What school readiness really is
Parents often assume readiness means knowing letters and numbers. Teachers, asked directly, tend to name something else entirely: can the child separate from a parent, follow a group instruction, sit for a short period, ask for help, manage the toilet, and cope when something does not go their way.
Those are the skills worth working on in the months before school. Academic content is what school is for; the learning behaviours are what make access to it possible.
In the months before
- Practise the morning routine, including the uniform, well before term starts
- Build up separation gradually through short periods with other trusted adults
- Work on independent toileting, hand-washing and managing a lunchbox
- Practise sitting and attending for gradually longer periods during an enjoyable activity
- Teach a clear, reliable way to ask for help and to ask for the toilet
- Visit the school, walk the route, and photograph the building, classroom and staff
- Make a simple picture book of the school day to read repeatedly
Working with the school
Meet staff before term starts, and bring a short written profile of your child rather than relying on a conversation being remembered accurately in September.
One page is enough, and it is more likely to be read than ten. Cover: what my child is good at, what they find difficult, what helps, what to avoid, how you can tell they are becoming overwhelmed, and how to reach me.
If your child receives therapy, ask whether goals can be shared with the school so both settings are working towards the same things. Teachers also see your child in a context their therapist never does, and that observation is genuinely useful going the other way.
The first weeks
Expect regression. Many children hold themselves together all day at school and release it at home, which can look like things getting worse just as you hoped they would improve. It is usually a sign of effort, not failure.
Keep the after-school period low-demand — food, movement, quiet, no questions for the first half hour. Save the debrief for later, or ask about something specific rather than 'how was school?', which is a hard question for most children to answer.
Stay in regular, brief contact with staff early on. Small adjustments made in week two are much easier than unpicking an entrenched difficulty in month three.
Concerned about your child?
A guide can only take you so far. If something here matched what you are seeing at home, a functional assessment will tell you what is actually going on — and you do not need a referral or a diagnosis to book one.
