Early Years and Childcare - Getting Ready for School

Getting Ready for School

In Peterborough we have worked with schools and partner agencies to ensure every child gets the best possible start to school. School readiness should form part of core activities and experiences in your setting throughout the year.

• To help parents and carers to get their child ready to START school we have created the Ready to START leaflet for parents.
• We encourage our settings and childminders to promote school readiness by displaying our Ready to START poster.
• For tips and ideas to promote school readiness in your setting we have created the START Practitioner Guide.
• Early Start has been created following the same messages as our START campaign but is aimed at getting children ready to start preschool. This is good to share with parents before their child joins your setting.
• If you would like tips on Hosting your own START event, this guide is for you, along with Top Tips.

This is the current Transfer to School template for those children moving on to school in 2023.  This is the preferred document for Peterborough though you can use your own or adapt this accordingly. 

Whatever document you use, please ensure it is not overly long and parents are aware that you are sharing information with school. The Transfer to School prompts sheet will support you with completing the Transfer to School document.

Useful Links

• Barnardo's - Direct families to their local Children’s Centre where there are play sessions, as well as family support
• Bookstart - Find information about books: Look at the online activities to support reading and writing
• Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust - Find local information on who to contact for health and well-being services
• ERIC - Find information and help with toilet training
• Family Corner - Provides information on behaviour, communication, health and nutrition and learning through play and safety
• National Literacy Trust - For more information about the Peterborough Literacy Campaign and how to get involved
• NHS Choices - Information and contact details for health and additional support
• https://www.pacey.org.uk/partners/school-ready/ - a charity dedicated to supporting everyone working in childcare and early years to provide high quality care and early learning for children and families, with a particularly good section on school readiness