Transition from pre-school

The Transition into The Discovery School
 

At The Discovery School, we understand that starting school is a very exciting time for both you and your child. Despite this, we recognise that there can also sometimes be a few worries, however, we aim to reduce any worries in many different ways. We begin by visiting the pre-schools in April and May to talk to the children's key workers and find out lots about them. In June and July we go back to the pre-schools and play with the children and talk to them about school.  In July, we have our Transition Day and the children come in to visit us at school. At this time you also have the opportunity for tours, buying uniform, talking to FODs and listening to a presentation by the Head Teacher and the Early Years Foundation Stage Leader which will help you understand your child's new adventure at The Discovery School. In July we also hold our Wine and Nibbles evenings, which gives you the chance to meet your child's teacher and teaching assistant in an informal way and get to know them and ask them any questions you may have.

In September we also come to visit the children in their homes for 20 minutes. This is a fantastic chance for us to find out a little bit more from you about your child and it also gives us more of an understanding of your child. Your child will tend to feel more comfortable in their home environment and will show us their true character. We are then able to talk with your child at school about things we know from the visit, for example, their pets, their toys, even the colour of their bedroom! This can really help a child settle in and feel comfortable with us.

Is my child ready for school?

There are so many ways that you can help your child to be ready for school, and quite often these are not what you expect!

Some really important things your child should be able to do are:

  • dress themselves independently.

  • put on their own coat.

  • carry their own belongings.

  • use a knife and fork.

  • use the toilet independently.

  • recognise their name.

What can I do with my child at home?
Reading

Reading with your child is one of the most important things that you can do with your child at home. This doesn't necessarily have to be your child reading, but you sharing a book with your child each night and encouraging a love for reading is definitely plays a key role for children and their learning at school. When your child starts school they will begin bringing books home to share with you, and after several weeks they will bring home reading scheme books. It is so important that you read these books with your child every night. Whilst you do this is it will support your child's learning if you

  • Encourage story telling language

  • Model using expression in your voice

  • Ask questions about the pictures and what clues they give you (e.g. How do you know they feel happy? What might happen next?)

  • Encourage making predictions and using their imagination and understanding of stories.

  • Make up different endings for the story.

  • Look at the features of the book (the blurb, the front cover, the spine, the author)

  • Draw pictures of the characters.

  • Find other books by the same author.

  • Talk about what we liked about the story.

At school we will do lots of these things during our 'Guided Reading' sessions which you will find out more about when you start.

Maths

Please also spend time at home exploring numbers and shapes in a fun way.  Simple things you can do include counting the food on your plate and adding them together (e.g. your chips and fish fingers!), recognising numbers all around you (the supermarket, road signs, door numbers, television channels), talking about the shapes of objects in the environment (such as your cereal box, toilet rolls etc.) and describing them and playing games which encourage words related to maths (board games, hopscotch etc).

Phonics

We will give our Phonics Talk in September. Afterwards, we will post the presentation on here for you to reflect on. There are so many things that you can do at home through the Early Years Foundation Stage year that will help your child with the process of learning to read.  In the past parents have said that this talk has been really helpful and supported them with their understanding of how children learn to read and how they can support this at home.  We look forward to seeing you all there!