Following notification in the spring term confirming your child's school placement for September, St Martin’s Primary School will contact you directly  to offer 5 pre-school stay and play sessions, 2 with parents/carers and 3 without parents/carers.  This gives your child a chance to play and make new friends, visit the classrooms and work area and meet the teachers and support staff.  During the 3 sessions without parents/carers, there will be important information sessions delivered in the school hall e.g presentations from the Health Improvement Commission and Speech and Language therapists. This gives pupils a chance to explore independently whilst parents/carers gain useful information about St Martin’s as a school, what their first year of school looks like and information about where to find support if you need it.

Getting ready to Start School

Starting primary school can be daunting for you and your child, but it marks the start of an exciting new chapter.  Before you know it, your child will be making friends, learning new skills and becoming increasingly independent:

Here are some tips for school readiness:

Support your child’s independence

Get your child ready for school by making sure they can do simple tasks by themselves.

• Going to the toilet
• Getting dressed
• Putting on shoes
• Eating, for example, opening their lunch box

Build up your child’s Social Skills

Learning is a social activity.  Children learn and develop by playing alongside their peers and they make better progress if they are happy mixing with other children and adults.

• Practising greetings.  You can use dolls and soft toys to practise saying “hello”.
• Practising conversations.  Give your child time to talk and have time to listen.
• Encouraging sharing and tolerance.  Games such as Snakes and Ladders let children practise social skills and turn taking.  Use the language of turn taking “Whose turn is it next” and “Thank you for waiting”.

Talk to your child about school

Talking about the exciting things your child is going to do at school and how fun school is will help them get over any nerves.  Try involving your child in choosing things they need for school.

For ideas have a look at BBC Bitesize Starting Primary School Parents Toolkit https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/groups/cx1lpm3ve37t