Starting Primary School: What Your Child’s Teacher Wants You to Know

Are you a parent worried about your child starting primary school? It's understandable to feel anxious about this big change but there's no need to fear it. In this blog post, we'll discuss what school readiness really means, what a school-ready child looks like and share some practical ways to prepare your child for their first big day in Reception class. Let's ease your worries and get excited about this new chapter in your child's life!

What is School Readiness?

School readiness is a phrase which is often used in preschool settings but what does it really mean? Here you'll find out what a 'school-ready' child looks like and discover some practical ways to prepare your child for that all-important big day in September. It's worth remembering that there can be a HUGE difference between a child who has only recently turned four and a child who will turn five in their first few weeks at school. A turbulent couple of years during the global pandemic will also mean that your child probably spent a lot of time at home as a baby. Schools are VERY aware of this and will adapt and ensure that they meet the children at the various stages that they are at! Childhood isn't a race and early years professionals are more than used to differentiating their provision to ensure appropriate levels of challenge for all. Just like preschool, learning through play is still the main approach in Reception.

What Can a School-Ready Child Do?

Examples of school readiness are a child who is:

able to dress and undress independently (although help may be needed with tricky buttons and pesky socks!).
able to put on and take off their coat, plus try to do and undo the zip.
able to use cutlery to eat lunch - it's worth noting that all children from Reception to Year Two are entitled to a free school meal.
curious about learning, who asks and answers questions.
able to use the toilet and wash their hands independently.
able to take turns and make friends.
able to follow simple rules and instructions.
healthy and active.
able to cope in a group of children.
able to sit and listen for short periods, i.e. 5 minutes.
able to tidy away toys!
able to participate in music and storytelling activities.

If your child can't yet do some of these things, don't worry! Your child's teacher will work with you and your child to help them to meet these targets.

What is Not Expected?

Children don't have to recognise all of their letters and numbers. They also definitely don't need to be able to read books! Please let your child be little and let them play! After all, 'Play is the work of childhood,' Jean Piaget.

What Activities Can I Try at Home?

You're probably already doing lots of wonderful things with your child! Here are some more easy and budget-friendly activities which you can try:

Visit the library and take out a book: look at the front cover and guess what the story might be about, talk about where the story starts and ends, use the pictures to tell the story and retell the story using puppets or masks. You could even make your own!
Go on a shape hunt around the house and outdoors: talk about what the shapes look like. How many sides and corners do they have? Make shape patterns and pictures.
Do something fun outdoors: make an obstacle course, build a den or create a bug hotel. All of these activities involve teamwork and lots of discussion, promoting your child's language development!
Practice counting: blow bubbles outdoors – how many can you pop? Who can pop the most? Can you pop more the next time? Make a model using 3/4/5 pieces of construction kit. Thread and count beads onto a piece of string. Click for more fun counting and number recognition activities to do with your child.
Be creative: draw or paint a picture, make a model, create a collage or do some printing! Practice cutting and using an appropriate amount of glue or paint. Talk about the colours and textures with your child.
Get physical: visit a park or play area, play in the garden, practice rolling/throwing and catching/kicking a large ball.
Activities which develop your child's fine motor skills will help to get them ready for many tasks in school, such as writing, drawing, using scissors, turning the pages of a book, construction and using a computer mouse or keyboard.
Small-world play is a wonderful way to develop children’s imagination, creativity and storytelling skills. This blog post provides examples of how you can create your own small-world setups.
Help to develop your child's speaking and listening skills. Phase One of Letters and Sounds lays the foundations for the phonic work which starts in Phase 2 at school. Go on a sound walk, talk about the loud/soft, high/low sounds made when you play instruments, do action songs and read rhyming books together.
If you do want to introduce letters to your child, begin with the SOUNDS, rather than placing too much emphasis on the letter names. Make sure that the sounds (phonemes) are pronounced correctly by children and adults! Sometimes people add /uh/ on the end of a sound (for example, /m/ becomes muh). There are clips online demonstrating the correct pronunciation. Here you will find hands-on activities for teaching letters and sounds.

Starting Primary School - What Happens Next?

The summer before your child starts school, you'll probably be invited to a new intake parents' information evening. Your child should have at least one settling-in session at school and the teacher might visit them at their preschool setting. Some schools also offer a home visit. Don't be afraid to inform your child's new teacher of any particular needs or requirements which your child may have.

Remember that childhood isn't a race. Just choose one or two things from the 'school-ready' checklist to focus on at a time. Above all, enjoy this EXCITING new stage of their development!

Images from Pixabay

This ENGAGING preschool activity book is ideal for helping preschool children to prepare for starting school! Teach your child how to count, rhyme, hear initial sounds, name shapes, to cut and stick and more with these FUN activities.

The book also contains tons of top tips and extra hands-on activity ideas for you to try!