Ready or Not?

Readiness for school is in itself an important factor for consideration before starting school, despite the responsive and adaptable programs that schools provide for children and the emphasis upon individualising learning for each child.
Readiness is not about schools just adapting and attempting to meet the needs of children. International research emphasises that certain areas of development and maturity are essential for children so that once at school, they are able to maximise the opportunities provided.
The key areas of maturity and development are the social and emotional areas of development. Contrary to what most people believe, reading, writing and knowing colours or numbers are not readiness indicators. Whilst some schools may suggest this is necessary, that is reflective only of a particular school’s emphasis, not what readiness is actually about.

Examples of social and emotional maturity include:

Expression and recognition of feelings; Self-concept;
Attachment and separation; Awareness of others;
Interactions with others; speech and concentration.

• If you already have a child in child care or 3- or 4-year-old kindergarten, the qualified kindergarten teacher, alongside the parent, is usually the most able to appropriately assess a child for readiness. Preschool field officers, most often attached to local governments can provide additional information and assessment to children at no charge in the funded 4 year old program and private consultants can also conduct assessments for a cost.
• Given the difficulty in having two years of funded Kindergarten in Victoria, families are being encouraged to plan ahead in determining when they would like their child to commence school. Obviously, we cannot know at the age of 1 or 2 years if a child will be ready, but there is some useful information that may help some families in the planning process.
• Young boys, according to some research, may benefit from having an additional year to mature before commencement.
• Multiple births or children significantly premature may also benefit.
• Remember that Victoria has one of the youngest age entries into school of anywhere in the world.
• Ask yourself, “am I in a rush to send my child to school?”.
• There is no detrimental impact of giving a child an additional year, in fact it is often viewed as a bonus year.
• Don’t assume children will magically ‘catch up’ once they start school. In the majority of cases, they don’t, and in fact the problems in maturity usually become more pronounced.
• Don’t send a child to school already thinking they can repeat prep if they have to. We want the first year of school to be exciting, successful and not just one where the child attempts to ‘cope’ and then has to do it all again.
• Readiness for school or kindergarten is about having the maturity to make the most of these early years.
• For further information see the book, What’s the Hurry? by Kathy Walker which has a number of chapters related to readiness, preparation and choice of school or speak to your local kindergarten teacher.

You may like to attend a presentation on children’s behaviour by Kathy. These are listed on the Community Event Calendar

Kathy and her Associates are also available to conduct individual school readiness assessments. See website for details.

Further reading: ‘What’s the Hurry?: Reclaiming Childhood in an Overscheduled world” by Kathy Walker.