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Useful tips and activities in the lead-up to Kindergarten

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Prepare for primary school in the months and weeks before term starts to make the transition for your child easier.

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The top 5 tips to help parents and carers of primary school children with back-to-school preparation.

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Education expert and author of Your Child’s First Year at School, Jenni Connor. has some valuable tips for parents.

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Self-care is incredibly important and can help to strengthen your family. If you’re happy and healthy, you can be more attentive and engaged as a parent or carer.

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You can help support your child’s health and wellbeing as they start Kindergarten and move through primary school.

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How can I prepare for difficult conversations?

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A guided journey for teachers to help them prepare for having a difficult conversation.

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Would you like to find out more about using the Transition to School Statement as a collaborative tool to give and receive information?

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Explore the evidence around the elements of high-quality transition, plan for and implement partnerships with key stakeholders.

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Flipsnack is a digital catalog maker that makes it easy to create, publish and share html5 flipbooks. Upload a PDF or design from scratch flyers, magazines, books and more.

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Tips for families with children starting school next year

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The transition from an early years setting to formal schooling can be a major adjustment for both children and their families.

ECT Meg Anastasi shares simple tips educators can share with families to help support a smooth transition to school.

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A collaborative approach to school transition

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Exceeding service Explore & Develop Breakfast Point detail collaborative approaches and practical strategies that have positively impacted children’s readiness for school.

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How to respond when parents fear the transition to school

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It’s a familiar question for preschool teachers – Will my child be able to manage starting school next year?

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Which families delay sending their child to school, and why? We crunched the numbers

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Research has found one-quarter of children in NSW delayed school entry in 2009 and 2012, with the tendency to delay varying according to where families live and their socio-economic status.

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Why are more parents choosing to delay when their child starts school?

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With more parents opting for their child to start school later, it is now possible to have four and a half year olds learning alongside six year olds.

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The Spoke - Early Childhood Australia's Blog

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As the end of the year approaches, one of your priorities as an educator will be supporting children as they begin their transition from early childhood settings to primary school. In preparing for this milestone while, navigating the complexities this year has brought, there are many effective tools to help you provide the best support for children and their families.

Here we share some recommendations on children's transition to school.
1 Prioritise wellbeing
The pandemic has highlighted the importance of wellbeing for children and how it supports their resilience and social-emotional development. As a part of a school or early childhood service, you can provide opportunities for wellbeing by understanding the individual needs of all families, including those with vulnerable backgrounds, and children with special rights. We need to be inclusive of all children and the following resources from the ECA Learning Hub will help you in promoting children's wellbeing:
Playing with Gratitude
This free webinar by Rod Soper explores the development, implementation and findings of the Playing with Gratitude Project and the role of mental health in children's learning and development. It will help you understand the connection between executive functioning skills, independence, self-regulation and gratitude in the transition process.

Other resources on supporting children's sense of wellbeing include:

Early childhood mental health (brief by Harvard University's Center on the Developing Child)

Routines and Transitions: Embracing opportunities for learning (ECA Learning Hub module)

Transitions to outside school hours care: Opportunities hiding in plain sight (The Spoke blog post)
2 Focus on collaborative partnerships
Through a connection with families and children, you can work with teachers to create plans for how each child and family may be supported through the transition process. This means building secure, respectful and reciprocal relationships between everyone involved. As suggested by research, it is important that you take on board the strengths and diversity of individual families and their situations. This is particularly relevant as lockdowns brought on by the pandemic have resulted in many disruptions to routines and relationships. For the children entering school in these complex times, it is vital that you work in collaboration with teachers and families to build bridges and develop a nuanced understanding of each child's context. Following are some helpful resources to aid in this collaboration:
ECA's Research in Practice Series title 'Transition to school: Communication and Relationships'
Communication is a key underlying process that supports positive relationships and this book by Dr Kathryn Hopps will introduce you to the transactional model of communication. An understanding of some of the elements of this model will help you build and maintain relationships and contribute to successful transitions to school.
First Year at School: Essential Tips for Parents and Carers
This is an essential guidebook that you can recommend to parents to help them understand the challenges of starting school. It provides a framework of what to expect and how to work in partnership with schools and teachers to help children thrive during their first year at school. Working through this book together with the families, you will be able to ensure that everyone involved is using the same language and strategies to support children through the transition.
3 Build on innovative practices
According to Harvard University's Center on the Developing Child, being innovative means taking risks, learning quickly from ideas that don't work, testing new ideas and promoting professional learning environments. The challenges of the past 18 months have inspired educators to put this in practice and come up with some unique and imaginative techniques to maintain children's sense of belonging and support their physical, social and emotional needs. The following resources may be useful:
Research in Practice Series title 'Mindset Matters'
During challenging times, it is important to make a concerted effort to promote a more positive view. This empowering resource will help you plan everyday experiences that promote resilience and develop a growth mindset in children.

Environments for Learning

Environments have a significant impact on how children learn. When early childhood professionals consider the needs of all children, and adjust the environment accordingly, they can maximise children's learning and development, enhance inclusion, and support children's curiosity.

This article was adapted from ECA's Spend a Minute newsletter, you can read previous newsletters and subscribe here.

ECA Recommends

First year at school: Essential tips for parents and carers
By Early Childhood Australia and the Australian Primary Principals Association

Starting school is an important milestone for both parents and children. First Year at School is an essential guidebook for parents that breaks down the challenges and expectations of starting school-from the preparation that is required a year before school starts, to picking the right school, developing relationships with teachers, dealing with technology and building children's social and personal skills. Full of new information, this book will help parents support their child through one of the most important years of life. Purchase a copy on the ECA Shop.

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One of your priorities as an educator will be supporting children as they begin their transition from early childhood settings to school.

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The Spoke – Early Childhood Australia's Blog

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Transition to school: A primary perspective - The Spoke – Early Childhood Australia’s Blog

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‘As an early childhood and primary teacher, I enjoy working with children of all ages. In this chapter of my career, I find myself gaining behind-the-scenes insight into the primary school environment that the preschoolers I used to teach now experience’, writes Virginia Artinian. I work as a classroom teacher in a school of almost 1000 […]

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The Spoke - Early Childhood Australia's Blog

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In this article Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash , Emily Greaves and Dr Jen Jackson from the Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO) remind us that some transitions happen every day-like that from school to outside school hours care (OSHC). AERO and its partners are working to enhance this transition Research on OSHC is limited, but insights from practice are strong to support the learning, wellbeing and development of Australian children Supporting effective transitions .
Transitions are often associated with the changeover between the year before formal schooling and school. But many children make another important transition every day: between school and outside school hours care (OSHC). These transitions can occur regularly over years of a child's life, are often two-way-both into and out of before-school and after-school programs-and, when managed well, can help strengthen connections between schools and OSHC programs to support children's holistic learning, wellbeing and development.

OSHC programs play an increasingly significant role in the lives of young children and their families. Close to 500 000 children access OSHC in Australia, mainly in the early years of primary school (DESE, 2021). OSHC educators may work with the same children and families from year to year, providing a point of consistency, even as children change teachers and classrooms. Children attending daily OSHC and vacation care may spend almost as many hours per year with their OSHC educators as they do with their schoolteachers.

While children's experiences and outcomes drive OSHC practice, OSHC services also help families to balance work and caregiving responsibilities. This dual purpose creates an ongoing need to build awareness of the benefits of OSHC as not simply 'childcare', but as an important partner in the learning, wellbeing and development of Australian children. Quality OSHC benefits children's social and emotional learning and engagement in school, which are also linked to better academic learning (Cartmel & Hurst, 2021; Dockett & Perry, 2014).

Conversations about OSHC-to-school transitions can raise awareness of the value of OSHC to children and families and help OSHC to be seen as partners with schools in achieving outcomes for children. The Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO) is working with Monash University and the National Outside School Hours Services Alliance to develop resources to enhance these transitions.

There is very little research evidence about the role of OSHC as a contributor to children's wellbeing, learning and development in the early years (Cartmel & Hayes, 2016; Dockett & Perry, 2014). Much of the available evidence comes from international contexts where OSHC programs operate quite differently from those in Australia, which makes researching evidence-based practices in Australian OSHC particularly challenging.

Despite the limited evidence base, a clear view has emerged in Australia about effective practices in OSHC, based on the extensive research and consultation that underpinned the development (and recent review) of the framework for school age care, My Time, Our Place (MTOP) (DEEWR, 2011). OSHC services are also required to deliver quality play-based programs in line with the National Quality Standard (NQS) (ACECQA, 2018). These foundational documents-along with consultations with OSHC coordinators, educational leaders and school leaders-set out the framework for quality, evidence-based OSHC practice and helped us to adapt insights from available research for the Australian context.
Towards a sense of belonging
Two key practices are critical to successful OSHC-school transitions.
Co-authors

Child-centred approaches

Child-centred approaches treat transitions as opportunities to enhance wellbeing, learning and development by building upon the unique strengths and needs of each child. They consider the importance of creating child-centred physical environments. They also look for points of connection between OSHC and school, while acknowledging and celebrating differences.

For OSHC services, MTOP emphasises 'play and leisure' as the foundation of quality OSHC programs; this signals how the purposeful nature of OSHC is fundamentally different from the structured learning that occurs during school hours. For schools, professional standards require teachers and leaders to know every student and how they learn and take opportunities to extend their learning (AITSL, 2017a and 2017b). Working together on OSHC-school transitions with the child at the centre can help both achieve their goals.

2. Collaborative partnerships

Collaboration is essential for facilitating safe, effective processes for supporting children's movement between school and OSHC services. It enables everyone involved in the transition to work together to support the child, including the OSHC service, the school and the family. Collaboration is most effective when everyone involved maintains clear expectations and communication and recognises what each party can contribute to the partnership, demonstrating respect for different ways of working.

Quality Area 6 of the NQS requires OSHC services to work collaboratively with other services and professionals and families (ACECQA, 2018). Standards for schoolteachers and leaders also require professional engagement with the wider school community (AITSL, 2017a). Meaningful collaboration around OSHC-school transitions helps fulfil both these expectations.

Research shows that any transition is most successful when a child feels a sense of belonging in their new environment (AERO, 2022; Dockett & Perry, 2014). Focusing on building a sense of belonging on both sides of the transition can help schools, OSHC services, families and children work together every day to monitor how transitions are going and identify and resolve issues as they arise. A sense of belonging supports children's learning at school as well as their play and leisure in the OSHC context, ensuring that they get the best out of both worlds as they move between them.

Emily Greaves currently works on a range of projects as a researcher at AERO and has a background working with teachers and educators in early childhood settings and schools across Victoria. Emily has experience working as a speech pathologist across a variety of practice settings and research projects in the education sector and is interested in how educational opportunities can improve outcomes for children.

Anna Razak is a Researcher with AERO. She is an experienced early childhood educator and previously worked as a quality advisor across various early childhood services, mentoring educators, teachers and service leaders and supporting quality practice. Her experience and interests include parenting and early intervention for families with young children, community engagement and partnership, and continuous improvement.

Dr Jen Jackson has worked in a range of research and policy roles in early childhood, school and tertiary education and training. Before AERO, Jen was Associate Professor of Education Policy at the Mitchell Institute at Victoria University and led the Early Childhood Development Initiative at the Centre for Policy Development. Jen was an inaugural Lead Assessor when the National Quality Standard was introduced and completed her PhD on diversity in the Australian early childhood workforce.

References

Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA). (2018). National Quality Standard. ACECQA. https://www.acecqa.gov.au/nqf/national-quality-standard

Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO). (2022). Measuring effective transitions to school. AERO. https://www.edresearch.edu.au/sites/default/files/2022-06/measuring-effective-transitions-school-discussion-paper_0.pdf

Australian Government Department of Education Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR). (2011). My time, our place: Framework for school age care in Australia. https://www.acecqa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2018-05/my_time_our_place_framework_for_school_age_care_in_australia_0.pdf

Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment (DESE). (2021, March 28). June quarter 2021. DESE. https://www.education.gov.au/early-childhood/resources/june-quarter-2021

Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL). (2017a). Teacher standards: All career stages. AITSL. https://www.aitsl.edu.au/standards

Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL). (2017b). Lead & Develop: Unpack the principal standard. AITSL. https://www.aitsl.edu.au/lead-develop/understand-the-principal-standard/unpack-the-principal-standard

Cartmel, J., & Hayes, A. (2016). Before and after school: Literature review about Australian school age child care. Children Australia, 41(3), 201-207. https://doi.org/10.1017/cha.2016.17

Cartmel, J., & Hurst, B. (2021). More than 'just convenient care': what the research tells us about equitable access to outside school hours care. Griffith University and NSW Department of Education. https://education.nsw.gov.au/content/dam/main-education/early-childhood-education/information-for-parents-and-carers/OSHC_PolicyLiteratureReview_CartmelHurst.PDF

Dockett, S., & Perry, B. (2014). Continuity of learning: A resource to support effective transition to school and school age care. Australian Government Department of Education. https://www.education.gov.au/download/2577/continuity-learning-resource-support-effective-transition-school-and-school-age-care/19755/document/pdf/en

ECA Recommends: Transition to School Professional Learning Bundle

This professional learning bundle comprises two ECA publications to support educators and families to build knowledge and contemporary practices around the first year of school and transitions to school. The publications are:

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Transitions to outside school hours care: Opportunities hiding in plain sight

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In this article Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash , Emily Greaves and Dr Jen Jackson from the Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO) remind us that some transitions happen every day-like that from school to outside school hours care (OSHC).

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The Spoke - Early Childhood Australia's Blog

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'School readiness'-many find it controversial. MAREE ALDWINCKLE explores this concept and shares her experience as an early childhood teacher and academic. How can we use better terms and activities to describe children preparing for their transition to school? This question has never been more relevant as Australian children slip behind the OECD average in maths and show a decline in science and reading skills.
Judging from the discussions that occur regularly in my preservice early childhood teacher classes, it seems that there is an obsession with school readiness in early childhood services. Every time I hear this term, I squirm inside. I really would like to remove the concept from our early childhood vocabulary.

The term 'school readiness' is loaded with subtext and meanings. It suggests to most people-parents, teachers and educators-that children need to be ready for school in some developmental or academic manner. It implies that children need to be 'made ready' or 'be ready'. It suggests that there is some benchmark that children need to meet to be an acceptable 'big school' student.

School readiness should be about whether the school is ready or suitable for the child. Not the other way around. Schools should be accountable and ready to meet the diverse needs and abilities of children. All children should be accepted and valued by the school community.

In Australia, we have a free, public school system that is open to all. The NSW Department of Education tells us, 'Every child is entitled to be enrolled at the government school...that the child is eligible to attend.' Every child, not just those who are ready! Eligibility is determined by the child's home location and age. 'All children must be in compulsory schooling by their 6th birthday' (NSW Department of Education, 2019).

Parents and educators need to recognise that every play experience we provide for infants and young children is part of school preparation, whether this is at home or in an early childhood environment. Every conversation, every book we read, every song we sing, every time we go to the park, every time we cook together-it is these types of shared experiences with adults that are preparing children for school.

Did somebody say 'books'? There is much research linking the number of books in the home, and adults reading aloud to children, to academic success at school and later occupational achievement (Sikora, Evens & Kelly, 2019). Drilling with stencils, closed-ended pencil and paper tasks, repeating the alphabet and numbers, letter of the week activities, colouring-in, activity sheets and long adult-directed group times are not effective. Many educators believe these types of experiences can be destructive to developing a love of learning in young children.

We all know that starting school is a significant life-changing event for children and their parents. I can still vividly remember being overwhelmed and awed by my first day at kindergarten. The focus should be on preparing children for the change to the more formal school setting and reducing the anxiety associated with this transition.

As a start, educators and parents can work to demystify school through school visits, discussing schools 'rules', and talking about the physical trappings of the school environment which can be so different from early childhood environments. Remember group sizes are larger, there are fewer adults per child, morning tea and lunches are packed and eaten outside, and classrooms are arranged differently with an emphasis on table and chair configurations. Integrating 'all about school' activities, pretend play, stories and books and providing many opportunities for children to share their questions, concerns and knowledge about going to 'big school' are much more valuable than any closed-ended activity sheets.

So, please let's replace the term 'school readiness' with a more meaningful and effective phase such as 'transition to school'. Shift the focus to minimising anxiety and managing change rather than knowing the alphabet, numbers and colouring-in. Sue Dockett and Bob Perry (2014) have been researching and writing about this for years, but for some reason, the message is not trickling down to many preschool and childcare services in Australia.
References
Dockett, S. & Perry, B. (2014). Continuity of Learning: A resource to support effective transition to school and school age care. Canberra, ACT: Australian Government Department of Education. Retrieved from www.docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/pdf_with_bookmarking_-_continuity_of_learning-_30_october_2014_1_0.pdf

NSW Department of Education (2019). Primary school enrolment. Retrieved October 2, 2019, from www.education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/going-to-a-public-school/enrolment/primary-school-enrolment

Sikora, J., Evans, M. D. R. & Kelley, J. (2019). Scholarly culture: How books in adolescence enhance adult literacy, numeracy and technology skills in 31 societies. Social Science Research, 77, 1-15. Retrieved from www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0049089X18300607

First year at school: Essential tips for parents and carers
By Early Childhood Australia and the Australian Primary Principals Association

As a parent whose child is starting school, there are many ways to help your child to have a happy and satisfying beginning to the great adventure of their school years. Experienced parenting experts and educators Jenni Connor and Pam Linke have combined to provide this comprehensive guidebook. Their real-world advice and positive approach will prove valuable for all parents as they seek to reinforce their child's new experiences of learning and build a partnership with the school. First year at school: Essential tips for parents and carers will help you support your child throughout one of the most important years of their life. Purchase your copy here on the ECA Shop.

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School readiness - The Spoke - Early Childhood Australia's Blog

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The problem with 'school readiness.' 'School readiness'-many find it controversial. MAREE ALDWINCKLE explores this concept and shares her experience as an early childhood teacher and academic. How can we use better terms and activities to describe children preparing for their transition to school? This question has never been more relevant as Australian children slip behind [...]

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The Spoke – Early Childhood Australia's Blog

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What is important when children start school? Ask your Granny

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What can we learn from Brigitte’s 80-year-old memories of starting school?

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The ideal time to speak with your local school is 2 years before your child starts Kindergarten - but it’s never too early to start the conversation.

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Strategies to support successful transitions to school

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Early childhood educators play a crucial role preparing and supporting children and their families as they embark on their school journey.

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Before they start school, your child should get their 4-year health and development check. This will help find what support they might need early. You can get this check at your doctor, local child and family health service or eligible early childhood education and care service. Starting primary school is a huge step for you and your child. Remember each child is unique and learns in different ways.These resources can help you work out when your child is ready and how to have a smooth transition when the time is right.

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As we begin a new year, services may be welcoming new families and children may be transitioning between groups, rooms or service types. This is an opportune time for services to reflect on the key pedagogical practices that inform the curriculum and support children's learning, development and wellbeing.

As children and young people begin new settings and move between places and spaces, it is important to acknowledge that each setting, place and space has its own purpose, expectations and ways of doing things. Educators build children's capacity to develop a sense of belonging and manage change through valuing the cultural and social contexts of children and their families and providing continuity of learning.

From 1 February 2024, version 2 of the national approved learning frameworks supersedes the original versions. These frameworks can be downloaded (or purchased) from our website:

Continuity of learning and transitions is a practice included in the frameworks, where children experience familiar or similar ways of being, doing and learning from one setting to another. Experiencing greater continuity assists effective, smooth and positive transitions (EYLF V2.0, p. 24; MTOP, V2.0, p. 26).

There are a variety of strategies that can be used to promote strong and trusting relationships with families through the initial processes of enrolment and orientation. Educators assist families by developing a shared understanding of transitions and orientation processes unique to each service context and each child. It may be timely to reflect on your enrolment and orientation policy and procedure and think of innovative ways to ensure a shared and meaningful understanding of the process.

To begin with, share the following useful resources from the StartingBlocks.gov.au website with your families:

Further resources

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As we begin a new year, services may be welcoming new families and children may be transitioning between groups, rooms or service types. This is an opportune time for services...

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[Narrator] Starting school is a big milestone in a child's life, and a positive transition to school can have a real impact on their longer term academic, social, and wellbeing outcomes. In the year before Kindergarten, strong relationships and planning between schools, families and early childhood education and care services are essential for supporting a child's transition to school.

- We know that the impact for a successful transition is that the students come in, and are much more confident in the school environment and ready to learn, and it really does set them up to be those lifelong learners moving forward throughout their primary years and beyond.

- I was so excited to go to school 'cause I was going to learn new friends.

- I was really excited to learn maths.

- Parents are very much a part of our transition process. They're the keepers of the information on their child, and so we do everything we can to get that information from the parents through interviews, and through information sessions.

- The Transition to School Digital Statement is easily accessible, and it gives you a lot of information about each individual student that's coming to school directly from the early childhood settings, where they're spending a lot of their time prior to that year of school. It is also highly valuable for our learning support team teachers and our assistant principals of early stage one, as it gives them that detailed information before the students enter our school site.

- I was so inspired watching my son's preschool get him ready for school and a thirst for learning. He was ready to learn because of the work the preschool and the Kindergarten teachers did.

[Narrator] We all have a role to play in supporting every child to have a positive transition to school, as they start their journey into Kindergarten and beyond. To learn how you can help prepare children for a life of learning, visit our website.

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Programs and activities to help children transition to school.

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How to support your child during transitions to a new rooms, groups, educator or school.

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For centre use only -not for families

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Penrith City Council Preschool Parent Information Session