What is “School readiness”?
How will you know if your child is ready to take the next step and succeed in school? At Happy Sprouts we know that readiness for school involves more than numeracy and literacy. Being able to make friends, listen closely, develop projects and embark on new adventures are all important aspects of school readiness. This means that early learning should nurture a child’s social, emotional, cognitive and behavioural development.
How does childcare help with school readiness?
Childcare should lay a holistic grounding for a lifetime love of learning and connection with others.
Our learning programs and environments have been developed to provide the scaffolding required to support each child to take on new experiences and to take well considered risks. These experiences inspire each child to think creatively, use their imagination, problem-solve and experiment with emerging ideas and interests through trial and error. A key part of our approach is to assist children in developing strong connections with nature, other children, educators and the broader community. This reflects our holistic approach to ensure each child’s readiness for school.
Our educators also work closely with local primary teachers and parents to ensure that the children are comfortable and confident about their new school adventure. As a part of this process, we provide school tours and orientation days for our children.
To make sure that your child has a smooth transition into school, we consider eight factors that include each child’s:
- Understanding of the and interest in the basics of education
- Ability to cope emotionally
- Level of participation
- Environmental awareness and understanding of one’s place within it
- Friendships
- Skills in problem-solving, decision-making, and asking for help
- Confidence in communicating