Starting School: What Parents REALLY Need to Know!

A Teacher’s Perspective

If your child is starting school then you no doubt have a long list of questions and worries. You are not alone. Starting school can be a daunting time for the whole family, and as a teacher who has taught in Reception for many years, I have given my fair share of reassuring talks with parents to try to ease some of the starting school panic.

I thought it would be helpful to write about the things that are really worth focusing on, as I am sure that you have a seemingly endless welcome pack of leaflets and handouts to work your way through. This time last year, I was preparing for my daughter to start Reception, so that feeling of panic and generally feeling unready is still rather fresh, even with my 10 year teaching experience. So here are my top tips for starting school from a teacher / parent’s perspective:

Label, Label, Label!

Firstly, whether your child will be wearing a uniform or not, please, please, please, label everything! You’re probably nodding in agreement, but I cannot tell you how much time teachers spend hunting for uniform. As a parent, I would recommend getting your child’s name printed onto personalised, stick-on clothes labels, click here for an example, or see my recommended products, below. Spending half an hour labelling clothes before the start of term will save you so much time and effort – trust me! And I would suggest labelling everything at once instead of doing it as you go because if you’re anything like me, your weekends and evenings will probably be jam packed with ferrying to and from after-school clubs, doing household chores and running errands… fitting in play-dates, seeing family..and maybe even having a soak in the bath (yeah right, haha!). The main point is that it will be one less thing to think about. Unless you’d prefer to spend your precious after-school time patrolling the school playgrounds on the look out for that jumper you forgot to label? Nope, I didn’t think so.

Iron on, sew on, or simply write it on, it really doesn’t matter. Just do it!

Jot It Down, Before You Forget!

Secondly, get yourself a family calendar. Your child’s class will most likely have a parent rep who will be in charge of passing on key information to parents, including dates and events that may or may not be shared on the school’s newsletter. I’m thinking of events like parent workshops, class trip dates and class photo reminders. The first year of school may feel pretty overwhelming at first and it’s normal to feel as though you can’t keep up, so having a simple calendar where you jot all those important dates down will save you a lot of stress and last minute panic! Check out some of my top favourite family planners below:

A Messy Child is a Happy Child!

Thirdly, your child will get messy. It’s as simple as that, really. I often tell parents that a messy child is a happy child. If your child greets you with a jumper covered in unidentified goo, you can be reassured that they have had a fun day of exploring and learning through play. What more could you ask for? Plus I bet it would be a great conversation starter for the journey home.

Remember: You can easily wash or replace a piece of clothing, but nothing can ever replace your child’s experiences and memories.

So let them play, let them get messy, let them be explorers, but most of all, let them be happy!

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Your child’s first year at school will fly by, so enjoy the journey! Oh, and if you want to avoid those after-school meltdowns, always bring a snack! You’re welcome!

Some More Useful Top Tips:

• School is like a secret society. Your child probably won’t want to share any information with you, so stop asking! Haha! If you ask your child what they did at school, you will most likely find that they can only remember the most important part- lunchtime! Try asking specific questions like ‘What maths activity did you do today? Tell me about it..’
• Check your child’s book bag daily. You’ll probably find a scrunched up newsletter or very important permission letter that was due in a week ago 🙂
• Please do not compare your child to their peers. All children are different and learn at their own pace. Try not to get sucked in to the playground competition, especially in regards to reading levels. (I’ve never quite understood this!)
• In the run up to starting Reception, focus on developing your child’s independence, like getting themselves dressed in the mornings, doing up buttons, toileting etc. Don’t stress about maths or getting them to write.. You’ll be given guidance from the teacher once your child starts. However;
• Read, read and read. Read stories together, read magazines, read the signs at the shops, read labels, read whenever you can and wherever you are. When you read frequently, it stimulates so many different areas such as listening, their imagination, speech and language, knowledge and understanding of the world to name a few.
• Lastly, if you are worried or concerned about anything school related, please speak to your child’s class teacher, They are always happy to meet with parents – After all, you are entrusting them with your precious little ones. Having a positive parent-teacher partnership will prove wonders, I promise.

We hope you have found this post useful. Let us know in the comments below.

If you are a well seasoned parent and have any top tips for first-timers, we would love for you to share them below 🙂

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