School Visits and Transitions

For parents of children joining us throughout the year, the school will hold a meeting with all parents and children the term before you start where we will present an information session followed by a tour of Y1/New Entrant classes. New entrant students who are starting school for the first time have two visits held the two Thursdays mornings prior to their start date.

Research indicates that independence, problem-solving (communication skills) and resilience are the key indicators of success in 5 year olds.

Here are some examples of essential skills your child should aim to have before they start school:

• Dress themselves (including shoes and socks)

• Carry their own bag and hang it up

• Put their book bag in the classroom

• Open and close their own lunchbox and drinks bottle

• Put rubbish in the bin

• Read and write their own name (capital to start then lower case)

• Count to 10, verbally and using objects

• Use scissors to cut paper

• Tidy up equipment and put it back where it belongs

• Listen to and follow instructions from an adult

• Share with others

Desirable skills

We all want our children to succeed and have their strengths nurtured. Some children are more than ready to start school and there are extra things you can do to inspire their learning before starting school:

• Name the letters of the alphabet and the sounds they make

• Sound out and blend simple words (red, dog, cat, yes, cup, bag)

• Hold a pencil comfortably and draw simple shapes, numbers and letters

• Talk about, and answer questions about, a familiar story

• Count forwards and backwards up to 10, verbally

• Count objects then add and subtract a small amount

• Group objects by size, shape, length, colour, etc. 

• Sit, stand, run, jump, throw and catch

• Describe themselves, their family and what they like

• Name and identify some emotions in themselves and others (sad, happy, angry, etc.)