Tamworth Children's Services new initiative

We know that the impact of transitions in the early years can strongly influence a child’s future progress and development, and when supported well, transitions can provide opportunities for:

•             meaningful and challenging learning experiences

•             new positive identities

•             broadening horizons

•             collaborative working

•             strong relationships to be formed

•             families to be meaningfully involved

•             children to develop both emotionally and Socially 

The concept of ‘readiness’ has been central in discussions around children’s transitions to school.

‘Readiness’ is affected by poverty which undermines parents’ capacity to support their children. Family poverty is often linked to school poverty, in terms of accessibility and basic indicators of quality. This raises the question of whether school systems – and individual schools – are ready to support all children at this key transition in their lives. Readiness is best understood as the match between the child and the institutions that serve the child. It requires the participation of families, schools and communities.

Dunlop, a-W and fabian, H (eds) informing Transitions in the early years, research, policy and practice, Maidenhead open university press

With this in mind Tamworth has a new and exciting initiative to look into what might be done to help children and families through the transitions they face from home to nursery or school.

Our first step is consultation between families, schools, children's centres and the wider community to look at what happens now and how we could develop this.