Preparing your child for starting school.

If parents prepare the ground with care, a child should take starting school in her or her stride. It is natural enough for parents to feel anxious as the day approaches for their child to take the first big step into the outside world, especially if they are the first or only child. Parents who have been cementing a close relationship with a child for four or five years sometimes see school as taking their baby away and destroying something of that precious relationship.

If you have anxieties don’t let them show, because your attitude will colour your child’s whole view of starting school. If you tell her or him: “I hope you like school. I’m sure it’s a nice place” s/he will begin to feel uneasy, suspecting that there must be something wrong with it. If you tell her school is fun, that every child goes to school and it means they can do all sorts of exciting new things, then she will probably believe you and expect to enjoy it.

If your child has been to nursery class, she is already used to the idea of school and being away from home for part of the day, so she should settle in without problems.

If she is an only child, make sure she is used to being parted from you for short periods, perhaps spending an afternoon playing with neighbour’s children, knowing you will collect her at a set time. A regular walk past the school at playtime can help too. This gives her an opportunity to look in and see what is going on.

It will help your child cope with the first few weeks at school if s/he can:

•Say both his or her names and parents’ clearly

•Handle a plate of food

•Ask to go to the toilet

•Deal with buttons and zips

•Use taps and flush toilets.

The first day

When the big day comes, take everything as calmly and cheerfully as possible, leaving plenty of time for an unhurried breakfast and the journey to school. Suggest that your child takes along a small treasure to show the teacher to help her over a shy moment.

For the first few weeks, it is better to drop and pick your child yourself, if you can manage. Knowing that mum or dad will be there at the end of the day can be reassuring.

What do primary schools do?

Primary schools aim to teach children to read, write, cope with numbers and understand the basics of mathematics, but that is only half the story. They also aim to produce children who are self-confident and self-reliant, who can take their place and hold their own in society.

By the end of primary school education, s/he should have mastered the basics of reading, writing and mathematics and be developing the skills of gathering knowledge by using libraries, asking questions and experimenting. S/he should be able to express herself or himself clearly and listen with concentration and understanding. S/he should be beginning to recognise his or her own strengths and weaknesses to make the most of herself or himself. In short, s/he will be firmly on their road to maturity and independence.

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