Parent Sessions

We have been delighted with the response to our parent sessions as part of the Tamworth Transition project. We decided to hold several of these as a response to the feedback we collected from local parents who had already experienced the transition into nursery or school. As part of the consultation phase, we spoke to families about their concerns at the time and what advice they could give to other parents to help make it easier for them when they have to go through the same experience.

The families had thought about what would help them and also their children. We have collated these ideas into 2 booklets which are available for families in the Tamworth area. They also felt that the opportunity to meet with and discuss these issues with other families who were in the same situation would be useful.

The sessions have included a play session for children with nursery rhymes and stories while parents have had the opportunity to discuss their concerns, worries or even little niggles. 'The parents have actually lead the discussion themselves,' said Georgina White, one of the Transition Project staff, 'My role has been to make the coffee!'

The concerns have mostly been about how they can help their child settle in. Feedback has been very positive and it is felt that these sessions should continue if at all possible. Starting nursery sessions could be termly while starting school could be annual occurrences.

Starting nursery

Starting nursery is a big change for both you and your child especially if they are only 2 years of age.

We asked parents in Tamworth for their advice and have put the top tips to help you and your child. We will also produce  a hard copy handy guide. We hope it helps:

How can I prepare my toddler for nursery?

Tip: Take advantage of any sessions that the nurseries offer to help your child become familiar and settle in.

“We found a lovely book from the library called ‘Going to Playgroup’ by Laurence Anholt and Catherine Anholt, which we read in the run up to starting. I was very positive about it and made it sound as if it was special thing. By the time she started, she couldn’t wait!”

Talk about it in positive ways. The local library will have several books including a popular Peppa pig ‘George starts Playgroup’.

 
“My son’s nursery let us visit together and then he stayed for short sessions by himself at first”.

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How can I help my child feel more comfortable?

Tip: Let staff know what makes your child feel more secure. They will want him to feel happy.

“I took my son’s blanky in with him. They let him snuggle it all the time to start with, then gradually put it in his bag. Eventually he didn’t notice it was in the bag all the time.” 

How can I make goodbyes easier?

Tip: Try to make it a positive experience and don’t let them see you upset.

“I learned the hard way, I’m afraid. I found it very difficult to leave her so stayed to see if she was Ok. She used to cry and cling on to me. It was very upsetting. Now, I kiss her on the head and say, ‘Bye, bye sweetie-pie, and leave. It makes saying goodbye so much easier for both of us." 

“I used to get so upset when I left my son. He’d cry and I’d get tearful too. I’d ring up 10 minutes later and they’d say he was fine but it ruined my day. Now I smile and get out of there fast.”

What if my child won't settle in?

Tip: It’s very rare that a child doesn’t settle into nursery as they are naturally sociable, explorers who love to learn. Nursery staff are experienced at getting children to settle so ask their advice if it’s hard (for you or your child).  

“My son cried for the first two weeks of nursery. It made me feel guilty and not want to leave him but I knew I needed to let him have time to settle in. It was good I did as he loves it so much now and it’s really helped him.”

If you have any questions or need any help please give me a call 07792 906741

My child is starting school soon...

Starting school is a big step for children. It might not be so bad if they have been to nursery or pre-school but it’s still an important transition in their lives ....and yours!

Most parents want to help their children be as ready as possible but don’t really know what they should do.  Some think that they should teach their children to count or know their ABCs but there are actually more important things you can do.

What can do you to make sure your child is ready?

We talked to lots of Tamworth parents whose children were in reception and some reception teachers to ask their advice. They suggested you try to get them to:

 Concentrate for short periods e.g. to read a story, complete a simple puzzle

·        Understand and carry out simple instructions  e.g. fetch your shoes and coat, bring the cups and bowls

·         Make  their needs known eg when they need the toilet, when they’re cold, hungry or unwell.

·         Identify things in a group that are different, and differentiate between opposites such as day and night, light and dark etc.

·         Play cooperatively with other children - share and take turns

·         Go to the toilet, eat and dress with minimal assistance

·         Recognise their own belongings eg coat, bag

·         Uses a variety of things (pens, pencils,  paintbrushes, sticks in the sand) to draw or to scribble 

·         Use scissors to cut along a straight line

All these things will help them be ready for the demands of the classroom.

The Tamworth Children’s Centres have a great variety of activities which will help your child be ready for school e.g. 

·         Sessions with stories and songs helps develop language and communication skills as well as pre-reading skills

·         Craft and messy play is helps pre-writing and pre-maths skills

·         Playing with other children helps their personal, social and emotional development 

The children’s centres are a really good place to meet other families as well as a source of advice and support.

Come and see what we can offer!!

Phase 1 complete, so what will phase 2 be like?

Just a quick up-date about what we've been doing:

 

We have finished phase 1 of the project which was the consultation: we had  a stakeholder session, surveyed all the nurseries and primary schools and also parents about the current transitions and how we might improve on what is already happening.

 

As a result of the findings, we have planned:

• Parent workshops at the children's centres to look at what they need to help their child do before starting nursery at 2/3 or school at 4 years.  This was felt to be useful by 75% of those asked
• Parent information booklets to support these, produced in conjunction with local parents for think 2 children/3 year olds and one for school entry, as requested by 80%. They talked about the common concerns and how they can get over them
• Training session for nursery staff and child minders in preparing for the language and communication demands of school, as requested by 70% of nurseries
• A Bear Hunt themed session in nurseries which will then be carried over into the school visits for those schools wanting to take part. This would satisfy the 70% who felt that a joint project between schools and feeder nurseries would be useful

Obviously we will be monitoring the results closely and evaluating each part.

 

If you want any further information or have any comments or suggestions, please let me know.

 

Come and join our parent sessions

 We are looking at the best way to help families at these important times. One of the common suggestions and one which has been proved to be useful elsewhere, are parent information sessions. We will be running these as follows:

Glascote Children’s centre: Tuesdays February 11th and March 25th 10-11.30 am

Exley Children’s Centre: February Tuesdays 4th and March 4th 10-11.30 am

Ammington Heath Children’s Centre: Thursdays February 6th and March 6th 1-2.30 pm

Nothing heavy or long winded. Coffee and cakes provided. No need to book, just come along to one or more. We'd love to see you!

We would welcome your views to help shape our project

Please complete the survey to help shape our future direction with the project. Your views are really important.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WDBNCNV

Parents of 2 year olds: what do you need to know about a nursery?

As part of the project, we want to know what makes a parent feel happy about leaving their child at nursery? What information do you need to judge whether its a good nursery? Do you base it more on gut instinct or just use the nearest one?

We are going to run an information session  for the parents in Tamworth. What should we include? OFSTED like parents to know about the EYFS and how their child's progress will be tracked but are there more important issues for parents?

Please let us know your views. We want to get it right but we need your help.......