Get your teen ready to go back to school

Aug 1, 2025
5 min read

Updated: Jul 22

This is just a snippet from The Parents' Guide to Homelife and Study. If you’d like the full version, with clear, up-to-date advice, practical tips and actions you can take at home, click below.

Read the full guide: The Parents' Guide to Homelife and Study - GCSEs

Don't underestimate the importance of starting the new term well, because those first couple of weeks set the pace and approach for the term, and the year, ahead. If your teen's tired, unprepared and playing catch-up from the off, it can be tougher to get back on track once term has started and the work's piling in.

Over the holidays, regular routines often slip. Teens go to bed later, get up later, eat at less regular times and enjoy clothes, hair and make-up that are more expressive of their personalities. Then, all too soon, the holidays are over and it's back to school, with early starts, lots of new information to absorb, and expectations on behaviour.

Here are our tips on how to help your teen get ready to go back to school, rather than struggling to adapt once term has started.

To sleep, perchance to dream

Sleep is probably the single most important factor in wellbeing. Lack of it makes us irritable, unable to concentrate, less likely to eat and drink the right things, and more at risk of picking up illnesses. And sleep is one of the first things that shifts during the holidays.

It's fine for your teen to have later nights and lie-ins during the holidays, but they'll need to adjust so they're going to bed early enough to get the right amount of sleep for early mornings once school starts. If they need to be in bed by 10pm to get up at 7am, and they've regularly been going to bed at midnight or beyond, they won't be OK switching to a 10pm bedtime the day before term starts.

The body takes time to adjust, so make sure they start moving bedtime earlier incrementally for a couple of weeks before their first day back. Closing the gap between when they should go to bed and when they actually do will help.

Don't forget, getting to sleep will be easier if they set up a bedtime routine. This could include switching the phone to silent, putting it away, taking a bath, dimming the lights, and spending a little time listening to soft music, reading or journaling. Sticking to a similar routine every night signals to the body that it's time for bed, so try to get your teen into the habit of doing the same things before bed each evening, which should also cue them to feel calmer.

Other routines

Try to make sure they eat breakfast, lunch and dinner at similar times each day, especially if this has been more flexible over the holidays. Eating at regular times helps regulate their blood sugar so they aren't subjected to peaks and dips in energy. And what they eat matters too, including their choices for snacks; try to make sure the fridge and cupboards contain lots of appealing, healthy options.

Less easy to control is their time online, whether that's chatting on social media or watching box sets. This almost always rises during holidays when they have more free time, so once school is back they need to adjust. A good idea is to chat to them about how much time they think would be fair given their other commitments. You might be surprised what they suggest, and it can be easier to hold them to it later if they underestimate how much time they actually spend online.

How they look

Whether they're wearing uniform or not, there may be expectations on appearance at some schools and colleges. This could relate to types of clothes (no shorts, for example), haircuts, jewellery or cosmetics. If there are guidelines, it's a good idea for your teen to have taken these into account so they look appropriate from the first day of term.

They shouldn't overlook having a wardrobe of clean clothes (including shoes and trainers) that fit, suitable for the weather, to take them into the term ahead, as well as the right uniform if they wear one. Some schools offer pre-loved items much cheaper if you can’t buy the uniform in mainstream shops.

Being equipped

Whether they’re at GCSE stage or sixth form, and despite so much being online, they’ll still need some old-fashioned stationery. They should already have quite a bit from last year, but a refresh is a good idea. It’s exciting to begin the new year with new notebooks and pens, and it could motivate them to feel more positive about heading back. That said, don't waste money on it; if they've already got lots of unused notebooks, buying more is unlikely to suddenly turn them into diligent note-takers.

They need to stay organised, so folders and files are essential. They'll receive a lot of their subject matter on paper, so make sure they're ready to file it away and keep the right items together. Leaving loose sheets all over the place creates muddle and notes are more likely to get lost, which makes revision harder later.

Diaries and planners help them keep track of where they should be and when, along with important dates for handing in assignments and taking exams. They might prefer online apps, which is fine, but a hard-copy diary could help them focus.

You may also want to check they have everything they need for any new subjects, especially textbooks. In some cases they may need specialist equipment, for example for maths, art or design.

A good pair of earbuds could also be useful, helping them shut out distracting noise when they're trying to concentrate.

One thing that's easily overlooked is a laptop stand, both for their desk at home and a foldable, portable one for school, so they're looking at the screen at eye level. Hunching over a laptop for hours affects their posture, which could have long-term consequences.

We’ve included a checklist on our website, or take a look at the complete school stationery bundle.

Thinking positively

A fresh term signals a fresh start, and it's ideal if they can begin the new year feeling positive and in control. A positive mindset can be helped by making sure their bedroom is tidy and organised. The end of the holidays is a great time for a good sort-out: cleaning their room, putting things away, throwing out what they don’t need, and making sure they have an appropriate space to study.

A wardrobe overhaul could also be timely, donating clothes that don’t fit or recycling those that have worn out, so that whenever they open their wardrobe it's uncluttered and filled with things they want to wear. Making their own decisions about what to keep and what to let go helps them feel in control, and a clean, uncluttered space helps them feel mentally refreshed too.