For children acim school four and five years within the United Kingdom, this autumn will mean the start of school for them. Many would have been in nursery, but for a considerable number they will be experiencing formal education and a non-parent or guardian administered routine to their lives for the first time. This can be quite a traumatic experience for the child. It is surprising how many adults can remember their first days at school especially if they were very upset at leaving home to attend a strange place meeting unfamiliar people. There are a number of simple steps parents can take to help ease their child into the world of education, reducing the trauma for the child and making it less upsetting for themselves.
The Importance of Pre-School Nurseries
Many primary schools have a nursery or pre-school establishment attached to them. These nurseries are “feeders” to the school itself with many of the children who have attended nursery going on to attend the primary school. The child will have got used to attending and making the journey to the school even if it is only for a couple of days a week. Often, the nursery staff will schedule a special tour of the primary school for those children leaving the nursery that summer to attend the primary school at foundation stage that autumn term. This tour, often with parents invited along as well, permits the child to familiarise themselves with the primary school and to meet their new teachers and teaching assistants – all helpful when it comes to that first day in the new school next term. Going up to primary school with many children who they already know from nursery also helps.
Older Siblings Can Help
If there is an older brother or sister attending the school, then this can be extremely useful. To help a child to adjust to their new regime, even if they are not in a feeder nursery it can be useful to take them with you on the school run so that they get used to the concept of “going to school”. An older sibling in the school is often helpful and aids the newcomer, making them feel that going to school is not such a frightening experience.
Preparing for the Big Day- Helpful Dinosaurs
Many Primary schools are very proactive well it comes to informing parents and guardians what the child needs when they start school. Information about school uniform and such like can often be downloaded from the school’s website. Advice on equipment needed is also available. When preparing for the experience of getting ready for school, it was helpful to involve the child in the shopping experience, the selection of the uniform as well as choice of school kit and school lunch box and such like. For a young boy keen on dinosaurs, a dinosaur themed rucksack or lunch box can be acquired and having something new which is “special” to them and that they have helped to choose can make them feel at home in their new surroundings. There is a wide range of school products available, but a backpack should have sturdy, adjustable carry straps, be water proof and have plenty of pockets to keep books, lunch a water bottle etc.