This is a public service announcement for parents of 2016 Reception starters

[kippersyllabub]

1. Whatever "settling in" arrangements your school tells you they have, you, the parent are entitled to send your child to school full time from the very start of the Autumn term, or part time until they reach compulsory school age. This is up to you. It is not up to the school. If you need to quote legislation at the headteacher, it's the school admissions code (this is secondary legislation) and this has been clarified in the 2015 report of the Office of the Schools' adjudicator.
   

1. It really helps if they can take themselves to the loo, get changed for PE and put their coat on. Counting, reading and writing early don't make a huge difference compared to the above.
   

1. label everything
   

Have I forgotten anything?

[PenguinsAreAce]

Probably already said, but take a really filling (think picnic) large snack and have it in your hands to shovel into them the second they emerge. It reduces the angst.

Make friends with a parent of a yr1 child. Ask them what they wish they had been told or had explained to them. There are all sorts of quirks in schools that you just have to kind of figure out and no-one explicitly tells you because it is so normal for the staff after years of doing things a certain way.

[PenguinsAreAce]

For people who have never heard of them before, this is a book bag. Basically all UK school children have one, often specific colour for their school. In many schools the uniform supplier or school office sell them.

[drspouse]

Our school has them come in PE kit on their PE days (right up to Y6, so no changing at school at all. Hooray!).

They offer school book bags but they are not backpacks, he already has a lovely monster themed backpack which he can carry and which just fits A4 paper in, and it looks different so easier to spot.

I think they want spare wellies at school too but no point in buying them till nearer the time.

Settling in went fine once he worked out he was going to get a peg and a drawer for himself and I can't think of anything else I need to do/get - waiting on the order for the logo sweatshirt and for the plain spare ones (got organic cotton ones from Cotton Roots which seem very reasonable, though mainly because the colour/round neck/sweatshirt combo was very difficult to find otherwise - most shops seem to have v-neck jumpers in a wider variety of colours rather than round necks or sweatshirts).

I'm sure I'm missing something!

[ThePyjamasOfACat]

I'm really thankful for this thread!

My school are doing just a week of "transition" before they all go full time which I think is ideal. They split the class in half and have one half in until 11.30, then the other half the next day. Then the first half stay until 1.30 (so they have lunch), then the second half do the same. Then on the last day they're all in together until 1.30 then the next week is all in full time.

I have an older child but can't think of any tips that haven't already been mentioned, things are so different since he started reception that it feels like a whole new experience!

[KenAdams]

I've had this bookmarked for ages but it's really helped me with what to teach DD this summer so thank you.