Living in the UK: Happy New School Year!
September is here - and it is time for the new school year! Apart from school places and school uniforms, how else can we prepare to help children thrive at their new schools, and to make sure that this will indeed be a happy new school year?
Pay attention to your children’s needs:
Chat with your children everyday and stay engaged with what is happening at school, and find out if they are having difficulties in any aspects of their school life.
If you feel your children might need a hand at school, you can contact the school and find ways to help your children with the teachers. (Even if the school might not have Cantonese support, sometimes small arrangements, like having a helpful and friendly student seated next to your child and repeating what the teacher says, can already be a great help.
Do inform the school if your children have special education needs and disabilities (SEND). Your school can arrange support, and even help get extra help for your children if necessary. (See here for how to help SEND support for children in the UK.)
Help your children to form new friendships:
Primary-age children can usually adapt to new schools and new friends quickly. Even so, you can help by organising activities where your children can invite their new friends to join, like birthday parties, or outings at local parks and museums on weekends. (Do remember to check whether your little guests have any allergies, if you would like to prepare food and drinks for these activities.)
Involve your children in school clubs, extracurricular activities, and local children and youth groups. Extracurricular activities like sports, music, and arts are good opportunities for your children to bond with other children non-verbally and boost their confidence.
Help your children to find an open space for sharing in Cantonese:
For teenagers, adaptation is a bit harder. Navigating a new environment where schooling and interpersonal relationships are all conducted in another language, and without the company of their friends back in Hong Kong, can be a real challenge. That is why children, especially teens, need a safe space where they can have heart-to-hearts in Cantonese with children from similar backgrounds, and be free from the constant demand of expressing themselves in another language (like when they are at school).
If there are not many students from Hong Kong (or even Asia) in your children’s new schools, you may find other Hong Kong families with children of roughly the same age in community youth organisations and churches, and organise regular outings and meetings where teenagers can connect and share their own feelings openly.
To conclude, emotional well-being is the most important factor for your children to settle well in a new learning environment. Pay attention to their needs, encourage them to make friends, and help them to find a secure space where they can develop camaraderie with children from familiar backgrounds. This will all help your children to become more happy, secure, and confident. And happy, secure, and confident children will have an easier time to thrive in a new environment.
If you are looking for support, you can approach Hong Kong Well UK (which provides Cantonese emotional support resources for young children) or Barnardo’s (which has a Cantonese support hotline). You can also watch UKHK’s children well-being webinar here, or place an order here (for free!) for a children's magazine about British life and culture for your children.
