Transition into the EYFS

I thought I'd start with my top tips for a smooth transition

1- get the children into school as much as you can before they are due to start-

Sounds obvious but there are different ways this can be done of course. Much is dependent on the number of children and feeder settings you take from but this is what we do:
December- pre-school children are invited to watch the dress rehearsal of our nativity play- they come with the pre-school staff or parents.
February- in the last week before half term we run an activity morning where pre-school children and staff visit us for a themed activity morning (usually Chinese New Year based).
March/April- another activity morning, Easter themed, in the week before the holidays.
May- another activity morning before half term- theme varies.
June/July- I visit all of the children in their pre-school/nursery setting.
July- children visit on their own for a transition morning when all of the children move up to their new class/school for the day.
July- pre-school children and str join us for the dress rehearsal of the end of year KS2 play.

Because our main feeder pre-school has children from the age of 3, who join us for all of the activity mornings and nativity play, some of the children have visited us up to 9 times before they come in on their own.


2- get as much information as you can from any pre-school/nursery settings-

Many of our children go to more than one pre-school/nursery setting. We try to get as much information as we can from all of them to get a good idea of exactly what the children are capable of and the ages & stages they are working at. We keep simple records of that data and then analyse it based on the child's actual age in months.

We don't take this as gospel and do our own on-entry assessments but it helps to give an idea of where the children are.


3- try to find out what the children like-

On our transition morning, we usually read a story called 'Things I Like' by Anthony Browne. It's quick, simple and a great conversation starter. I then use what I learn from that simple story to resource my classroom with things that I know the children will want to use. For example I found out that lots of my children last year liked to dress up and take part in role-play so I made sure that we had some nice new dressing up clothes for both the boys and girls. Next years group are boy heavy and love superheroes so that will form the basis of some of my classroom set-up for September. I won't go completely superhero themed, just make sure that there are some resources they will definitely want to use. The more you can learn about them early on, the easy the transition process will be for everyone.


4- get to know the parents-

After the children have been in for their transition day, we invite parents to come in for their own transition evening. I'll write about it in detail in a separate post but it basically gives us a chance to meet the parents and share all the key information we need them to know about their child's first year with us in school.


5- be prepared-

Make sure that you get as much ready as you can before September arrives. Don't spend all of your holidays working as you'll need the break but spend a few days in school, if you can, getting yourself organised. It will give you less things to worry about in September and mean that you can concentrate on the children. I like to clear out cupboards, organise the layout of the room (more later), sort out resources and label the room to within an inch of its life! The more organised I am, the more ready I feel.