Getting little ones ready for big school, with Maggie Dent

Most academics and early years experts prefer to reframe ‘readiness’ to mean transitioning into the formalised learning environment. The reasoning behind this is that it is not so much about how ready a child is for school, it implies that the transition into schooling is a two-way street.

In this article, I would like to take a look firstly at how we can decide if a child is ready for the transition to school; and secondly how we can support them to transition.

This time of transformation for parents is highly emotional and given the over-abundance of information at our digital fingertips, it is easy to feel overwhelmed, uncertain and often powerless. Also the early years landscape is very different to what it was when the parents were the same age. Not only did a significant number of children never attend a pre-school setting before attending year 1 – the year you turn six – the expectations for five-year-olds today is very much the expectations of six-year-olds 25 years ago.

On top of that Australia has one of the most confusing systems for transitioning in the Western world. In each state it has a different name and often a different starting age. So for the simplicity of this article – I am writing about transitioning into the early childhood landscape for 4-5-year-olds who will participate in mainstream schooling.

The year a child turns four is an excellent opportunity for them to experience three days in an early childhood setting with experienced educators who are familiar with and competent at delivering the EYLF and the National Quality Standards as determined by the National Quality Framework. Even though this is a great opportunity – this is not compulsory however it is strongly recommended based on significant research.

Three days doesn’t sound like much however with the ‘schoolification’ of the early years – the shift away from unstructured play together with the impetus to lift our falling education standards – has seen an erosion of the fun side for this age group. I have even been told of 4-year-olds getting homework! What is really good about 4-year-old early childhood access is that it has flexibility. So if your child is struggling with physical exhaustion or emotional overwhelm, a parent can choose how often they attend. Sadly this flexibility disappears in the following year.

I have had many parents asked me about what happens at the other end of schooling if your child is a different age. Technically our teenagers are not meant to drink alcohol until they are 18 however many will try this before they are 18. I have taught in high schools for almost 17 years and I can tell you that very few 17- and 18-year-olds are competent at making wise choices all the time, especially when they are with their friends. One mum said to me she would prefer her son to be driving the car rather than being the passenger in a car being driven by somebody else who was old enough. Much like every other year of development, some children mature faster than others and some take longer to mature. If you keep in mind the final maturity of the human brain is in the 20s, then whether you are 17 or 18 or 19 in your final year of school makes little difference.

If you do have the option and you decide to give your child an extra year before starting school, this year can be seen as an opportunity for children to experience a similar environment to what they will experience the following year. It also gives early years’ educators an opportunity to see what areas a child may need to have nurtured and developed. Some of our children have delayed aspects or developmental vulnerabilities and this is not a sign that their parents have failed. Our ‘lambs’ or more sensitive children often take longer to develop social and emotional competence.

Every single child has a unique blend of attributes and while they may be excelling in some areas they may be struggling in others. This is the nature of early childhood development. The current push for ‘too much too soon’ for both 4 and 5-year-old children just happens to coincide with a significant increase in children’s anxiety and a drop in resilience, as well as a frightening increase in the number of suspensions for 5-year-olds, as in Queensland where 2019 figures showed over 1500 prep students were suspended, compared with 572 in 2013.

Early years’ educators can also help with parent decision-making. These are the key guidelines they use in determining whether a child will transition well into full-time 5-year-old school:

• Physical Health and Wellbeing – especially fine motor skills – good health, well fed, well rested, sitting, listening skills, able to grip a pencil, turn pages in a book, build with blocks, able to toilet themselves, feed themselves, dress themselves, some degree of focus to task, blow nose, wipe bottom, wash hands
• Social Competence – primary need is to be able to get along with other children, cope with the stress of the new situation and new learning tasks, have healthy assertiveness, ability to play solo and with other children, have pro-social behaviour – I know some grown-ups who need some help here?
• Emotional Maturity – some ability to self-manage their emotions, be able to cope with minimal adult contact in large groups, develop friendships, able to separate from parents…even if gradually!
• Language and Cognitive Skills – basic counting, follow basic instructions, basic thinking skills – NB Basic….
• Communication Skills and General Knowledge – basic conversation skills, manners, ability to communicate needs, understanding of wider world – again this is a work in progress….
• Independence – Toilet themselves and for children with special needs, can they have additional support?

There are so many skills, behaviours and capabilities that our young children need to be competent in other than just their capacity to count to 1000 and know their alphabet. I have serious concerns about how our digital children will navigate their world socially and emotionally as these competencies for being human are only formed from spending hours in interaction through play with other children in the present moment.

The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) has shown that many boys do have a tendency to struggle a little more in the early years. Some studies have shown that boys expressed themselves less clearly than girls, have more difficulty writing their names, recognising numbers and letters and tying their shoelaces.

Similar results can be seen on the data from the Australian Early Development Census. This data also shows that boys and Indigenous children feature much more highly as children with developmental vulnerabilities when starting five-year-old school.