School Readiness – is my child ready to start school?

School readiness is a word that is used a lot and a word that causes rather a lot of debate but it basically means ‘is my child ready to start school?’ Well there are a number of factors that should be considered and thought about but most importantly you must remember that every child is different, some will do things before each other and it doesn’t mean that your child is not ready!

Every single year during the summer months thousands of parents ask themselves ‘is my child ready to go to school?’ Before you become a parent people tell you that ‘it goes so quickly’ and ‘before you know it they’ll be off to school’ but when you have that newborn baby in your arms you don’t think it will really go that quickly do you? But before you know it here you are with your 4 or 5 year old preparing them for one of the biggest days of their lives …..BIG SCHOOL and worrying whether they are ready or not. This is part of the journey of being a parent and a moment that you will never forget! Well here we are in August 2020 with very uncertain times ahead of us, we do not know what the future holds and when the schools or early years settings will be able to practice ‘normally’ again. We now have lots of little people who should have been enjoying their last few months at nursery, practicing getting ready for big school and getting super excited. However lets try and look at the positives – all that quality time parents have had with their little one before they take their first steps into higher education and are at school 5 days a week, 6 hours a day is something we should all be thankful for and with the support of Each Peach Childcare these little people will excel in higher education.

At Each Peach Childcare we fully commit to preparing our children for school to promote a smooth transition.  The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) embodies all aspects of ‘School Readiness’, and is the curriculum we use to inform our planning, ensuring we meet all children’s development needs from birth.  Following this curriculum means that all family group rooms are working towards school readiness.

The age grouping in our family group rooms is designed to create a homely environment, reflecting the common age gap between siblings at home where the younger child learns from the elder child and the elder child can help care for their younger sibling, thus promoting empathy, patience and understanding. Our group time sessions regularly involve the use of the ‘Feelings Board’ to support the recognition and expression of feelings developing their confidence and emotional intelligence. We have looked at school brochures and created our very own ‘School Bag’ packed with all the items the children have identified they might need to take to school.

Throughout the nursery we promote children’s independence through fun, stimulating activities and equally important self-care routines such as using the bathroom, getting ready for the garden and meal times.

To support the children’s literacy (reading and writing) we provide a language rich environment broadening vocabulary through conversation, debate and the sharing of thoughts, ideas and opinions through games and activities such as ‘Mystery Bag’ and phonic games such as ‘Silly Soup’ in addition to traditional activities such as singing and story time. We promote children’s dexterity and pencil control through fine motor activities such as dressing/fastenings, construction, embroidery, wood whittling and practise the tripod grip using the broken off pieces of crayons. Number songs during group time, memory games such as ‘Kim’s Game, sorting and ordering at tidy up time and sequencing when making play-dough all support children’s mathematical and problem solving development.

There are a few things that teachers say can really help when children go to school, we already do all of these things at nursery but they can also be practiced at home….  being able to change themselves into their P.E kits is a big one – we practice putting on coats at nursery and parents can do this at home with the P.E kit too!  Children are not required to be able to write their own name when starting school however if they understand and recognise what their name looks like it makes it much easier for them to find pegs etc so thats another thing that can be practiced! It goes without saying that parents should name everything that their child takes to school with them, including clothes and coats! It is good to encourage them pop everything back in their bag so there is no wandering around the school corridors to collect belongings at the end of the day!

We are confident that all of the children leaving Each Peach and heading off to school in September are ready to start their next chapter and we will as always work with the school and parents to make sure the transition is a smooth one!