Starting School: Tips for Parents

Supporting your child through change

Your child’s first day at school is fast approaching and you are wondering how best to prepare them for this new chapter. ‘Big School’ is a significant developmental milestone which can be both exciting and sometimes a little daunting for both parents and children.

However, with some encouragement and a little preparation, most young children will smoothly settle into their school, ready to learn and have fun. We’re here to share our advice on what you can do to help support your child’s transition from the nursery environment to the school environment.

At our nurseries, we support our children in their journey to become ‘school ready’. We have built our Foundations for the Future model which is full of learning experiences and activities that fit within the EYFS framework and help embed positive live skills, behaviours and attitudes. Preparing our children not just for school, but for life!

Our Head of Early Years and Education, Teresa Brooke has shared her key advice for parents: ‘Starting school is not only a milestone for your child but also for you as a parent. Remember to give yourself time to adjust to the new routine and the emotions that may surround it. This is a change for the whole family, remember you all need time to adapt, not just your little one. It can be an exciting time but also a nervous one. Make sure that you communicate with the school if you have any worries or concerns and remember we are still here for you to confide in.”

Tips for parents

Read below for some tips from Teresa on how you can help your child feel ready and prepared to start school with a smile:

• Talk about it! Take the time to speak to your child about how they feel about starting school and answer any questions or worries they may have.
• Read a book! Sit down somewhere comfy at home and read them a storybook about starting school! We’ve got plenty of recommendations available here and you can do this in the weeks leading up to their first day.
• Role Play! Why not initiate a school themed role-play activity with them? It could be a classroom game where you act as a teacher, or just simply a school themed activity. By rehearsing new situations, it will help them get ready for their new environment.
• Attend an Open Day. Some schools offer open days, so it would be worth researching this and going to one if you can, where you can meet teachers, see classrooms and discuss any questions you have in person.
• Tell them about your experience. What did you like most about school? Let your little one know and get them excited about what to expect and express the fun you had when you went.

Starting School Checklists

You can also download our useful ‘Starting School Checklists’ that you can print out at home and go through with your little one to help get them excited for their first day!

Starting School Checklist – Things I can do

Starting School Checklist – Things you might need

If your little one is beginning school this year, we would like to wish them all the very best for the future. We are so very grateful to all of our parents who have given us opportunity to be part of their child’s educational journey.

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