Supporting families to achieve a happy and successful start to life in school
Preparing for a successful school start can bring a range of emotions and challenges for both parent and child. The journey of preparation starts from birth, but ‘school readiness’ comes into sharper focus once a child turns 2 years old and a child starts to enter pre-school settings. There is much currently being reported with regards to children’s lack of school readiness, but often parents can feel there is limited support to assist them to better prepare their children for transition. The pandemic and lengthy periods of lockdowns made the task even harder for parents as, for many, social development opportunities all but disappeared for long periods of time. These are the children for whom the transition to educational settings has now started.
So, what is ‘school readiness’?
The term ‘school readiness’ refers to a set of skills and behaviours needed for a child to succeed in school. A successful school start can appear to a parent that their child must have the same skills and abilities and behave in the same way as other children. This can cause parents to feel levels of blame and shame if their child is not reaching these expectations. Whilst research shows that children all go through the same stages of development in the same order, it is important to remember that each child has their own unique rate and way of development. We know that:
- Every child is unique
- Children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships
- Children learn and develop well in enabling environments
- Children learn and develop in different ways and at different rates.
Who is the Big Hopes, Big Future project for?
Via this project we will support families that are wanting to ensure their child has a happy and successful start to school life. This support will include broader thinking about the areas of home readiness, parental readiness and child readiness. Our approach is to support families with aspects of home and family life that can impact a child’s development. We tailor the approach to what best suits each family.
How does it work?
Often the type of activities and support required are included within our Home Visting and Group support and do not require a separate, more targeted approach. We work with families to help them create more positive learning environments and experiences. ‘School readiness’ is made up of many different areas and could include some of the following:
- Establishing successful bedtime and morning routines
- Parental confidence in engaging with their child’s development
- Parent and child feeling comfortable about being away from each other
- A child’s ability to recognise their own name in print
- A child’s ability to eat and drink unaided
- A child’s ability to use the toilet and understand simple hygiene practices
- A child’s ability to respond to instruction and self-regulate their emotions
Alongside the family we would aim to identify those areas that would benefit from further focus, in order to achieve a happy and successful start to school life. We want to work with families in a positive way to aid development, celebrate what they are already doing to contribute to this and recognise asking for support as a parental strength.
Take a look at our year one impact here
The Big Hopes, Big Future Project is being financially supported by The National Lottery Community Fund. Huge thanks to players of the National Lottery who have helped make this project possible.
How to arrange support
You can use one of the buttons below to make a referral. Clicking on the button will take you to one of our online referral forms.