Transition From Pre-School To School

[narnia]

Our reception teacher came to see us ( at our request) for TEN minutes. She read a boring story ( children said afterwards it was boring, not my terminology) and when one of the children asked her a question about it, the teacher said 'oh, I think it must be your lunch time now........run along!'

On the children's visit, one of our children was apparantly hit by another child and BOTH were put on the 'sad black cloud'........arrrrrrrgggggghyhhhh!

I am planning to go in to see the Head and Reception teacher in the Autumn with some ideas as to how we might help the children in their transition to school........................wish me luck!

[louby loo]

 

'sad black cloud'..

 

 

That's a terrible [can't think of correct word) saying! Has anyone every seen a 'black cloud' anyway?

 

Thought that kind a phrase went out with the ark? ..........but with so much rain lately perhaps the ark's on it's was back.

[finleysmaid]

Our reception teacher came to see us ( at our request) for TEN minutes. She read a boring story ( children said afterwards it was boring, not my terminology) and when one of the children asked her a question about it, the teacher said 'oh, I think it must be your lunch time now........run along!'

On the children's visit, one of our children was apparantly hit by another child and BOTH were put on the 'sad black cloud'........arrrrrrrgggggghyhhhh!

I am planning to go in to see the Head and Reception teacher in the Autumn with some ideas as to how we might help the children in their transition to school........................wish me luck!

Good luck with that then!

our leaning community focus is transition (my idea!) ..i really want to improve the transitions for all , i too often come across reception teachers starting from the beginning which drives me mad when i've taken two years to teach these children to be school ready.

(also i want to apologise for the impression that i am having a go at all reception teachers....i am not. Just having a problem with a few in my area at the mo!)

[HappyMaz]

(also i want to apologise for the impression that i am having a go at all reception teachers....i am not. Just having a problem with a few in my area at the mo!)

Well if I didn't think 50 was too old to start teacher training I'd love to be one of your 'receiving' reception class teachers, finleysmaid. I'd promise not to give you a bone of contention to chew on...

[sunnyday]

Our reception teacher came to see us ( at our request) for TEN minutes. She read a boring story ( children said afterwards it was boring, not my terminology) and when one of the children asked her a question about it, the teacher said 'oh, I think it must be your lunch time now........run along!'

On the children's visit, one of our children was apparantly hit by another child and BOTH were put on the 'sad black cloud'........arrrrrrrgggggghyhhhh!

I am planning to go in to see the Head and Reception teacher in the Autumn with some ideas as to how we might help the children in their transition to school........................wish me luck!

 

hmmmm...........wishing you luck........sounds like you're going to need it

[Guest]

i visited a reception class this week with a SEN child to aid his transition but whilst there heard the teacher tell a child to be quiet as it was her turn to talk( it was her first visit to school and she was asking for her mummy but was firmly put in her place), the class had a lovely role play area set up as a pirate ship but when a another boy from my preschool went to the recycled material box to get a cardboard tube to use as a telescope was told to put it back as it might be dangerous. Two other children were playing with a farm and were told not to make it untidy because Mrs...... had spent ages setting it up. I despair, and feel quite sorry for my wonderful, active, self sufficient, self motivated little learners.

[Froglet]

(also i want to apologise for the impression that i am having a go at all reception teachers....i am not. Just having a problem with a few in my area at the mo!)

 

I was feeling a little brow-beaten .

 

Actually I'm interested in what would be a 'perfect' visit morning/day to school from a pre-school point of view? What do you think your children need to see/do/experience? One thing that occurs to me (and this is not meant as an excuse or a defence) is that it might be difficult for some people to make a mental transition to the fact that these are new and unfamiliar children. You might be used to your nearly 6 year olds and all of a sudden you're spending time with a 3 year old. I know lots of colleagues

who teach older children say that they find September difficult because they forget just how much children (of any age) learn and develop in a year.

[finleysmaid]

ok been thinking about this (good question!!)

• visit from teacher to setting (organised well in advance) so that the teacher can see the children in their 'natural habitiat'
  
• on day of visit welcome parents in too if they want...especially on first visit....if keyworkers were sorted by this day great if not just an introduction to the teacher. At least one member of the pre-school staff to attend. The children need to see that there is a welcoming atmosphere for their carers and that they are treated as equals.
  
• Lots of active play to be set out (similar to pre-school) and if possible to follow interests of children.(prior knowledge )
  
• After everyone is settled a tour of the school is really helpful so that the children know where the toilets are(include info on how to wash hands...are there dryers, where to get toilet paper etc what urinals are for!, where they will eat lunch (maybe with a demo here!!) and where the playground is) this should cover the most important things to the children and what they will be most worried about. What happens if they can't find anyone to play with or they hurt themselves)
  
• perhaps a fun activity to do with uniform....dressing race/dress the teacher???( )
  
• play inside and out...include where to find aprons/wash hands/where toys are kept (might need to spread this over a couple of info sessions)
  
• perhaps a chat on what their expectations of school are...if this is approriate.
  
• something to look forward to/their interests? so that you can plan to that for september.
  

I'm sure i can think of more...but i reckon if you could cover the majority of this it would be pretty fantastic :wub:

oh and one of the things that schools are really bad at around here is getting medical info before the children visit...do they need an inhaler (have you got it?) have they any dietary needs that you need to know about etc (we had one of our children go to school this week and spent the whole time coughing...her mother had left her and her keyworker knew she had an inhaler...very dangerous in my opinion!)

• 
  

[Froglet]

Thanks, that's really interesting and useful. I reckon I do about 4 1/2 of these at the moment. One of the difficulties for me is that I have 2 pre-schools that always feed in to me (and I always visit one of them and we share paperwork etc.). However, out of an intake of 20 this year they only account for about half a dozen of my children. The other 14 or so come from probably nearly as many settings which vary year on year. Once in a blue moon do I get any information from them at all, rarely do I even know which they are. I simply couldn't find the time to visit (I don't get any extra time to do visits - it comes out of my PPA) so for me the visit to school is the first time I get to see/meet the majority of my children.

 

Parents always come in with the children and stay until they (they parents) feel comfortable to leave) and then go to a 'meet the head/PTA/catering service/see the uniform' session. Then they come back to collect the children a couple of hours later. I have a TA with me for the whole time so that if any parents want to talk specifically to me with any questions/concerns they can.

 

The medical thing I confess is something I don't do at the moment I tend to assume that parents will tell me if there's a significant issue - I should know from experience that they don't!

 

So, I think I've made a reasonable start but definitely 'could do better'. Thank you for the ideas.

In terms of activities - I don't know the interests of the children so I just have open ended 'stuff' available and see it as a chance to go and chat to the children and get to know them a little. We do go inside and out and do the tour of the school (and yes, I do do the urinal talk!). I introduce them to the head and admin person as these are the other adults they are most likely to have significant contact with in the first couple of weeks.

[finleysmaid]

well i have to say that i think you're doing a pretty fab job...especially in light of the school i originally posted about! we can only ever do as much as we are able to.

And my list is more of a wish list :rolleyes: perhaps it might be possible to visit a couple of settings a year so that you get to know the sort of places they are and the names of the teachers so that you can use this info to help the children settle. I have a 'friend' in another setting...i always talk to the children about her...then when they go to her setting i will say oh tell mrs x 'my friend' that i will come and see her soon...she will send me messages back. This way the children feel that they know their new teacher..that there is a connection...even though we rarely get time to visit each other!

The other thing that is worth collecting is prospectuses then you can do comparisons when the chidren are with you....i guess it's just about making links one way or another

[korkycat]

We have developed a very good transition strategy with the two main schools we feed and other pre-schools and the day nurseries are beginning to come on board too.

Teachers do not seem to have any time to visit us (they can have up to 14 settings snding children) so we have now arranged a preschool visit for before the 'official' transition visits. We meet childen outside the school and accompany them into reception without their parents for up to an hour. We are lucky that a staff member vounteers in each reception class which makes things much easier. This visit gives us a chance to introduce the children to their new teachers and them a chance to explore the environment and be shown the toilets, etc with familiar adults so that their two 'official' visits when parents leave them will be much less stressful. We also have a meeting with the reception teachers to informally discuss the new children when we hand over transition documentation. We can pass over hints on what works in dealing with our children and any possible difficulties that we might be aware of.

We also have up to date photo stories of both schools from entrance to exit and photographs of staff that they might see including teaching assistants,dinner ladies and offce staff as well as their teachers and the head. This includes some examples of what might be for lunch as well as pictures of the playgrounds, toilets, assembly and all areas of the classrooms.

Last year we got some old uniforms and the children love to dress up in them in the last half term when we also do PE getting children to change to shorts and tee shirt and back!

All our children had a great time on their visits and we and other settings have a much better reelationship with the schools - they now appreciate us much more.

korkycat

[louby loo]

Have to say our main feeder school is fantastic, and does most on finelymaids list.

 

She is also very welcoming and tells us we can visit anytime- which I think is fabulous considering she still has her own class to consider too.

 

xx

[Guest]

I am new to FSF and am just finishing my NQT year as a reception teacher. I was really excited this year about visiting the pre-schools/nurseries of my new cohort of children and am mortified that I have been told by my Headteacher that I am not allowed to visit any, nor am I allowed to attend SEP meetings. He has, however, freed up one of my teaching assistants to make contact with all the early years providers to find out if there are any children who it is considered would benefit from a visit and, if so, the Teaching Assistant will be visiting. What are your views on this?

[finleysmaid]

Hello newfysue and welcome!!

 

If your head feels he cant release you then i guess this has to be his decision <_<

I would however encourage your TA to go to as many as possible (lets face it all the children will benefit and it is in the requirements that we all coordinate on transitions)

Perhaps dicuss with her a list of questions you want to know about the children and the settings with things that she thinks the children will find easy and those which they might find more of a challenge. I have spent the last year 'warning' my feeder schools that i have a very young cohort with lots of summer born children so they need to adjust their teaching to fit!

 

What about transition visits to your setting...can some of the pre-school/nursery staff come to you?