Reception teachers - what do YOU think is important for a child to know when they start school .

[Themis]

I work at a playgroup and I have two children myself YrR & Yr1 . I was going to write a small piece for some of the 'first ' time school parents about what they & their children should know before starting school.

Eg - social skills for the child , being able to dress & go to the toilet etc.

As a Reception teacher what do YOU ( not your school or governement) want a new child to be able to do and how do you want the parents to behave on first day.

this will also be good evidence for me for my NVQ.

many thanks

How to take turns

When to say please and thank you

To hold and use a pencil and scissors

To be able to sit still

To know when to be quiet and when it's ok to be noisy

To know basic table manners and to be able to access all food in their lunchbox e.g. can open crisps and yoghurts and even the lunchbox itself!

Thank you- what about the academic side - do you want them to know some phonic sounds or recognising numbers ?

And is it generally the case that children will be given a base line assessmnet during their first couple of weeks as to what they know.

Two mums at the feeder school for my daughter's middle school told me that when they joined the infant school - they were really proud that their dd and ds could read a bit, spell their name, do very (!) basic worksheets -- they got rather miffed cos the teacher talked all that previous experience down. The two kids had been in nurseries, where of course they pride themselves in starting kids off on the basics. The teacher said "they learn through play here" - that in the reception class.I think that's outrageous!

As part of the National Curriculum Foundation Stage the kids are usually assessed (informally I might add) in the 6 basic areas (academic and social)info here and again at the end of the year (Reception being the final year of the Foundation Stage). There is a standard proforma fro teachers to complete .

Thanks LIZS , those areas are the same as we use in the playgroup and assess them during the time they are with us .- Green , yellow & blue Stepping Stones. Wasn't sure whether schools may have used something else in addition.

Can you remind them not to send their kids to school in lace-up shoes until they've taught them how to do them up themselves?

Put on and take off own coat (gloves, hat in winter).

None of the academic stuff is that important - it's all about social skills, motor skills and learning about how school 'works'.

Yes, and no tights and tunics for the girls unless they can dress themselves!

I interviewed some teachers for a piece on this subject the year before last (when DD1 was starting school). Yep, it was all about being able to get your coat on and velcro shoes. Don't sweat the academic stuff, that's what the teachers are for, they all said.

Why on earth shouldn't they learn through play? They're FOUR, ffs.

Motherinferior - it's not the learn through play bit I'm am objecting to it is that the school were talking down everything they had learned in nursery. Obviously if you put your child through nursery you don't expect the school to rubbish everything your kids have learned there! Bit of an insult, I think. But each to their own view!

Maybe the teacher was worried they might have been Competitive Mums. Doesn't mean the teacher would have put down the kids or dismissed their abilities, that's what counts.

This caught my eye as my DD will be starting school in September. I think it is difficult parents to know what their child should be able to do especially as I don't think there is much guidance. For example most people here have said practical things such as put on coat and go the toilet. However how many pre-school teachers are alerting parents when their children can't do this?

The question about the academic stuff is also interesting. I know a pre-school where there is a very bright child, the staff have been told not to encourage or develop him at all-they want all the children to be kept at a basic level as possible academically so the reception teacher can tick all the boxes at the end of the year!

I agree with slondonmum in that it seems that anything that is learnt prior to reception seems to be dismissed. Just becuase a child knows their phonics, can read a little bit doesn't mean their parent aren't competitive!

Whoops sorry meant to say 'doesn't mean to say their parents are competitive!

This caught my eye too as dd is starting school in Sept. She goes to nursery while I work part time. She will only be 4.2 when she starts so it does concern me that she's so young (although I know she won't be the only one). Her social skills are ok, her language is ok but not great and they have just started doing letters at nursery. She can't write her name properly yet! We still have a few months to go though. I certainly won't be sending her in shoes with laces! She can dress herself but not do up zips - would the teachers help? I think I will be in tears when she starts, she still seems so little...

Yes, parents, even though it is hard, please don't hang about too much - it will help your child settle sooner (in most cases)

What would be helpful for child to know..
Not to hit other children
How to use the toilet and pull up trousers again
Coat on and off (hat, scarves etc)
how to write name, or experimented with it
have some experience of counting objects to 10
have some experience of sharing and taking turns

Thanks to all who have replied .

aintnoomountainhighenough - in response to your question , However how many pre-school teachers are alerting parents when their children can't do this?

This is one of the reasons why I am going to do this for 'first' time parents about what their child should be able to do before starting school so they can also be repsonsible in encouraging their child to prepare for reception year.

paddington bear - my youngest was 4.1 when he started school. He couldn't write his name and did't know any sounds or letters , but he is a very social and now he is reading and knows most of his keywords. It suddenly clicked with him after Christmas and now there is no stopping him.

The daft thing was that the first week he was at school someone had their 5th birthday , a years difference !

why is writing nzme important?

I think teachers prefer some sort of name writing or the start of letter formations of their names as children have to name each piece of work they do . Otherwise they will be writing 30 childrens names several times a day. Only has to be their first name . Although I dont think it is a major concern if they cannot as they will soon learn . I think most children by the time they start school can have a go at writing their name in some shape or form.

We certainly encourage the children to 'write' their own name on their work at playgroup .

perhaps a teacher could enligten us further about the name writing requirement for starting Reception.

hmm yes thanks themis

Even if they can't write it, it's important they soon learn to recognise their name. So they can find their clothes after PE springs to mind.
Some teachers ask the children to "self-register" when they come into the classroom by taking their name off a board and putting it against an activity. Also cloak pegs and books will have their names on and it helps their independence again if they can find these things themselves.

As I think I've mentioned on other threads if parents want to help with letter formation PLEASE use lower case letters (apart from the initial letter of their names) It's a hard habit to break!

Is there any reason why they shouldn't learn upper and lower case?

I don't like teachers trying to limit what parents teach their children. I think in many cases it is simply because it makes life easier for teachers if all the children are in the same place at the start. Which is no good reason to hold them back IMO - a decent teacher should be able to cope with a range of children with different skill levels and aptitudes without cutting the brighter ones down to size of neglecting the less advanced children.

Not aiming at any MNer in particular, but I have heard teachers in RL saying that parents shouldn't start reading and writing before the child starts school. Pretty appalling really.