Changing Schools: What Parents Need to Know

Before making the decision

When time and safety allow, gather information from more than one source. Speak with relevant teachers and school leaders, review attendance and learning information and ask what support has been tried. For a possible new school, ask how it would support your child’s learning, relationships, health, disability or additional needs.

Useful questions include:

• Who will be the child’s main contact during the first weeks?
• How will learning records, adjustments and support plans be transferred?
• What orientation, buddy or mentoring support is available?
• How does the school respond to bullying, attendance concerns and wellbeing needs?
• How will the family and school review whether the transition is working?

A change can be a constructive choice when it improves safety, access or fit. It can also bring disruption. A balanced decision considers both.

Five ways to support a school change

1. Share useful information

Ask the current school to transfer the records the new school needs. Depending on the child, this may include learning reports, examples of work, attendance information, health plans, reasonable adjustments and strategies that have helped.

Tell the new school about strengths and interests as well as support needs. Clear information can reduce unnecessary repetition, reveal gaps and help teachers build on prior learning.

2. Give your child an age-appropriate voice

Explain what has been decided and what remains open to choice. Younger children might choose a lunchbox, visit the playground or list questions for their teacher. Older children may want to compare subjects, transport, activities and ways to keep in touch with friends.

Listen to disappointment as well as hope. Reassurance is more credible when it does not dismiss uncertainty. Try, “It makes sense that leaving your friends feels hard. Let’s work out how you can stay connected and who can help at the new school.”

3. Make the unfamiliar more predictable

If possible, visit before the first day. Practise the journey and locate the classroom, toilets, office, quiet spaces and lunch areas. Find out where your child should go if they feel unsure and identify one staff member they can approach.

Children with disability, autism, attention differences, language needs or a history of difficult transitions may benefit from a written transition plan. A school map, visual schedule, photos, a simple first-week routine or several shorter orientation visits can make expectations clearer. The plan should reflect the child’s own needs rather than a diagnostic label alone.

4. Protect learning continuity and belonging

Belonging is more than joining activities. It involves feeling accepted, respected, included and supported by peers and adults. Australian longitudinal evidence links stronger adolescent school belonging with fewer later symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress, although the effects were small and the study cannot prove that belonging alone caused the difference.

Ask the school about a buddy, lunchtime group, mentor or regular check-in. Encourage activities that genuinely interest your child rather than filling every afternoon. Help them maintain important old friendships where this is practical while allowing new relationships to develop at their own pace.

5. Keep home life steady

Predictable sleep, meals, transport and after-school routines reduce the number of changes a child must manage at once. Leave room for rest because learning new names, places and expectations can be tiring.

Use brief, specific check-ins instead of repeatedly asking whether the child likes the school. Questions such as “Who helped today?”, “What was easier than yesterday?” and “What still feels confusing?” can reveal what support is needed.

What to expect after changing schools

Adjustment is rarely a straight line. A child might enjoy the first week and struggle later, or feel uncertain at first and settle as routines and relationships develop. Temporary tiredness, irritability, sadness about old friends or nervousness before school can be understandable responses to change.

Agree with the new school on a review point and look at patterns across several areas:

• attendance and willingness to enter school
• sleep, appetite and physical complaints
• learning participation and workload
• connection with peers and trusted adults
• mood, behaviour and recovery after difficult days.

A concern in one area is not proof that the move has failed. It is information to discuss with the child and school. Ask what happens before, during and after the difficulty and whether a practical change improves it.

When to seek extra help

Speak with the school counsellor, your GP or a psychologist when distress is persistent, getting stronger or interfering with attendance, sleep, eating, learning, friendships or family life. Early support may help identify whether the main need involves the transition, bullying, learning, disability, anxiety, low mood or another stressor.

If school attendance is becoming difficult, Quirky Kid’s guide to adolescent school refusal outlines collaborative steps for families and schools. If your child talks about suicide, self-harm, harming someone else or being in immediate danger, seek urgent help. Call Triple Zero (000) when there is immediate risk. Children and young people can also contact Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800.

Families who would like individual guidance can learn more about child psychology consultations or talk to the Quirky Kid team.

A well-supported move does not require every worry to disappear before the first day. It gives the child clear information, responsive adults and practical ways to build safety, continuity and connection over time.