What do we mean when we use the term 'School Readiness'?

What is school readiness?

When a family asks us?about?school readiness for their child, what do we say?

Do we feel immense pressure from families that we should be molding children to fit the needs of a school?

Or do we educate our families to understand how we can ensure school is ready for children?

School readiness is?about?the whole child, not their ability to read and/or write.

The expectation set on “school readiness” often infers setting a standard of what a child should be able to do before starting school. Take the time to reflect upon who sets this standard, and does this standard always align to the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) and curriculum documents. It is very important to consider the impact upon a child’s wellbeing when they do not meet this standard. As Early Childhood Teachers and Educators it is important that we are valuing the individuality of each child and the importance this brings to their sense of worth. Schools should be ready to meet the individual needs children bring into the learning space and all children should be accepted and valued by the school community as a whole (Aldwinckle, 2019).

So how can we disrupt the myth of School Readiness?

• We provide rich play-based experiences from children birth to five.
• We read, sing, and engage with children.
• We scaffold their learning.
• We ensure the child is developing as a whole.
• We have conversations with families?about?their child’s development.
• It is important to move away from: stencils, close-ended experiences/tasks/activities, repeating the alphabet and numbers, ‘letter of the week’ activities, colouring-in pages, activity sheets and long adult-driven group times (Hopps, 2020).
• Advocate to families, colleagues, communities and governments?about?the broader notions of school readiness and transitions (Hopps, 2020).
• Draw on transition-to-school research and implement evidence-based transition practices in our early learning centres (Hopps, 2020).
• Make visible the things educators and teachers do to prepare children for school— things that don’t involve the imposition of school-like practices; this includes unpacking what we mean by 'learning through play' (Hopps, 2020).
• Talking?to children?about?school, encourage them to ask questions or voice their concerns (Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority [ACECQA], 2021).
• Arranging visits to local primary schools to meet teachers and tour the setting (ACECQA, 2021).
• Inviting school students to visit the service to?talk?about?what school is like (ACECQA, 2021).
• Reading stories?about?starting school (ACECQA, 2021).
• Including school props, such as uniforms, bags, lunch boxes, and chalk boards in dramatic play areas (ACECQA, 2021).
• Support children to develop their self-help and social skills through every day routine activities such as mealtimes when children will practice using lunch boxes and drink bottles (ACECQA, 2021).
• Providing literacy items such as reading and writing materials in everyday play activities (ACECQA, 2021).

We are in the driver’s seat to advocate for change, and for understanding with our families.

Time to reflect…

How are you going to articulate to your families the importance of learning through play and the benefits this holds when children transition to school?

References

Aldwinckle, M. (2019, December 5).?School Readiness. Retrieved from The Spoke: Early Childhood Australia's Blog:?https://thespoke.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/school.../

Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority [ACECQA]. (2021).?Transition to School. Retrieved from Starting Blocks:?https://www.startingblocks.gov.au/.../transition-to-school/

Hopps, D. K. (2020, January 29).?Disrupting School Readiness. Retrieved from The Spoke: Early Childhood Australia's Blog:?https://thespoke.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/disruptin.../