The Starting School Survival Guide

What every parent needs to know before your first child starts school.


Is your first child about to start school? Do you want to give your child the best start to their education and school life?  Are you nervous about dealing with other parents and teachers?


If you’re worried about how to prepare your child – and yourself - for school for the first time, The Starting School Survival Guide eases your worries and gives you all the gossip from the school gate telling you everything you need to know.  


Any idea what a number-line is?  Nervous of being told off by the lunch box police?  It’s okay, because Sarah Ebner, author of The Times popular blog School Gate and mother of two, is going to arm you with all the things people never tell you to prepare for when term time begins!


Packed with tons of personal advice and tips from parents who’ve been through it themselves, find out how to prepare yourself – and your child – for surviving the school system unscathed.  From help with choosing and applying to the right school in the first place, and preparing for your child's first day, to dealing with head lice, navigating school cliques (children as well as parents!) and interacting with teachers and other parents, you’ll find out all the best ways to cope and more, including:


Preparing your child: when to teach them to read, the perils of school uniform, tips to help them learn 

Gossip at the gate: dealing with school gate mums, the etiquette of birthday parties, and negotiating friendships 

Education: helping with homework, key stage exams and understanding the national curriculum 

Holidays: how many can you take, holidays in term-time, what to do with your child during the summer 

Problems at school: children with special needs, coping with shyness, what to do if your child is bullied or is the bully...)


From classroom to playground, and beyond the school gate, this is essential reading for every parent entering the school system for the very first time (since you left school yourself).