Book any doctor or dentist appointments and clear up any issues that may affect your child’s ability to return to school on time.

Check each child’s booklist and ensure you have everything ordered together with the stationery needs. There is nothing worse than realising the night before that they are missing an essential book or tool.

Don’t forget school bags too. Check if your child needs a new one for the coming year or if last years just needs a quick clean. You don’t want to get to back to school night and discover school bags need cleaning or don’t fit books!

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Book covering is a great resource offered by many online retailers. I have often sat on back to school night covering books wishing I had got them covered when I ordered them!

Many books have to be brought to the schoolroom on the first day and left there, so they need to be clearly labelled with the child’s name in advance. Personalised labels are a quick and easy way to label all your child’s books and belongings.

Don’t forget to label or write your child’s name with a laundry pen on all their belongings, clothes, shoes, pencil cases, coats, bags, lunch boxes, bottles etc. anything that can get left behind!

Check all the school uniforms to make sure you have everything you need. Experience tells me that getting these early is your best bet as you may not get the sizes, colours etc. you need if you leave it too late. Don’t forget the gym gear as well.

When buying your school uniform, look for items with extras as standard. For instance at M&S many of their uniform fabrics are stain resistant, water repellant and crease resistant.

You’ll also find innovative sizes and fits including Plus fit (6cm wider in the body), Slim fit (4cm narrower in the body), as well as shorter and longer lengths on trousers and skirts. And clever design features like adjustable cuffs.

This is especially for those first timers. They may be so overwhelmed on the first day that a visit shortly in advance will help demystify the venue and alleviate their fears.

Make a few double batches as you cook the week before and save and freeze the 2nd batch.

This will help you and the family get back into a routine and juggle work and homework commitments.

During those summer evenings the kids all tend to stay up later and that is fine if they can laze on in the morning. You want to avoid exhaustion and tension on back to school morning so it’s advisable to get those bedtime routines back in place a few days in advance.

If possible, for those first few days back to school, try and reschedule work travel commitments or meetings so that you can focus on the task at hand of getting the kids back and settled.

Some parents like to get a school year organiser at this time to fill in key dates and keep track of everyone’s activities and schedules.

Identify an area in your home, hallway, closet where the inevitable back packs, gym bags and coats will go. Make sure everyone knows where this is in advance and ideally give everyone a dedicated spot/coat hook!

A child’s mental ability will be determined by good, healthy food. So do your preparation for the first week back by stocking up on some healthy lunchbox fillers.

You might find these useful:

• 11 Tried and Tested Lunch Box Recipes That Kids Love
• No Sandwich Lunch Box Ideas for Kids
• 10 Not to Be Missed Lunch Box Ideas & Hacks
• 100 Healthy Lunch Box Ideas Your Kids Will Love

Start putting a morning and evening checklist together and put it on the fridge. This will help everyone know in advance what needs to be done and in what order.

This should include shoes, bags, coats etc. This will avoid any morning panics about where everything is and ensure calm is maintained.

I know it’s a chore but it will save you time and it’s one less thing to do on the first morning back.

Having a family meal together, can be a nice way to welcome the new school term. Get the kids to choose the menu, and even help you prepare the dinner.

Sitting around the table together will allow for conversation, and a chance to discuss any issues or fears about the start of term too.

I know this can be a major obstacle in most modern homes – but if you can replace that time with a family meal followed by an activity together, e.g. a board game or card game, everyone will be a whole lot calmer and get to bed on time.

Be school ready. Ideally set 2 alarms in case one doesn’t go off. The last thing you want is to sleep in on the first day back to school!

We set our alarm clocks 15 minutes early during the first few days back just to get back in the routine and not have everyone rushing and stressed.

Breakfast is one of the most important meals for the day for school kids, and skipping breakfast can set them on the wrong track.

Get organised the night before by setting out cereal bowls, chopping up some fresh fruit or prepare your ingredients for a smoothie. Have some cereal bars at the ready in case something does go wrong.

If you need some inspiration beyond the same cereal:

• 10 Quick and Healthy Breakfast Ideas That Aren’t Porridge
• 8 Delicious, Quick and Healthy Breakfast Ideas for Busy Mornings
• 10 Quick & Easy Breakfast Smoothies for Kids
• These Breakfast Berry Muffins Are Sure to Be a Hit!
• 11 of the Easiest and Most Delicious Breakfast Recipes with Eggs

It can be a stressful time going back to school, especially for the little ones. Write a little note and pop it into their lunchbox telling them how proud you are of them. It’s guaranteed to get a smile and perk up their day!

Never underestimate the value of a good hug – it does wonders for their self esteem, knowing that you are there for them, no matter what.

If you get stressed your kids will too! Take a few deep breaths and get some fresh air.

However, with your preparation done you should have avoided the majority of potential pitfalls and back to school night and day should be child’s play!