Transition to School

Transitioning to School

Many parents are interested in the skills that children need prior to starting school. Traditionally, the skills required were reading and writing; now schools prefer to teach this once children start school. The NSW Department of Education has developed a list of skills that may make starting school a bit easier.

Our program allows children to develop these skills, by exploring topics that interest them.

Please don’t hesitate to talk to our staff if you have any questions.

Personal/Social Skills:

• Adapts to unfamiliar settings and new experiences

• Can say own name and address

• Can finish a task and tidies up afterwards

• Uses the toilet independently

• Plays co-operatively with other children – shares and takes turns

• Can sit and listen to a story for a few minutes

• Is curious about the world

• Can share an adult’s attention with several children

• Participates in imagination play

Language

• Talks to other people about familiar objects and events

• Answers and asks simple questions

• Makes needs known

• Follows simple instructions

• Uses books for enjoyment or looking at pictures

• Identifies pictures in books, magazines, on television or video

• Uses a variety of things (pens, pencils, textas, paint brushes) to draw, to scribble or to write

• Joins in singing familiar songs

Physical Skills

• Uses scissors to cut along a straight line

• Enjoys a variety of indoor and outdoor play

• Can put on and take off jumpers, shoes and socks independently

• Makes and designs things using a variety of materials

Mathematical Skills

• Recognised that numbers can be used to count

• Uses words like ‘many’, ‘a lot’, ‘more’ and ‘less’

• Identifies things in a group that are different

• Sees differences in shapes

• Differentiates between opposites, such as up and down, under and over, in front and behind, night and day