like me to know. This is confidential and I give them examples of what people may write, such as “I don’t like answering questions in class” or “I find it hard to finish homework”. I started doing this when one of my own children told me her science teacher did it, and it sounded wonderful. I have learned so much about students by doing this. I like to re-read the information at different points in the year to see if anything has changed. At the end of the year, I give it back and ask the students what they would write now. It is so informative and often shows them, and me, how far they have come.
For the child who feels too shy to ask questions in class, it is always good if, as parents, you reassure your child that teachers like questions. We love them. And almost always at least one other person wants that question answered too. As students become more familiar with their teacher, they will feel happier answering questions. If your child really does not feel confident asking questions, they can email their teacher. Whatever works, just don’t let topics go by without asking the questions you need to ask.
This leaves the issue of having so many subjects. I would say have a look at your child’s homework timetable and help them to come up with a manageable plan for getting homework done each week. I tell my students that if they genuinely cannot finish the work in the time allotted, to just bring it back. Don’t ask your parents or older siblings to do it for you. Let me see what you can’t do, so I can give the appropriate help.
Of course, some children take to secondary school like a duck to water. They all settle in their own time. So, good luck to all the year 7’s taking a great big step this week. I hope you have many happy days in your secondary education.
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