Moving Schools Mid-Year? Here’s How to Make the Transition Easy

A child takes months on end and sometimes even years to adjust in a new school setup, so when the time comes to start the process all over again, it can all be very stressful for a child and for the parent as well.

In this article, we will be looking into ways to make the transition easy.

But first, let us try to analyze what could be the reasons behind school change in the middle of the year –

There are n numbers of reasons that can trigger the move. Let us look at the most common ones –

1. Job Shift

Either or both of the parents moving to a new city because of the job change or a transfer in job is the number one reason behind changing of school midyear.

1. Sudden Space in your Preferred School

More often than not, there are a number of students that end up in the waiting list of the school of their choice and in the absence of certainty of whether their child will get or not, they opt for their Plan B School.

In situation like these, when a vacancy comes up in the former school, Parents tend to switch back to their intended plan.

1. Child Not Performing Well in Class

Poor academic performance is also one of the most common reasons behind school change. There can be a number of situations revolving around the school the child goes to, which leads to their poor performance in class. In situations like those, shifting schools seems like the right move.

1. Bullying

One of the most ignored and yet one of the most common reasons behind school change in mid year is Bullying.

1. Financial Reasons

Finances also play a motivating role in midyear school shifting. There have been situations where parents were no longer able to afford the education their children were getting in Private school and so they shifted to State schools and vice versa.

In the end, there can be any reason behind you looking for a new school for your child, but what you, as a parent need to check is that A. The situation (if gruesome) in the last school doesn’t get carry forward in the new school as well and B. The transition should be easy for your child.

Let us see how you can achieve that –

1. Talk to your Child

Before everything else, talk to your child. If you are in a situation where your child’s academic performance has deteriorated or you are worried that they are bullied in school, there can be some deeper underlying causes which might not get solved just by changing the school.

If yours is the case of job shift, sit with your child and ask them to share their checklist with you – of the facilities they want to be present in the school.

2. Shortlist Schools on the Basis of your Last School’s Problem Areas

Analyze what all problems you or your child faced in the last school – was it lack of extra-curricular activities or was it the crowd of the school or maybe it was the monthly fees system that was the issue. And once you do, talk to the Principal of the new school about those issues in the open.

Since you have already been a part of the process before, you know how the school selection process works and the things that you have to pay attention to, etc. The only thing to make the transition easy as a breeze is to talk to your child about it and find out what they feel about the transition and what would make it easier for them to accept the adjustment in front of them.