What skills/knowledge should a child have before starting school?

[ANightingaleSang]

Just curious really, to understand people's take on this. My girl is nowhere near school age yet, so this is just interest.

AIBU to think that a child should have at least the following skills before entering a classroom:
-personal hygiene, eg. Potty trained
-understand sharing &taking turns
-able to sit quietly and engage in a task for 15-20 mins.
-able to ask for help
-basic manners please and thank you
-able to feed themselves
-how to hold a pencil
-write/recognise their own name
-count to 10 possibly 20
-know the days of the week, months and seasons
-know where they live (for example England and city)

What other things would you add to this list (in an ideal world, of course, as every child is different!)?

None of the academic side of things matters that will all be taught in school. Recognising their own name is useful.

The ideals are being able to go to the toilet independently and change themselves/fasten their own coat. Being able to eat using cutlery (not expected to be able to cut it up though)

Add to your list:

• turns pages of a book and attempts to follow a story or nursery rhymes/songs/stories
• puts on and takes off a coat independently
• washes hands competently before meals and after the loo
• Tidies up willingly when instructed to do so
• uses cutlery

Both my kids knew days and months of the year but found it hard to track what day it actually is for a surprisingly long time!

Counting to 20 is taught in Reception, so you could just working on basic counting to ten.

kids develop at very different rates so I wouldn’t worry about all of these things; my dd was miles ahead and my ds was miles behind, and both enjoyed Reception

I'd focus on the personal care. The toilet. Washing hands. Cleaning teeth independently. Doing up coat.

Dress and undress independently, including their shoe fastenings
Manage their own food/drinks bottle

@Simonjt thanks I forgot about getting dressed and undressed/coat, shoes etc.

I forgot to add. I started wondering about this because a lot of teachers I have spoken to are saying they have noticed that children are starting school behind what was previously expected, especially since COVID. I was trying to guage what the old normal was and also areas that, for whatever reason, children struggle with today.

Thanks for the replies 😊

There are targets to reach at each level for EYFS, her nursery will show you if you ask they probably do a big push called School Readiness with the big ones.
The guidance on tooth brushing is supervised/ assisted until 8years. They did do do tooth brushing with reception and yr1 at my dc school and give out tooth brushes and paste a couple of times a year, but it's an area with very poor dental health.

I think there is to the lockdown story than meets the eye. Lockdown was such a crazy time for families, especially if juggling working and having kids at home. Or being isolated with a first baby. The lack of normal socialising went on way beyond lockdowns ending, and for some the period was traumatic or they were overloaded. And normally the first 18 months for a baby are spent meeting lots of other folks! Saying that I’m sure all these kids will catch up - I had a young child in lockdown and things took a while to right themselves.

If you are living a fairly normal life - i think a lot of things just come naturally.

My feeling is that working in social skills and also regulation (self-calming /seeking an adult to help calm down) skills are most important. As best you can - some kids have neurodivergence and will find this harder.

I think things like basic structures of meeting new people, asking them to play, understanding and managing when they say no, learning to say no themselves… communicating to an adult what they need (even in basic language).

And toilet training / wiping / washing hands.

They say that you shouldn’t focus on correct pencil holding I think while the bones are soft, but lots of play with hands and fingers like play doh, beads etc

i think sitting and focusing for 15-20 minutes is unrealistic for many children.

some kids are interested earlier in counting / seasons / country etc but no need to teach this if not, and definitely not writing their name. Recognising it could be helpful but not essential at all. I think they work on that at preschool usually.

@Anotheranonymousnameismine you make lots of good points, thank you for taking the time to reply.

Of course lock down had a massive impact, but I think the trend started even before then. Possibly technology played a part?

I understand the importance of fine motor skill development, that's why girls tend to start ahead of boys, especially with things such as handwriting.

I think you are right that most of these skills should come naturally through play and family life. ☺️

I'd really like to hear a teacher's perspective on this.

Following instructions to add to your list. Good listening skills.

The only "academic" thing they really need to know is how to recognise their name.
Counting, days of the week, learning to write etc......that's what Reception is for. They go to Reception to learn those things. They don't need to know it in advance.
(although if they do then that's a bonus).
It's personal care and listening to instructions that's much more important.

The most important thing is being able to follow instructions and listen. Everything follows from that.

Those things you've listed are good but kids do follow their own path. Eg I know a boy who struggles with speech and language, not diagnosed ND but might be. I don't think you'd keep him out of school for not doing those things.

Stuff like pencil hold they also learn better from a teacher. If they want to learn before, that's good, if not then it's better not to push too hard and put them off.

Basically ensuring they're not little shits is the main thing.

One of the first clues we had to DDs dyslexia was struggling learning counting to 10 before Reception.

I'd also add knowing their colours.
I think how much they know: numbers, letters, animals, sounds, flowers, trees, birds, etc., will depend on their natural curiosity and how much parents show them/talk to them.

So I'd add, nurture being curious.

DD’s nursery did start with being able to write her own name and phonics to get them prepared. In reception they have been issued with oxford reading books and have spellings to learn. So I think doing some work on forming letters is also helpful. I really do think spending a year before reception working on phonics will be helpful.

@Haroldwilson that was why I emphasised manners! I think things like being able to wait in a line, say thank you, take turns, to listen and follow instructions are so important. I can't understand how a child could succeed without those skills. I couldn't imagine trying to teach a class of 20 children who couldn't grasp these things. Teachers really are worth their weight in gold imo.

Potty trained and able to use toilet without help
Able to dress themselves in the sort of clothing they wear to school including pe kit.
Able to use a knife, fork and spoon including cutting
Able to listen to multiple instructions then act upon them (this is a difficult one)
Hold a pencil, colour inside lines, draw simple shapes, follow dots
Know colours, shapes, body parts etc
Ideally read their full name but many can't

When I started school (about a hundred years ago!) I had already been taught all the things on the OP’s list. To that end I would also add being able to tell the time on a clock face. Me and DH were staggered when we went into a cafe recently where the waitress was about 16 years old. The other lady serving asked her the time and she said she didn’t know as she couldn’t tell the time unless she looked at her phone. She admitted that no one had ever taught her to read a clock face.

I would also check against age appropriate milestones to make sure your DC is on top of everything. Dd never wore any clothes with buttons so we were a bit behind on that, but things like putting on taking off shoes for example.

Can we also consider what parents need to know as well?!!

Rule 1: don’t think that ability to write neatly and learn spellings in reception/Y1/Y2 is an accurate predictor of academic success at 16/18/21. I wish someone had hammered that into me 20 years ago. I wasn’t the only mum to worry about terrible boys’ writing and shocking spelling compared to generally much better girls’ writing and better spelling.

Lesson learned: stop worrying and just focus on whether they can behave reasonably well and can do the basic skills noted above - most if the time at least (many will have the occasional accident).

And get them a coat with an easy zip …

@GertieN I thought knowing how to use a book would be a given but apparently some children are starting school not knowing how to turn a page. I know it's the daily mail, so taking the stats with a pinch of salt, but still I find it sad and shocking

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13133025/amp/Pupils-starting-primary-school-try-swipe-books-like-iPads-one-four-not-able-use-one-correctly-shocking-report-reveals.html

@Maray1967 I mean, sure! Handwriting isn't a predictor of intelligence at all.

Yes definitely.
Able to recognise their own belongings. Eg not walk off with another child's coat/pencil case etc.
Wipe their own snotty nose

personal hygiene, eg. Potty trained - yes, wash own hands too
-understand sharing &taking turns - yes although they will work on this in reception
-able to sit quietly and engage in a task for 15-20 mins. - not necessarily, 20 minutes is a long time for some children, but sitting down quietly and listening is a good skill to practice
-able to ask for help - yes
-basic manners please and thank you - yes
-able to feed themselves - yes one of the most important
-how to hold a pencil - useful
-write/recognise their own name - useful but not essential
-count to 10 possibly 20 - useful but not essential
-know the days of the week, months and seasons - useful but not essential
-know where they live (for example England and city) - useful but not essential

Also would add being able to get own coat and shoes off and on, and get changed for PE if they do that.
Also know colours and basic shapes is useful if you want to practice something else

The sitting quietly for 15-20 isn’t something that you can necessarily teach. Some kids just don’t want to do it and you can’t force it, and even those that do it at home won’t necessarily be the same when in a busy classroom with a load of distractions.

But yes yes to fully potty trained and by that I mean wiping, flushing, washing hands as well as the actual going to the toilet bit. Able to put on coat and shoes, take jumper on/off. They probably won’t change for PE yet so I wouldn’t worry if a DD can’t do her own tights yet. Recognising their name also good so they can find their peg. Basic manners also obviously yes but that has little to do with school as it applies everywhere. Anything like writing or counting school will teach.

Parents need to remember (at our primary school, a 3 form entry... others may vary) that their child is one of 90 (NINETY) new starters.

So teach your child to do things for themselves if they have no additional needs. Be realistic about your early expectations as a parent.

When they change from pe, they need to be able to put on their shoes. When they go home they need to find, put on and fasten their coat.

There are 2 midday supervisors for those NINETY children. Make sure that your child can open/eat/drink/close ANYTHING you give them. If they have school dinners make sure that they can carry a plate of food (with gravy!) , that they can use cutlery.