Supporting children’s transition to school should not be a separate part of the program, it is embedded in our philosophy, practices, daily routines and activities. Nought to Five believes that the transition to school starts from birth. That means that from the very beginning of your child’s journey at Nought to Five, educators in each room are supporting your child to develop the skills that are essential to be successful and confident learners that are school ready. Our philosophy states that our program provides all children with an opportunity to learn and develop following a play-based approach. Our focus is on building children’s resilience and self-help skills, developing their confidence and respect, as well as their relationship and communication skills, in line with the approved Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF). The EYLF sets the standard for all preschools, long day cares and family day cares. Research suggests that the best way early childhood settings can prepare a child for school is to ensure that they have optimal social, emotional and learning experiences and environments. Parents often think that their child must know numbers by rote 1-10, be able to write their name correctly, or be able to know the sounds of the alphabet. As educators, we know that these skills can be incorporated in play-based activities for all children to participate in, based on children’s interests. Children cannot thrive at school if they haven’t developed the skills to manage things like getting along with other children, following instructions, and communicating their needs. At Nought to Five, educators acknowledge the importance of pre-literacy and numeracy skills, which are supported by providing literacy rich experiences presented through play each and every day.
To best support the children who attend Nought to Five in the years before formal schooling. The preschool room program offers the following learning opportunities:
NSW Department of Education has created a document for parents with useful activities and information about what to expect at school- https://education.nsw.gov.au/content/dam/main-education/en/home/parents-and-carers/starting-school-guides/starting-primary-school/Getting_ready_for_primary_school_2024.pdf
This statement was created based on recommendations from Childcare Centre Desktop- ‘Effective School Transition within your Service, The Spoke- ‘Rethinking ‘School Readiness: It’s Time for Schools to be Ready, Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority- ‘Transition to school’, ReiMAGINE Australia- Ready set school.
Children learn best through play! Here are some easy things that you can do to at home to help your child get ready for starting school:
- Find as many opportunities as possible to visit the school. This includes orientation days and even walking past the school at different times of the day.
- Talk about the school with your child, share photos of the school, teacher and learning environment.
- Try to arrange play dates with other children starting at the same school. This gives your child the chance to develop their social skills- and will give them the confidence that they will have a friend to talk to when they start school.
- Link Nought to Five and your chosen primary school together if needing to share information about your child’s particular needs or adjustments to their learning.
- Let your child practice drawing with a range of different materials, such as pencils, crayons and textas, to help develop their fine motor skills. Playing games such as Lego and using tweezers also helps to support these skills.
- Support your child in recognising their own name. Playing games where your child finds their name mixed amongst others. This will help them to easily locate their belongings and books in a classroom.
- Encourage your child to dress and undress themselves, and use the toilet independently. Practice opening and closing containers, and food that will be packed in their lunchboxes. Support in learning how to put their own shoes on, buying velco shoes while they are still learning this skill is always a good idea.
- Read with your child as often as possible. If your child has some reading skills already, that’s great! But if not, don’t worry, they will be taught how to read at school. One of the most significant things you can do to support your child’s learning is to read to them and when they are ready, with them. Reading develops early literacy skills and helps encourage a love of reading. Talk to them about the story, point out new words, and ask questions, this will help with their comprehension, vocabulary and language skills.
- Ensure you have a good night time routine for your child, plenty of sleep is important.