Transition - Moving into Primary 1
Transition - Moving into Primary 1
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"The transition to school together with the transition from home to an ECEC setting are the first occasions in which children experience a big cultural change, in the people around them, the ways in which they interact, their number of peers, the types of activity they engage in, and their physical surroundings." (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, OECD, 2017: 17)
Here at Moray Council the Early Years team and Primary Teachers have been working hard alongside other colleagues in other supporting agencies to try create a supportive tool that will guide you and your child through the important transition process of moving from Early Years to Primary.
Below you will hear from our Early Years Service Manager, Hazel Sly regarding the importance of getting transitions right for your child.
We will also hear from a parent Gemma MacPherson regarding her daughter's transition experience from ELC into Primary 1.
Quotes from children at Rainbow Childcare & Education about their thoughts on starting Primary 1:
Hallie - "I'm feeling excited to go to my class and excited to go to lunch. My friends will play outside with me.”
Harris - "I'm excited, I think you will draw and they have books. I'm going to Dyke school, its got a clock, its not very far away and I'll walk to school.”
Pictures from Lhanbryde Nursery
Top 10 tips from parents at Greenwards Primary School to support transition to Primary one:
Start talking about it early and explain things like uniform
Try to network with other parents before the summer break so that kids can get to know each other before school and parents also have friendly faces, people they can ask if they’re unsure of anything.
Just continue to be positive and reassuring to your child
If you have any doubts about whether to defer your child, do it. The transition process is easier if they are ready for it.
Prepare by reading books about starting school and talking about what happens at school. Support your child to be as independent as they can - dressing themselves, zipping
Encourage your child to ask lots of questions about school
The kids will settle in well and if there was any issues the school would raise them. Not to worry if they have a wobble a few weeks into the first term
Attend as many pre-school visits as possible
Just let the children enjoy the process, they take things in their stride a lot more than we do as the parents.
Let them learn at their own pace.
Enrolment
At Moray Council we recognise what a huge milestone it is for you and your child when enrolling for Primary 1, and for that reason we have tried to make the process as simple and smooth as possible.
Some questions you may want to consider before enrolling are:
Is the school you are interested in, in your Associated School Group (ASG) catchment area? (Refer to catchment area link to find out what schools are in what ASG)
School location – cost or difficulty of travel to/from school? Public transport options?
Other siblings, is it important that all children go to the same school?
What are your options for before school, after school and holiday care?
How well does the school support children with additional needs, if your child has a disability, developmental delay, autism, chronic health condition or other need?
If your child has additional support needs, then enhanced transition will be offered and this will be discussed directly with you about how best to support your child.
If you need any further guidance on selecting the best option, please speak directly to your child’s Nursery.
To proceed with enrolment, find your catchment school and check eligibility for registering your child for Primary 1, please click on the link below:
WHAT DOES MOVING FROM ELC TO PRIMARY 1 LOOK LIKE IN MORAY?
What Nursery does
Your child transitioning from Nursery to Primary 1 can be a daunting experience especially if it is your first experience of a child moving onto school. Be assured that your child’s Early Years Setting will provide many fun opportunities to ensure your child’s transition to school is positive.
Your child’s Early Years Setting will encourage and support the development of independence throughout their time in nursery. They will do this by supporting your child to put on and fasten their coat, to change their own shoes, to use cutlery during snack and lunch times and to support their toileting needs.
Resilience is also another very important skill children require when moving onto school, as there will be many changes to face.
Your child’s nursery will support the development of this by talking about emotions and sharing how we feel, along with using the well-being indicators Safe Healthy Active Nurturing Achieving Responsible Respected and Included during play. The practitioners will also support your child to make friendships and to be responsible in the nursery such as tidying resources and supporting their friends when they may be finding something tricky. There will be opportunities for problem solving and teamwork activities throughout the day and most importantly the Early Years Team will support your child during their play to have fun, persevere at tasks and be positive.
If your child does not attend an ELC setting then the school will get in touch with you direct through email or phone to arrange transition dates/activities.
What Nursery & School will do together
The school that you have chosen for your child may have children starting from a range of settings and environments. Each school will guide transition by working with Nursery Staff to ensure a smooth induction. Nurseries and schools work in partnership to build positive relationships and will have created opportunities throughout the year for nursery children to become familiar with school staff and the school environment.
Each nursery/school relationship will be different but all nurseries share core information with class teachers; this will include sharing information from your child’s folio regarding maths and numeracy, literacy and health and well-being. Staff will also share information that is unique to your child, ensuring teachers have a good understanding of your child as individuals
In some instances, an enhanced transition is required to ensure that we are getting it right for every child. Should your child need an enhanced transition, school staff and nursery staff will work with you to ensure that your child’s unique needs are meet as best as we can.
What parents and families can do
Every child arrives at school in a different place in their journey, and that’s ok, the school will meet them wherever they are. Everyone will bring different experiences with them, from home and from nursery. Please do not worry about being school ready, that does not exist, school will be ready for them.
However, there are things you can do to help support them in independence and resilience. Like asking them to dress themselves, maybe mornings are busy and hectic, so perhaps they can put on their own pyjamas. This will help them in PE – top tip, don’t get uniform that is tight, make sure there is plenty of wiggle room! Supporting them to independently use the toilet, and hand wash is also a great start, but support is there if they need it.
There are lots you can do to help their learning at home, like pointing out numbers and words in recipes. Things like mark making, this isn’t learning to write but just having confidence in using pencils, chalks, paint brushes etc. Let your child share their creativity with you.
Reading a story at bedtime will help them develop listening skills, it’s good to read the same story more once, they’ll soon catch you out if skip a bit! Nursery Rhymes and rhyming words is another great way of improving listening and learning new sounds.
Most importantly, be enthusiastic about starting school, your child will follow your lead.
"I will be happy; we will play with each other" –Albie
"I want to draw and build an aeroplane with bricks" – Finlay
"I want to colour in" - Noah
The Everywhere Bear
This year all ELC settings in Moray will be supporting transitions through the use of the book "The Everywhere Bear" by Julia Donaldson. The transition pack designed by The Early Years Education Service will have fun and engaging activities to support children during this time of change and aims to calm and alleviate any concerns or anxieties you and your child may have about moving up to primary school.
RAF Lossiemouth Childcare Centre: 'Thank you for the Everywhere Bear book, the children are really enjoying the Everywhere Bear and The Colour Monster goes to School story to help with transition to school. We have added a few props which the children really love.'
Please see below some examples of transition activities from Moray schools:
Curriculum For Excellence
In this section we have shared some information on what our curriculum is, which is used in both Early Learning and Childcare and Primary. For many parent/carers and families Primary 1, may look very different to how it was when maybe you were at school. The Curriculum for Excellence supports a much more play based approach to learning, where children are not seen sitting at desks for long periods of time.
What will P1 look like for my child?
Welcome to Primary 1 in Moray. We hope that settling in to your chosen school will be a happy experience for everyone – your child, you as a parent or carer and for the staff who will be working with your child.
The below Sway presentation will hopefully give you some ideas of how you as a parent or carer can help your child begin school ready to enjoy him/herself from the first day. With Covid still around there may still be some changes before August, but each school will keep in contact with you and share any more information as we have it. The information in this Sway is based around what a typical school day is like in Moray.
Each school is different so our helpful staff and pupils will guide your child through their early days in Primary 1 and be on hand to support them with the new environment and routines.
Parental Engagement
Getting involved in School Life
Prior to beginning school
Teachers from your child’s school will aim to visit your child in their nursery. Parents and carers will be invited to an open evening, usually just prior to Christmas, where you can tour the building, meet the staff and see the resources. This is a wonderful opportunity for an informal visit to your child’s new school and to ask any outstanding questions.
You may also be invited, with your child, to take part in some of the experiences your school offers in the school day e.g. an outdoor learning session, lunch, music etc. If group sessions are not on offer, family tours/information sessions may be on offer. These family sessions provide a good opportunity to talk to parents/carers for longer.
Keep an eye on your child’s school social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook. The school may use these platforms to post information regarding transition activities and other useful information like school uniform and activities undertaken.
After starting school
As your child begins to settle into school life, parents and carers will be invited into school to experience learning with your child. These sessions could be in the form of stay and play or story time and will take place throughout the school year.
Each school will use a reporting system or approach to observe and assess your child’s progress. Many systems will including a parents and carers consultation receiving a detailed report about their child. Following this, parents and carers are invited at appropriate times the report and jointly plan next steps and supports ongoing contact with parents.
Throughout the school year, parents and carers will be invited into the school for socialising opportunities such as, coffee mornings, fetes, concerts and quiz nights. These events are a good opportunity to meet other parents and get to know other members of staff and connect with the school community. As a parent/carer you will also have the opportunity to be part of school groups such as parent forums or PTA groups. As a member of a parent forum, you will be involved in the decision making in school and may help to develop and implement school improvement plans or be involved with interviewing for certain posts within the school. The PTA is more informal and tends to focus on fundraising for the school.
Please see examples below of different documents used in P1 which highlight the key areas for learning.
Further Info
Further Information
To find out more information about your child’s school, please click on link below. Then select the school your child has enrolled for from the list. The information provided on each page includes school handbook, website links and school contact details.
For any further information, please contact the Head Teacher direct.
For more information about Early Learning and Childcare Services in Moray contact:
Education, Communities and Organisational Development
Early Years Team
High Street
Elgin
IV30 1BX
01343 563374
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