Preparing Children for a Positive Transition to School

Helping children build the skills and resilience necessary for their first days at school.

Find Your Local Nursery

At Happy Days Nursery, we recognise that starting school is an exciting but sometimes daunting time. However, with some preparation and encouragement, you can help your child to settle into education easily. This is where our exclusive Journey to a Positive Transition to School comes in.

This journey uses a road map to identify when each child has achieved a step towards their school transition. The steps are based on the skills, knowledge, and attitudes that reception teachers highlight are important for a child to have before they start school. Children will be supported to achieve the steps through daily routines, continuous supervision, and the consistent implementation of our Curriculum. 

Children will begin the road map in the term before they are due to start school. The child’s Key Person will use the curriculum goals and the Development Matters guidelines to make a professional judgement on whether the child has achieved each step. This is based on their own observations and feedback from parents.

Over the course of 16 weeks, parents will receive weekly activity cards which correspond to a step on the road map. These cards will share ideas that can be implemented at home to support a child’s positive transition to school. A ‘Special Memories and Achievements at home’ sheet will be sent home to encourage parents to share their child’s progress.

At the end of the 16-week programme, a Graduation ceremony will be held where every child will be presented with a certificate. This will celebrate their achievements and that they are now confident to start school independent, curious and ready to learn.

X

I can cope emotionally when away from my parents or main carer.
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I am independent in my personal care.
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I can show care and concern for living things and the environment.
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I like to listen to and talk about stories confidently.
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I am curious and inquisitive about the world.
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I am able to interact with other children.
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I can tidy up after myself and can look after my belongings.
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I can confidently speak to others about my feelings and I am sensitive to the feelings of others.
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I can share toys and take turns.
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I have a good bedtime routine so i’m not tired for school.
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I enjoy making marks and can give meaning to the marks I have made.
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I can dress and undress myself.
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I can persevere to achieve my own goals but can ask for help if I need it.
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I can use a knife and fork at meal time and pour my own drink
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I can follow instructions and understand boundaries.
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I am confident to speak to others about my own needs, wants, interests and opinions.

Graduating
Class of 2023

Celebrating our Class of 2023 and wishing them every success on their next educational journey.