Transition to reception from nursery ideas

[Montues]

Our son will be starting reception in September. Nursery has not been easy and we have an EHCP that has just been finalised to support him with social, emotional and communication difficulties. He is a bright boy, very hyper, quick to feel anxious and dysregulated, but with the right support has grown to enjoy nursery and have a few friends there. We have a home visit soon from the school SENCO to talk about the transition plan and I’d love to know what sorts of things have helped other children. He is incredibly sensitive to change and is already anxious about saying bye to nursery. In the ideal world I’d like his nursery keyworker to take him on visits to the school and for him to meet the new key people one to one, and separate to the big whole class stay play sessions.Also visual things and photos. And he'll start part time. Other than that though I’m just not sure….

Transition arrangements can be included in the EHCP, are they? Weekly visits are reasonable, if that’s what you think will help do request them. Other things that could help are photographs or videos of the classroom, hall, playground, toilets etc. Photographs of staff, staff could write to DS or make a short video.

A photo book of school to keep at home is a fairly standard offer - but something that worked for us was to have a home photo book kept at school, in their drawer, so they could go and look at it whenever needed to help calm and soothe with familiar pictures (of favourite toys and of us together - with a reminder in that I would see them soon).

Another one that worked for us was back-chaining. Instead of going in for the start of the day and coming home early (when no-one else is coming out), we did a phased introduction working from the end of the day. To start with, they went in for 15 minutes of story time at the end of the day, then the last activity plus story time. The possible difficulty with that is whether there is a slight element of chaos to the end of the school day or whether it can be a calming, quiet time (maybe with a smaller group). Mine was often led out just a minute or so before the others so they 'found' me before the general melee.

Starting in September after a 6 week break is always tricky so maybe a visit the day before school starts (usually a staff training day) to hang up a PE bag on their peg or put something in their drawer ready for the next day?

I bought a miniature version (not an exact copy) of a special teddy and attached it inside their school bag so they had to bring it home to match up with 'big ted' each day. It depends if attachment and feeling secure are issues?

Something else that may help is an object, same one each day, that is hidden by the teacher each day after school for your child to have to find in the classroom each time they go in - can start on the transition visits. It can help to make that transition across the threshold for an anxious child if they know there's a hide and seek game waiting - and also might help them to know the teacher is thinking of them when they are not there. Takes less than a minute for the teacher but can help the transition into the classroom and also help with learning their way about a bit.

Will there be any 1:1 time provided? If so, having a definite, set in stone, timetable for the first 15 minutes and last 15 minutes of a day can be very useful - so they learn for example that their day will always start with a 1:1 story in a quiet spot, followed by a jigsaw puzzle with 1 other child and then a table top game with a small group (a 123 approach to avoid being overwhelmed by too many people when still struggling with the transition into/out of school time - equally important can be the 321 at the end of the day).

Also, try to get a dysregulation detective approach in place in school - talk to the SENCO during her visit about the subtle signs dysregulation is starting and how they build (often missed in a group environment) the agree a de-escalation strategy to be consistently used. So, spotted early at the time of flushed face and a bit of hand flapping (whatever first signs are) - verbal prompt from adult of 'You look as if you need a drink (or whatever works), let's go and find you one'. If first signs missed and they see snatching of toys, louder voice then response is ... and so on. They need to know what to look out for and what helps to calm and relax your child once in that zone.

If possible, a postcard or similar to arrive the last week of the school holiday saying they are really looking forward to seeing them and they have ... ready for them (something they know is enjoyed).

Hope something in there helps.

We had the following that all helped:

a home visit from the class teacher and TA
TA dropped a note in during summer hols

DS drew a picture for the TA and teacher to say hello
Little bits of positive talk about school during the hols - reading a few books, saying "hello school" when driving past
Visit to school on training day to meet staff and look at changes to the room
Phased start gradually building up time spent in school
Adults giving clear messages such as "Mummy will be picking you up after story time" to help ease some anxiety
Visual timetable at home to match the one at school so we could talk about the day
I had DBS and went in to support for a bit
DS and I drew hearts on each others' arms so we could keep each other in mind during the day
Taking a squishy toy in to squeeze when feeling anxious
Lots of discussion with staff beforehand about trigger points
Small group sessions with TA plus one or two other children to build connections
Regular meetings planned with staff to see how things were going - having a good relationship with SENCO and teacher really helps

This time last year, I was very concerned, especially as the Reception teacher that we had been getting to know left at the end of the summer and a new teacher started in the September. However, it's all gone very well because of the above and being able to take it at my LO's pace. School were very understanding and accommodating which really helped. My boy sounds very similar to yours btw- bright, hyper and easily anxious! We're now making plans for transition to Y1.

This is all really really helpful, thanks for these suggestions. They’re much more creative than some of the ones I had thought about, and ask more commitment from the school before he starts than I had thought of.
The transition isn’t part of the EHCP, but knowing that sometimes it can be gives me a bit more confidence to ask for what we think might be helpful.
When he gets dysregulated he can get very hitty with other children, even when he’s excited, and it’s the impact of this I’m most worried about really as he tries to settle and make friends. Calmness, structure, pacing things, familiarity and not being pushed into big group things helps him lots though. He also isn’t someone who withdraws into himself when he’s anxious, he throws himself straight in so can look at first like he’s having a great time.
I think I’ll be booking a fair bit of annual leave that first half term to be flexible around him (and also because I’ll be very anxious myself!)

Another one I have remembered is teacher giving DS a special job to do when he arrived each day - he had to carry a clipboard from a point close to where he came in to her chair. Knowing he had the job to do helped with getting him through the door when that became a sticking point for a while!

Schools can also do things like use a different entrance or drop off/pick-up 10 mins early/late if the child gets overwhelmed by the playground crowds at the start and end of the day.

If it's a good school, they will work with you to support your child. It's worth requesting a meeting with the SENCo before the summer so they can start to put a plan together. Be confident telling them what you think he will need based on what you know about your little one and what works for them, or what triggers them.

Thanks @Misstabithabean - he would love to have little jobs to do! That has helped a lot at nursery. The SENCO is visiting us at home after half term so I’m really hoping they are receptive to all of this.

If the SENCo is willing to visit you at home, I'd say that's a really good starting point and you have picked a supportive school! 😀