At Long Lane, we believe it is important to make the transition into school as smooth as possible and creating a good partnership with parents is essential. Parents and children are invited to aninformation session where they can meet staff and see the foundation stage classroom. We try to visit as many children as possible in their nursery or pre-school setting and each setting will be given a transition booklet to help the children become more familiar with their new school.
Additionally, as part of our transition, children will have the opportunity to join us for a ‘stay and play’ session and home visits are arranged for all the families, which will take place in September. You will be asked to sign-up for the 20 minute visit at the ‘Open evening’, which is held in the Summer term each year. The child’s class teacher and a teaching assistant will carry these out. A home visit provides an opportunity for the child to meet staff in their own family environment and allow parents to ask questions or discuss anything about their child enabling us to meet their needs more effectively.
Children will have a staggered start in smaller groups over the first few weeks of term.
We believe this is the best structure of entry for the children and whilst we understand the implications for working parents, we appreciate your understanding of the importance of a smooth transition. Sometimes it is more suitable for a child to start part-time and build up to full time attendance over a number of weeks or months. This may be the case for children who have not already attended a pre-school setting on a full time basis, a child who is summer born or is not thought to be ‘school ready’. This will be discussed on an individual basis.
