4+ entry tests to pre-prep for Sept 18

[vinoandbrie]

My three year old DD will be sitting the entrance test to our preferred school in January, with a view to starting at the school in reception next September.

Can anyone advise what I can do to help her be as prepared as possible? She is bright (yes I am no doubt biased!), can recognise all the letters and numbers, can count reliably, seems to have a good memory and so on, but cannot yet write her name (she's only just three at the moment), or blend simple words like cat.

I understand that there will be a series of 'cognitive tests' on the day, what form do these tend to take?

Finally, do siblings tend to get in if any elder brother or sister already attends the school? The school is academic, and I understand that there is increasing pressure on places in the past few years.

We couldn't prepare for any of ours - 3 different schools, but similar - go together into a holding area. Kids taken away by teaching staff. In a separate room there were several tables. Colouring. Blocks. Lego. Puzzles. That kind of stuff. Kids allowed to rotate rather like EYFS and then a snack and play time. There was a fine motor skills craft in one school. In the mean time moms got blah blah about the school. A tour and then free play at the end. Was a full 9-12 event. I think they assess gross and fine motor skills and social stuff - my A* child fails one school as she refused to speak.

Hello

Whether siblings get in depends on the school - some (most?) have a sibling policy where siblings get preference. However, I know of a few schools where there is no sibling policy.

I wouldn't worry about your child not being able to read yet - the school shouldn't expect her to at 3. One thing that might help is making sure that she can recognise her own name - so write out her name along with 11 others on an A4 sheet of paper and ask her to pick out which is hers.

Another thing is getting to be the one to ask for things in shops / cafes and hand over money (just so she is used to interacting with strange adults).

On the day itself, dress her in comfortable, stretchy clothes that she can move about in easily. Some schools will write to you to ask you to do this - if they do, then do as they ask.

Also, if the people running the day say something like "They'll be 45 minutes at least. Why don't you go and get a coffee from [cafe along the road]?" then do that. Don't hang around the reception area checking emails on your phone - you'll be in the way. However, if they have a separate room with coffees etc for the parents then go on in and make conversation.

(Sorry, I know the above paragraph is probably completely obvious).

Sibling places depends on the school. One reason I didn't apply for one of our local private schools is that even if my DD had passed the 4+ assessment (unlikely as they have about 200 applications for 16 places!) there was no sibling policy and I have a younger DD. We ended up doing assessments at two schools which whilst selective also have sibling policies.

Thanks very much for these replies, all very useful!

Based on my experience with 3 schools assessments, there could be a mix of things done on the day -

• Teachers read a story and follow up with some questions ,the key is not the right answer but the ability to sit still through the story and raise hands etc. to assess if the child is ready for classroom based teaching.
• Puzzles or lego or games focused on problem solving
• Frog Jumps / skip / throw or catch a ball to assess gross motor skills. Make sure she is dressed in comfortable clothing and don't be tempted to put in the best hair accessories :)
• Coloring or drawing or tracing or peg boards or beading or using scissors to cut on a line to assess the fine motor skills
• Some schools also arrange some free form singing / dancing like a party :)
• Reading or writing ability is not essential , however depending on the child's interest , they may ask simple words to read like cat, pig, hat etc. or to write their own name or find their name card from a mix of cards.

If your DD has attended nursery / preschool settings, she should be able to do many of the above mentioned things. Just practice them gently over the coming weeks, the school can easily make out heavily prepped kids. The whole process is very relaxed and the kids come out all smiling with stickers / cookie. Just let your daughter know a couple of days in advance that you are going to visit a school and there is a play day happening there. Most imp, relax on the day and try not to pass on your nervousness to her. Good Luck !