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| Getting ready for big school | |||||
| How to run an effective transition program | |||||
 November is a busy month for kindergarten transitions, with many primary schools offering sessions for preschoolers to come in and gain a feel for life in 'big school'. Many early childhood education and care providers do an excellent job of supporting preschoolers as they make this big step forward, preschoolers are given the opportunity to wear a uniform, there is more teaching of self care and often more emphasis on literacy and numeracy.Social competency and confidence are some of the key indicators of school readiness and helping children in these areas will contribute to a successful transition to life in kindergarten. Helping families decide when their child is school ready Families often look to their early childhood education and care provider for guidance on whether their child is ready to start school. For many families age is only one factor influencing their decision and your insights will be a valuable source of information for families seeking to make the best possible decision for their child. Encourage families to make a decision based on their child's skills, needs and interests and offer your insights and observations to back up your opinion. Communicating with families about the benefits of early childhood education and care programs in preparing children in all areas of their development can reassure families that their child's participation in your program is an important aspect of preparation for school. Some people may believe that children require some reading and writing skills to be ready for school and it can help to reassure families that these skills are not essential for school readiness. Explain to families that it is more important for children to have good social skills and explain how play based learning helps children develop important school skills such as taking turns, building relationships and expressing thoughts and ideas. If families seek your advice on which school would be most suitable for their child, you can advise them to consider factors such as the school philosophy, location, cost, facilities and resources, religious orientation and how these may suit their child and family needs. Children's relationships and social skills Being socially competent maximises children's opportunities to engage with learning and to take on the challenges that school presents. Children who have troubles communicating or building relationships with their peers may gain less from the school program and have a reduced capacity for learning. Early childhood education and care programs provide a great environment for supporting the development of skills such as turn taking, sharing, relationship building and independence and these social competencies provide a great foundation for a successful transition into school life. School readiness does not have to be offered as a separate program and can easily be incorporated into your service's daily routine. Offering a program that closely observes and responds to children's interests and needs will provide great opportunities for skill development. Similarly there doesn't need to be a big emphasis on literacy and numeracy skills. Children have a natural interest in letters and numbers in the years before school and this natural curiosity can be harnessed into play based learning activities which will serve them better in preparing for school than structured literacy and numeracy tasks. Activities to promote school readiness Along with the experiences that services provide, specific activities can be used to prepare children who are about to start school. Encouraging families to continue these activities in home will also help. Useful activities may include:
If, in your opinion, a child in your service is not ready for school and could do with another year in an early childhood environment then you should advise the family of your opinion and the reasons why. Ultimately the decision rests with the parents/carers and all you can do is offer your best advice. Take some time to reassure the family that all children develop at their own pace and with continued involvement in a high quality early childhood program the child will definitely achieve school readiness at a later date. Some families may take your advice and others may ignore it, so avoid becoming emotionally invested in the advice that you offer and do not take it personally if the family chooses to ignore you! The team approach Ultimately effectively transitioning children into primary school is a team effort between the early childhood education and care service, the family and the primary school. In summary however an effective transition program should:
References School Readiness and Transition to School NCAC Factsheet by Sonja Tansey |
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