School Readiness

“The education of even a small child, does not aim at preparing him for school, but for life”

(Dr Maria Montessori) 

Is there a definitive way of knowing – a check list if you like – as to whether a child is ready for school?  Does a child have to tick all the so-called “expectation boxes” before they set foot into a learning environment?

The term “School Readiness” in its original form, only looked at whether the CHILD had the necessary skills and preparedness to transition successfully into school. This meant that the child was looked at in isolation, with neither the family environment they had been brought up in, nor the readiness of the school for children, coming into question or consideration.

What is important as a parent, is looking at the idea of School Readiness through a holistic lens for both the child and for the parent themselves. This means taking the family environment into consideration, alongside checking in with how we may be feeling about our child starting school and about how we want to parent our child through the school system in general.  There are a lot of years ahead, so it seems a worthwhile idea to spend some time reflecting on what is important for us in our new role as the parent at school, rather than the child!

Every school will have certain expectations of “tasks” or “skills” that children should be able to do without substantial support before starting at the setting. All settings will differ, so it is important for parents to check in with a setting as to what their specific expectations are. Expectations may well be divided up into Areas of Competence such as:

Social Competence:

• Ability to take turns, get along with others, sort out problems, follow rules

• Cope with stress of new situations and new learning tasks

• Exhibit healthy levels of assertiveness, ability to play on own as well as with other children, and exhibit pro-social behaviours

Emotional Maturity:

• Some ability to self-manage their emotions

• Ability to cope with minimal adult contact in large groups

• Develop friendships

• Handle separation from parents

Language and Cognitive Skills:

• Ability to listen and follow basic instructions that have more than one part such as “Please put your bag on the hook and then sit down”

• Ability to communicate and respond appropriately

• Basic numeracy and literacy skills

• Ability to recognise their written name and understand basic concepts about books such as how to hold a book and turn the page for example

Communication Skills and General Knowledge:

• Basic conversational skills and manners

• Ability to communicate needs appropriately

• Some understanding of wider world

Independence:

• Basic skills to manage needs without adult supervision

Physical Health and Wellbeing:

• Gross motor skills:   Ability to sit down, climb, throw and catch a ball for example

• Fine motor skills:      Cutting with scissors, gripping and drawing with pencils and crayons for example

• Use the toilet independently and wash hands

• Ability to dress themselves

• Open and unpack lunch box and feed themselves (if required)

Some parents may potentially feel overwhelmed when they scan a list such as the one above. However, this is where parents need to pause. The home environment – one that has been set up as an enabling environment - is the scaffolding on which school will build. When we break down what the list above really consists of, rather than seeing the expectations as individual skills that all have to be fully mastered, we can see them as developmental milestones that for the most part our children will have naturally already reached, or will be gradually reaching at their own pace!  School can now come alongside to work with the home environment – partnership in action! If we know what is expected of our children, and the expectations are reasonable and manageable, we can help our children be as prepared as possible for the start of their school life.  Parents know their child better than anyone else – so if there are gaps in a child’s learning or development, make sure to inform the school.

So that’s the child sorted!! 

What could School Readiness look like for the parent? 

A collaborative workshop that we ran with ACE, (Anne Cowley Education), was entitled School Ready? It looked at School Readiness through the key threads of Collaboration, Communication and Trust between School, Parent and Child. 

As former teachers, we know how vital the relationship between School and Home is. When parents feel supported, included and listened to, and likewise parents listen to what teachers are saying about their child, it can lead to a powerful, trusting relationship, that has each child at its centre.

So, what can parents do, to, in effect, support themselves, when it comes to their child starting school?

As we spoke about at the beginning, it can help parents to reflect and consider how they want to be as a parent at school. Parents can be such a positive influence not just for their own child, but also for their child’s whole class. What practical steps can be taken to achieve this?

• Acceptance is at the heart of this challenge. It starts with acceptance of our own child, their individual strengths and weaknesses as well as meeting them where they are at

• Acceptance of other children. There will be children coming from a whole host of different backgrounds who may well have had very different learning opportunities from our own children. There will be children who face challenges that we may have little or no experience of. Can we try to become informed rather than simply adopt a judgemental viewpoint?

• Acceptance of other parents and the different challenges they may well be facing. Let’s aim to be the parent who doesn’t get caught up in the negative, unhelpful carpark/school gate mentality

• Having trust, belief and respect for the teacher-parent-child relationship and a commitment to invest time and on-going communication into the relationship. It’s a two-way street – we can’t expect school to “get” stuff that is going on for our child unless we work with them. This means informing them of things that may be going on at home – a change of job/house, illness, the death of a grand-parent or a change in circumstances for example. It also means that we let them know when we have concerns about something going on for our child at school. Young children may well not have sufficient vocabulary to properly let us know what is going on for them, but it will come out in their behaviour.  Be prepared to ask any question that feels important for us as the parent – being calm, prepared and positive ourselves, is a huge boost for children. If they see us trusting in and embracing the process, this will be sending them the message that they can feel the same way.

• Embrace the ethos of the school and be a cheerleader for what they are trying to do. This doesn’t mean we can’t have alternative ideas or viewpoints from the school, or that we can’t request things are done differently – if something isn’t working, the school will want to know, and will want to make changes if they are the right ones to make.

A blog can never encapsulate everything about a subject, but as ever, our aim is to support, inform and empower parents, so that they in turn can support their children.