Educators at this service acknowledge the importance of a smooth transition to school and that they play a key role in ensuring children are well equipped to embark on the next stage of their learning. Evidence suggests that children who have a positive start to school are likely to engage well and to achieve academic and social success. Our educational program and school preparation experiences promote opportunities for encouraging the skills and attributes needed for starting school and to assist children in becoming confident learners.

We believe preparation for school commences from a child’s first day of attendance at this service and continues through to the year prior to attending school where children will be grouped in an environment which fosters

• consolidation of prior and current experiences to enhance security and confidence
• independence and resilience
• formation of relationships with peers and adults
• self – regulation of emotions and behavior
• persistence with tasks
• effective communications with special reference to literacy and the STEM subjects Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

Our model of programming involves identifying children’s interests and providing opportunities for them to further research, investigate and explore, often in collaborative play. This type of learning environment allows children to be involved in their own self-directed learning scaffolded by educators.  School readiness is a collaborative approach that focuses on the strengths and interests of individual children. We support our young learners to develop skills such as critical thinking and the ability to communicate effectively, innovate and solve problems through negotiation and collaboration.

Rather than telling a child to sit and practice writing letters of the alphabet we search for opportunities to introduce literacy into their own self-directed learning. For example, the child who is making a zoo using blocks and wants people to know what animals go in each cage is encouraged to make labels so they can develop understandings of the purpose of print and letter sound relationships as opposed to rote learning.

The child who shows interest in flowers changing colours engages in research with educator support, to discover why this happens and is encouraged to create an experiment to test the theory of absorption; writing lists for materials needed, measuring colour absorption, mixing colours, following procedures.

We believe learning is not limited to literacy and numeracy but recognise these as skills integral to success as life- long learners. To ensure our Blinkies graduates are equipped with this knowledge and understanding we search for ways to introduce these concepts in our scaffolding of children’s interests. This makes their experience more meaningful as they have sustained interest and are engaged with the content and are making connections about the applications of the knowledge they are acquiring.

Prior to each child’s attendance at orientation at the parents’ choice of school, a school readiness statement will be prepared with reference to the NSW Transition to School Statement which includes a summary of the child’s strengths, interests and approaches to learning and suggests ways these can be supported.

If sanctioned by the parent, the statement will be communicated to the child’s intended school where it provides the school and teachers with information they can use in planning and preparing for the child’s arrival and transition into the new learning environment.

We adopt a collaborative approach to the transition to school, working closely with families and schools to share information and resources that will support a smooth transition for all children. A well planned and collaborative school readiness program impacts each child’s engagement with school, well being and ongoing learning. Our transition to school approach is developed in response to our local community, children, families and experience.

There are a number of resources and tools we access to provide a high quality preschool program and smooth transitions to school. These are shared with families and accessible through our service.