THE key to a stress-free school run begins with an organised routine. The amount of tension generated by running around the house searching for your children’s PE kits, homework or school bag – when you should already be on your way to school – is huge.

And as we all know, schools take a dim view if your child is persistently late in the mornings. Being persistently late also affects a child’s attainment and ability to settle. But the frantic atmosphere can be avoided with a bit of organisation.

Get prepared the night before

A stress-free morning should start with an organised evening routine. Being prepared the night before is key. You’ll cut out a lot of unnecessary steps in the morning, which will allow you to focus on more important tasks such as eating, washing and dressing.

Have a checklist of what you need to prepare the night before which might include: * School uniform (inc. shoes, socks, etc.).

Packed lunches – make any sandwiches and prepare all food so it’s ready to go.

* Check that all homework has been completed.

* Sign any letters or paperwork for the school.

* Pack the school bag and PE kit depending on the day. By getting your children involved in this step, it will encourage them to develop responsibility for their possessions.

Get up early

In the morning, ensure everyone wakes up with more than enough time to get everything done.

Think about how much time you reasonably need to get ready, then add on another 20 minutes.

Mother-of-three, Toni Loughrey, agrees: “It’s better to allow more time than you think you need to get everyone ready,” she says. “That way if things are going well, you can even get ‘extras’ done, like putting the washing machine on or maybe grabbing five minutes to go through spellings or hear them read.”

Plan breakfast

Your children will be easier to feed if they are given options. Obviously there will not be time for specific orders, but a choice of cereals or different spreads for toast will help children feel in control, and encourage them to look forward to breakfast.

Mum-of-two, Joanne Fisher, said: “Breakfast always causes a row in our house. My son always says he doesn’t want any and I always say he has to eat something. I never seem to have what he wants, despite reeling off a list of cereals. If he didn’t have breakfast, I’d worry he’d be starving hungry at school.’”

Some children don’t feel hungry at home, then become ravenous on the way to school. If that’s the case, you could give them a cereal bar or perhaps some dried fruit to take with them so they’ve something to eat before the bell goes.

And it’s usually a good idea to have breakfast before getting washed and dressed to avoid lastminute disasters needing a change of uniform.

Getting dressed

Getting dressed is another time-consuming task for primary school children, who are often easily distracted by other far more interesting activities!

Organising their uniform the previous evening will get rid of any worries about not being able to find it. However, some children still don’t like getting dressed.

Toni Loughrey finds that competition encourages her children. “Mine are quite competitive, so I use this to my advantage. If I say who is going to get dressed first, they usually both race to me to try and be first.”

Resist the temptation to get too involved with helping your child get dressed. If you take over, and always tie shoes or do up buttons, your child is likely to struggle to do it themselves after PE.

Getting up earlier on a school day, leaving more time for the children to dress will quickly help them become more independent. Don’t worry if they don’t do it perfectly at first – they’ll gradually get better with practise.

Get ahead

Once being more organised in the morning has become a habit, you’ll be amazed to find that you may even have some time in hand before you need to leave the house. This benefits both you and the kids and gets the day off to the right start.

Now, if something unexpected occurs, such as a lost book or PE kit, there will be time to find it.

Joe North, who takes his son to school two days a week, says: “Until Ben and I settled into a calm routine, things were such a panic. I’d lose my temper because I was stressed about being late for work, and sometimes he’d be going into the playground tearful or angry. It wasn’t a good start to our day.

“ We’re both calmer and happier now in the mornings and it’s made a huge difference.”

For more help and advice on all parenting issues, call Parentline Plus on 0808 800 2222 or email at parentsupport@parentlineplus.org.uk .