Starting school is a major transition in your child’s life involving separation from familiar adults and children.
By the time your child is ready to start school, they will have a more secure understanding of ‘people permanence’ and are consequently able to approach new experiences with some self-assurance.
However, they will need preparation if they are going to be able to approach the transition to school with confidence and creating a smooth transition into school is vital for future learning.
We are very proud of our school transitions and work in partnership with you and the different schools, to fully prepare your child for their new challenge ahead and strong partnerships are key to a smooth transition.
It is important to remember that you as parents may need support during this time as well. Strong bonds have been formed and intimate aspects of family life have been shared in trust and confidence with staff, making the move up to school a difficult goodbye for many.
Our Assistant Manager Kim Foxall is our transition lead and is a first contact for any questions relating to school transitions.
But what do we do to support transitions? We do a lot……..
Routines
We have a well embedded routine within nursery which closely mirrors a school day with self-registration, together time, focused activities and rolling snacks which all help your child to feel comfortable, confident and know what will happen next.
Together Time
Your child will take part in together times with children who are also ready to take that next step in their education. Together time allows us to support children to engage and listen to each other whilst developing positive relationships.
Together time encourages respect, turn taking and working together – which are all key skills children will need for school.
Together times in nursery are carried out twice a day for around 10-15 minutes depending on children’s age and ability to concentrate – they have a specific structure starting with the “hello song” and talking about how we feel followed by the daily calendar then a focus on phonics, letter/number recognition, pencil control, cutting skills, co-operative games as well as talking and listening activities and it ends with our lunchtime songs.
The benefits of our together time on the school transition are that children go on to school with:
- Improved problem-solving skills.
- Improved speaking and listening skills.
- A sense of community.
- Increased self-esteem.
- Improved emotional intelligence.
- A sense of responsibility.
- Improved relationships between children and key adults.
We work closely with all feeder schools
We understand each individual school’s transition procedure, we feel that the investment of time in making these links is invaluable in supporting your child’s transition to school. We feel it is important to have good links with schools throughout the year, not just at times of transitions and we regularly check how our school leavers have settled into school life.
Your children will be provided with plenty of opportunities to meet their new school teacher through open classrooms, visits to nursery, attending sports days, open evenings and some schools may also offer home visits and settling sessions to help them understand and get used to their transition. However, this may vary from school to school.
We read stories about starting school
Reading stories about going to school provides a great basis to start talking about moving to somewhere new and the associated feelings that may occur. One of our favourites to read with your children is ‘I am too absolutely small for school’ and it was actually introduced to us by Miss Snowden at Sherburn Hungate Primary School when she visited the children and read a story.
We always focus on change as a positive
As a setting we always focus on the change positively and talk about the exciting things that will happen at school – making new friends, a new exciting classroom, we talk about who will be going to school with your child, where they will eat lunch and all the new activities they will be able to do.
We focus on and develop children’s independence
We focus on small tasks that will make a big difference to your child starting reception class:
Being able to put on their own shoes
To get dressed/undressed without help – ready for those PE lessons
To independently go to the toilet and wash their hands
To open wrappers and peel fruit in their lunchboxes and crucially having the confidence to ask an adult for help when needed.
We encourage all children to ‘have a go’ and provide challenging activities.
We are always focussing on children having opportunities to mark make where they choose.
Role play school
We create a school in our role play area, this allows your child to explore school life in a creative and imaginative way – Our home corner is transformed into a reception class with school book bags, uniforms to dress up in, transition photo books and school logos on the walls. This allows children to partake in activities associated with school such as daily registration, assemblies and wearing a school uniform. This exposes your child to some of the elements of their first day at school.
Photo transition books
We ask individual schools for photos of key adults and key areas of provision to create transition photo books to be used in nursery and help your child to become familiar with their new learning environments – these can also be taken home to share and talk about with parents and carers. We also talk about resources we have in nursery that are similar to school such as the wooden blocks, sand and numicon.
Teacher Visits
We contact all the schools that children will be attending and invite the teacher into our setting to meet your child. This helps your child to feel more settled when they start school as there will be a familiar face. Teachers are given sufficient time to spend with your child and key person to discuss and share information about the transition.
Transfer of information
We complete a detailed summative report for children leaving us to go to school which includes comments from you – this is sent electronically to your child’s school ahead of them starting which gives your child’s new teacher a starting point for planning in the first few weeks along with any additional information that we feel will help the transition such as particular interests, worries, achievements, SEN support and interventions. We endeavour to provide schools with as much information as possible, communication is key during this time.
We support parents and carers
We completely understand that you may need some additional support during the transitional time – if you’re feeling anxious come and speak to us. For some families this transitional period will be all new. We will inform you about what you might expect in the months before starting school and how you can help your child through the transition. We will also discuss starting school in our summer term parent consultations and how you can help the transition. We want you to feel as comfortable as possible about your child starting school as children can pick up on parent’s anxieties. As a parent you can support children to become independent in dressing and toileting at home.
The final step
As your child’s last day approaches, we prepare your child for the separation from us and the close relationships we have formed with them. We mark their last day with a special celebration – a teddy bears picnic, we feel this is meaningful and celebrates your child’s time with us in an informal relaxed way. As part of our Kirkgate Childcare family we would always be happy to see you and your child for a visit.
Even after all the above, some children may still feel a little anxious, a great tip we always share is the very simple “hug button” which helps during those first few weeks. The hug button is very simple – it’s a heart drawn on a parent’s hand and a child’s hand that “charges” when they touch and can “send hugs” if pressed, other variations of this include a key ring, matching bracelets, a pocket hug (usually a button found online) or a little pebble in a child’s pocket.
Children with additional needs may need a different approach and this can be supported by our SENDCo Sarah and individual schools.
