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Starting School: Ready For Reception?

ImageFirst day at school! Your child is entering the initial stage of primary education.

Most primary schools have a programme for settling children in, until they're ready to be left for a full school day.

Do your bit by making sure your child is ready. Help them become more independent - at primary school children will get less help than at nursery school.

Independence day
Make sure your child can go to the toilet without help and make sure the words you use at home when asking for the toilet are phrases the teacher will understand! Think about clothing, so that when dressing and undressing for PE can be made easier with elastic waists, Velcro fastenings etc.

In a noisy classroom, you need to speak up! So help your child become comfortable around adults and not scared to ask for help. When you have visitors, ask your child to greet them and answer their questions. When you go shopping, encourage them to ask for things.

What a 3-5 yr-old should already know
As far as learning is concerned below is a list of the skills that the government thinks children should have before they start school. They are 6 broad areas of learning:

  • Personal, Social & Emotional Development
    Your child will learn to be self-confident, take an interest in things, know what their own needs are, tell the difference between right and wrong, and be able to dress and undress.
  • Communication, Language & Literacy
    Your child will learn to talk confidently and clearly, enjoying stories, songs and poems, hearing and saying sounds, and linking them to the alphabet. They will read and write some familiar words and learn to use a pencil.
  • Mathematical Development
    Your child will develop an understanding of maths through stories, songs, games and imaginative play. They will become comfortable with numbers and with ideas such as 'heavier than' or 'bigger'. They will be aware of shapes and space.
  • Knowledge & Understanding Of The World
    Your child will explore and find out about the world around them, asking questions about it. They will build with different materials, know about everyday technology and learn what it is used for. They will find out about past events in their lives and their families' lives. They will find out about different cultures and beliefs.
  • Physical Development
    Your child will learn to move confidently, controlling their body and handling equipment.
  • Creative Development
    Your child will explore colours and shapes, trying out dance, making things, telling stories and making music.

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