How Parents Can Ease Back-to-School Anxiety in Pupils with ADHD: A One-Week Plan
Starting a new school year can be nerve-racking for any pupil. For those with ADHD, new school routines, sensory demands (such as scratchy school uniforms or loud cafeterias), and the uncertainty of what the new school year will hold can result in heightened anxiety and feelings of overwhelm. This guide explains why that happens, shares UK guidelines on reasonable school adjustments, and gives you a one‑week transition plan to try with your child at home in the lead-up to their first day of term.
Why Anxiety and ADHD often overlap
ADHD often occurs alongside co-morbid conditions, including anxiety. In fact, recent studies suggest that up to 35% of children with ADHD also experience anxiety disorders.
That means for many, the return to school isn’t just nerve‑racking - it’s downright scary.
Many students with ADHD struggle with aspects of their school day that their neurotypical peers may seem to easily navigate. Seemingly small challenges like keeping on top of homework, staying seated for long stretches of the day, focusing in class or making new friends can be very difficult for neurodivergent students. They may wonder why they seem to be the only ones struggling, and many students with ADHD report feeling ‘behind’ at school. After a long summer holiday away from these pressures, it’s not surprising that the prospect of going back to school would be a significant source of anxiety.
What Schools Can Do To Help
- Plan transitions on purpose. NICE advises schools to “plan and offer tailored interventions to prepare children and young people for educational transitions,” and to check how pupils are settling into new routines.
- Practice runs to reduce uncertainty. Contact your child’s school to see whether it’s possible to visit ahead of the first day of term, so your child will be able to visualise their first day a little better.
- Offer Tailored Support. ADHD is classed as a Special Educational Need (SEN), and can be supported at their school. Schedule a meeting with your child’s classroom teacher or the school SENCO (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator), to discuss appropriate support for your child.
- Schools must make reasonable adjustments. The Department for Education, under the Equality Act, is clear: by law, schools must provide reasonable adjustments for students with SEND.
- Support attention by encouraging movement. Even 20 minutes of exercise a day can have a positive impact on ADHD symptoms, improving academic performance and reducing anxietySchools can encourage students to play outside, participate in recreational sports, or even include short movement breaks as part of the school day.
What Parents Can Do: Easing The Transition
Going back to school after a long holiday is a major transition, and we know that transitions can be a major struggle with ADHD. Switching gears from one task to another, or from holiday mode to school mode, is difficult because of the strain it puts on the brain’s reward centres. Transitions also elicit an emotional response. According to clinical neuropsychologist Michael Rosenthal, PhD,
“There’s also research that shows that the wiring in the brain centers that are involved in helping kids exercise control over their emotions are less developed, so you get bigger emotional displays from them compared to kids who don’t have ADHD.”
Acknowledging this difficulty and finding a way to gently and supportively navigate this transition is the best way to support a child with ADHD and ease their anxiety as much as possible. Here at Sunbeam, we’ve come up with a one-week transition template for you to use at home.
Your one‑week transition plan
This plan blends practical strategies like the ones our tutors and coaches use, along with what schools can reasonably deliver. Adjust as needed around your child’s pace, age and individual concerns.
Day 1: Map worry hotspots and open communication
- Sit down with your child for an open, relaxed conversation about their back-to-school concerns.
- List tricky moments (e.g. corridors, lunch, lining up, changing teacher). Brainstorm with your child to match each with a small strategy (e.g. take a packed lunch to school if sensory sensitivities make eating school lunches difficult, or being assigned a buddy to walk with your student between classes).
- Create a one‑page profile: strengths, anxiety triggers, what helps, what to avoid.
- Email your SENCO with the profile and any requests you have for reasonable adjustments. You may wish to organise a meeting with the SENCO to discuss.
Day 2: Rehearse mornings and evenings
- Practice term-time wake‑up and breakfast routines BEFORE they matter! Give your child choices where possible. Giving them agency in the creation of their routine, such as which breakfast foods they would like, makes them much more likely to stick to it!
- Use visual, step-by-step reminders for morning routines (e.g. a poster with brightly coloured text and/or pictures that says Get dressed → breakfast → teeth → shoes → bag → out). If your child enjoys creative activities, they could even design this poster themselves!
- Do the same for their evening routine. An example of a positive evening routine might be: pack bag, lay out uniform, screens off earlier, wind down before bed.
Day 3: Sensory and travel checks
- Test uniform comfort (remove scratchy labels, test socks and shoes briefly). Most importantly, believe your child if they report any discomfort, even if you don’t personally see the problem. Agree on comfortable but rule‑approved alternatives wherever necessary.
- Do a real‑time travel run. Notice anxiety spots and plan supports (e.g. visual cues to remember which bus stops to use).
Day 4: Classroom readiness and regulation
- If your child would like to practice being in a classroom, use some of their learning materials from the last school year to simulate a short lesson, in which they sit at a desk, take notes and raise their hand as they would do with a teacher.
- Ask your child what classroom triggers they have noticed that can lead to feelings of anxiety or overwhelm. Also, ask if they can describe how it feels to them when anxiety begins to build. Learning to recognise early signs of anxiety and overwhelm can be a very helpful tool for emotional regulation.
- Working together, design a calm‑down plan that your pupil can use discreetly when they’re becoming overloaded. Examples include using a sensory soother like a piece of ribbon or a school-approved fidget toy, asking for a five‑minute reset, or a signal they can use when they need to let a teacher know they are becoming overwhelmed. Share this plan with your school (via email or in a meeting) so that reasonable adjustments can be made.
- Practise help‑seeking scripts such as “I’m feeling overwhelmed” or “May I use my pass?”.
Day 5: Pack‑up drill and first‑day micro‑plan
- Time a school bag pack‑up session using a checklist (planner, books, water, snack, equipment). Turn it into a game in order to boost motivation and a feeling of reward.
- Working together, create a rough plan for the first day back - not only what the morning routine will look like, but also what they would like to do at the end of their first day. Keep options flexible here so the student doesn’t feel constrained or confined by excessively strict routines!
Day 6: Relax!
Day 7: First day of school - use the plan and reflect at the end of the day
- Follow the morning routine, ensuring that you provide plenty of positive encouragement to combat those first-day nerves!
- Check in on them after school, and follow their after-school routine requests.
- If your child’s energy is high after school, add 10–20 minutes of movement to their home routine to help them regulate and blow off some steam in a fun way.
- During the evening, talk with your child about what worked and whether any small tweaks are needed.
Examples of Reasonable Accommodations Schools May Be Able To Offer:
- Predictable starts and organisational support: a meet‑and‑greet, a visual agenda, or written instructions for homework provided by teachers
- Reduced crowds: early starts for corridors or lunch, first in line, etc.
- Clear communication: Instructions given in small steps, both verbally and in writing, to ease memory load.
- A calm‑down routine that’s accepted and logged, not punished.
- Peer support, such as a buddy for walking between lessons.
- Reasonable adjustments (e.g. seating location, extra time, sensory adaptations), as supported by The Equality Act 2010.
When to escalate
If anxiety is blocking attendance or friendships, or if school support is refused, contact your GP or the school mental health lead. Other interventions, such as cognitive behavioural therapy, may be an effective solution.
How Sunbeam Education can help
Our expert coaches and tutors are here to help. Examples of support we can offer to ease Back-to-school transitions include:
Transition coaching with structured sessions by tutors who understand ADHD - practising the first minutes of lessons, building coping scripts and developing organisational strategies to support students with ADHD.
Parent coaching to help you understand your child’s experience with ADHD, co‑write your one‑page profile, polish email templates, and prepare your request for adjustments.
