BY HEJIRA CONVERY, KINDICARE

AUGUST 12, 2022

Age isn’t the only measure of whether your preschooler is ready to become a primary schooler.  

Your child’s social, emotional, physical, communication and cognitive skills all come into play when deciding whether to send them off to school next year, or next next year, and no matter where your preschooler is developmentally, a quality School Readiness Program will prime them for primary school.  

Belonging Early Learning Centre Hornsby South is a great example of what this program can look like.  

This Sydney service sits right next door to Hornsby South Public School, to support a super smooth transition from childcare to class, and its School Readiness Program has been designed to build preschoolers’ confidence and competence in the year before big school.  

The program is offered to ages four to five, and it runs alongside the service’s Early Years Learning Framework and its daily activities and experiences.  

Belonging Hornsby South consulted with local schools, teachers, educators, parents and other early learning services when designing its School Readiness Program to ensure that everyone was on the same page. 

As a result, they’ve created a program that introduces and extends important school-related skills. 

There are set topics every term, and throughout the year, children learn how to do things like:  

• Identify and write their name 
• Properly hold a pencil 
• Cut with scissors 
• Copy shapes, and
• Recognise, write and recite numbers. 

 

There’s a real focus on social preparation and life skills, though, not just on academic prowess.  

Children practise things like: 

• Gathering their own school resources  
• Unpacking their lunch box and opening poppas
• Going to the toilet and washing hands on their own
• Finding and putting on their shoes and jumper, and
• Taking turns, sharing and concentrating. 

 

Centre Director, Bronwyn Sterry says, “We teach children how to predict the school routine; voice their needs, wants and opinion; and learn what’s expected in small and larger groups, with lots of bell-ringing to guide them through the day!” 

The School Readiness Program is delivered by experts and tailored to each child.  

Belonging Hornsby South has five highly qualified Early Childhood Teachers on staff, and the School Readiness Program is taught by two of them.  

These teachers know where each child’s interests and aptitudes lie, and Bronwyn says, “It’s a child-centred program, so there’s no pressure for children to take part if they’re not ready.”  

“They have the freedom to participate in activities that they’re interested in, so a child might choose to use paper and pencil to write their name in readiness for school, or do a dog drawing with the same supplies, because that’s what they prefer to do.”  

Depending on where a child is at developmentally, the service may also introduce a less intensive School Readiness Program from the age of three.  

This introductory program allows younger preschoolers to practise school readiness skills without set topics being allocated to each term.  

Ages three and up also learn how to stay safe and healthy.  

The world opens up in a big way when preschoolers become primary schoolers, and to help them prepare for this, Belonging Hornsby South teaches the SAFE series, which is offered by the NSW Office of the Children’s Guardian.   

Drawing on the Office’s resources and training, educators teach children the following safety topics for two months each: 

• Road safety 
• People safety
• Fire safety
• Sun safety
• Water safety, and
• Nutrition safety (which is part of the Munch & Move program offered by NSW Health).  

 

These lessons build on what preschoolers already know about things like wearing a hat and eating their vegetables, and there are school-related messages, too.  

For example, Bronwyn says, “Children learn how to move around a playground without hurting themselves, and go to a person they feel safe with if they have worries or Mum is late to school pick-up.”   

Belonging Hornsby South also hosts a regular nutrition workshop for families, where a visiting nutrition expert talks about topics like fussy eating and food texture, answering parents’ questions along the way.  

Additional learning is also offered to round out children’s school readiness.  

Belonging Hornsby South offers Mandarin classes and music, with a Sustainability Officer teaching enviro-awareness.  

They’ve also partnered with Uncle Laurie from Guringai Aboriginal Tours to share indigenous culture on-site every six months. 

Bronwyn says, “Uncle Laurie recently came in to do carvings with the children and show them indigenous artefacts, and culture is a huge part of the Belonging ethos.” 

“We have children and staff from 15 different cultures at our service, and every cultural day is celebrated, from Chinese New Year to Diwali.” 

All in all, Belonging’s School Readiness Program is designed with the whole child in mind, and parents can always seek advice from their service.  

The program caters to each child’s age, stage, character and interests, and if parents aren’t sure whether to send their child to school next year or the year after, Bronwyn encourages them to talk things through with educators.  

She says, “We hold an annual School Readiness Workshop for families and staff, and also do progress reports every six months for our families, along with parent-teacher evenings to discuss how each child is travelling.” 

Generally speaking, though, Bronwyn says confidence is a big part of school readiness.  

“If a preschooler is confident with their belongings and fairly independent, these are good indications that they’re ready for school,” and whether your child is effortlessly outgoing or naturally shy, a quality School Readiness Program will help them make a smooth transition to primary school.     

View Belonging Early Learning Centre in Hornsby South on KindiCare >>>