Preparing for Primary School
Starting primary school is an important and significant milestone which can be daunting and exciting for children as well as for their parents. At RocketEd, we know that it really helps children to settle in to school more easily if they are well prepared in advance. In this post, we offer suggestions and tips for making sure that your child is as ready as they can be for this significant transition in their lives. This doesn't mean that they need to be able to read, write and do maths before they start, but there are some key areas which are beneficial for them to work on in advance.
Its very important to remember that young children develop at different rates and in different ways. This means that those starting school usually present with a wide range of abilities and talents. Don’t worry if your child finds some things harder than other children do - they may excel in other areas and most children catch up with each other as they progress through school. What’s important is that your child looks forward to starting school and that they have fun with you as you start to prepare them in the lead up to September.
The Summer Before
The summer break before school starts in September is an ideal time to start introducing some aspects of going to school with your child. It may help them (and you!) to start practising the school routine to include getting up and dressed promptly, eating breakfast and leaving home at a specified time. It will help them to eat meals and snacks at a comparable time they will have those things on a school day. Help them wind down at the end of the day by avoiding TV or other electronic devices and reading books together instead. As well as kickstarting the development of their pre-literacy skills, this will help them calm down ready for a good night’s sleep with positive benefits for their concentration and learning skills. If they still nap, start to move them away from this and replace these times with quiet sessions of ‘down time’ instead.
Becoming Independent
If your child has already spent time with a childminder or at a nursery, they are probably already used to spending time away from you, engaging with other children, following instructions and rules and taking some responsibility for meeting their own needs. But don’t worry if they’re not - it doesn't mean that they will be left behind or will struggle to cope. If your child does find it hard to know how to make friends, whether they went to nursery or not, it may help for you to teach them some things they can say to other children to initiate play, such as “can I play with you?” and “do you want to share with me?”
Self Care
Settling into school life will be easier for your child if they can manage these 7 self-care skills by themselves before they start:
Recognising in advance when they need to go to the toilet and meeting their own needs;
Washing their hands effectively, using soap;
Dressing and undressing, especially managing difficult fastenings such as buttons and zips;
Feeding themselves by using cutlery, carrying a tray or opening their lunchbox as well as any containers or packets inside it;
Using a tissue. Some young children find it really hard to blow their nose and they may need to practise this!
Tidying up. Lots of schools encourage this by playing ‘tidy up’ songs - there are lots of these on YouTube and you could practice these at home so that they are familiar in advance.
Putting their own coat on. The 'flip trick' is a great thing for your child to learn so that they can put their coat on without help.
Top Tips for Preparing to Start Primary School
Below are 10 things you can do to prepare your child to start primary school…
Talk to your child about school. How do they think it will be? What are they most excited about? Is there anything they’re anxious about?
Chat about happy or funny memories you have from your own time at school. Even better if you were a similar age, as this may help them to relate the story to themselves.
Start to discuss what your child will like best about school, or who will be going that they already know. This may be particularly helpful if they seem nervous about school.
Take the child to visit the school before they start by attending formal events such as open days, or going to informal things like the school fair.
Practise the school morning routine, such as getting dressed, eating breakfast and being ready to leave at a specified time. It might also help to practise the journey a few times.
Think about any particular worries your child has, and be ready to talk about these to the class teacher in advance. Planning what to do and who to tell in advance of a worrying situation can be helpful for children who are anxious about this transition.
Get your child used to being without a favourite toy or item throughout the day so that they are used to this before having to part with it unexpectedly.
Putting together a wallchart of the week so that your child gets used to the idea that certain things happen at particular times.
Teach them some useful phrases for playing with other children, like “can I play?” or “do you want to share?”
Read books together about starting school. Here are a few recommendations:
… and 4 things to try and avoid!
If you’re nervous or anxious about your child starting school, try not to show it. Children are adept at tuning in to our feelings and this may make them feel more worried than they would otherwise do.
Don’t make negative comments about school, even if you had a difficult time or didn’t enjoy it. It's important that their attitude towards school is as positive as possible.
To reassure a worried child, talk about school in a ‘matter of fact’ calm way without focusing on it as a huge step they will have to take, as that might increase their anxiety.
Don’t build school up in an unrealistic way. Manage your child’s expectations of what it will be like so that their trust in you is intact if it doesn’t fully live up to those expectations!
