Early Years Foundation Stage - School readiness

What is school readiness?

The key skills a child should have before entering the school system aged 5, these are developed at home through primary socialisation and will make the transition from home life to school life much easier for parent and child.

What skills should my child have?

• be able to dress themselves,
• independent toileting,
• understands sharing and taking turns,
• can be separate from parents/carers,
• can sit still for short periods of time,
• ability to listen to others and take instructions,
• understands expected levels of behaviour.

Should I be worried if my child doesn't have these skills by the time they start school?

These skills are simply an outline and guide to help parents and carers with what stage their child should be aiming to be at, however we understand that children develop at different speeds.

The important thing is that parents/carers are aware of these characteristics and are actively putting in steps to allow their child to achieve these.

How can I encourage my child to be more independent and achieve these?

Star charts: these can encourage and teach children through positive sanctioning by showing good behaviour they will be praised. These can easily be enforced at home by making a chart and ticking off the activities.

Games and group activities: these initiate children to listen, take turns and develop language skills either with other children or with parents/carers mirroring that of a classroom. These can be achieved through activities such as reading, singing and playing.