School Readiness

Research your child’s school

Before you decide whether or not to send your child to school, it’s a good idea to get a sense of the demands she’ll face by meeting with potential teachers, talking to parents at the school gate and observing students in potential playgrounds.

You are also encouraged to research the school curriculum, standardized testing such as the NAPLAN and the daily routines of the classroom. Ask an administrator at a local school, or contact your school board, to find out these details.

Assess your child’s skills

A child’s development is typically assessed in term of these four (4) categories: academic, social, physical and emotional.

If your child is developing at a similar rate to her peers in these four categories, you may wish to consider advancing her through school on a typical timeline. Children with significant developmental challenges, however, may have difficulty keeping up with their peers. In this case, it may be best to delay starting school until she can successfully cope with the common demands of school life.

Academic Readiness

At any new school level, your child will have to cope with academic demands.

• Is your child interested in learning?
• How developed are her language and communication skills?
• Does she seem interested in reading, writing, mathematics or creative activities?
• Can she pay attention and sit still for a (relatively) long period of time?

Social Readiness

• Does your child show patterns of friendship that are age appropriate?
• Can she cope with conflict?
• How will your child react to unstructured play time at recess and lunch (for Kindergarten) or interacting with students outside her class (secondary school)?

Emotional Readiness

Think about the emotional demands that will be required of your child at the new school level, and ask yourself if she can meet them.

• How does your child cope with setbacks or frustration?
• How often does she require comforting or reassurance?
• How independent is your child when eating, using the toilet, or getting dressed?

Physical Readiness

Consider your child’s gross and fine motor skills in relation to the physical tasks required by the new level of school. Can she independently do zippers or buttons to manage her school uniform?

• How does she find writing or using a keyboard? Does she have any disability or illness that will affect how she adjusts to school life?

Consider accommodations

Many children with difficulties in one or more of these four key areas may benefit from starting school at the typical time for their age group if their challenge is effectively addressed either in or out of the classroom.

For example, a child with physical challenges may “catch up” with regular visits with an Occupational Therapist. Social issues are best managed by a Child Psychologist.  If you feel your child can handle the demands of the school overall but needs help with one specific area, it might be a good idea to seek support to address any challenges.

Talk to your child’s other caregivers and/or educators

If you’re not sure about your child’s developmental patterns, some of the most useful sources of information are staff at your child’s current school or pre-school. These professionals not only spend a lot of time with your child but with many other children of the same age.

Consider a School-Readiness Assessment

If you have significant concerns about your child’s development, it can be a good idea to have your child assessed to measure where she is falling compared to her peers.

Standardized testing such as using the Griffiths Mental Development Scales (GMDS), Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID-III), Stanford Binet (Early SB5) or Wechsler (WPPSI - III) Intelligence Scales will break down different aspects of your child’s development, showing her strengths and weaknesses, as well as normative scores for her age.

If you have any questions or queries about standardized developmental assessments, please give us a call at the Quirky Kid Clinic on 9362 9297.