The Starting School Survival Checklist
A calm, one-page, step-by-step guide for the weeks before term, the first morning, and the first half-term — including the sleep and routine changes nobody warns you about.
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Download the checklist (PDF)
Five stages, from six weeks out to half-term.
Twenty short, tickable steps — practical things, not platitudes. Written for UK Reception and Key Stage 1 starters.
6–8 weeks before
Practise the school run, shift bedtime gradually, label everything.
1–2 weeks before
The full dry-run morning, lunch plans, settling-in sessions.
Night before & morning of
Lay it all out, pack the bag together, keep the goodbye short.
First half-term: sleep & routine
Extra tiredness, the after-school meltdown, earlier bedtimes.
Checking in, emotionally
What to ask instead of "did you have fun?", and when to worry.
Struggling with bedtime as term starts?
Starting school is one of the biggest routine disruptions after infancy — earlier wake-ups, shattered afternoons, resistance at bedtime. The Sleep Reset walks you through building a routine that actually sticks, for babies through to school-age.
The Starting School Survival Checklist is general parenting guidance. For any concerns about your child's health or wellbeing, please speak to your GP, health visitor or school.