The First Day

The First Day

The first day at school can be the best but also one of the hardest days for children at a new setting. It can also be a pretty tricky day for parents! We aim to make each child, and parent, feel welcome and at ease as soon as they enter the school grounds. Staff will be hand on during these special first days to direct parents and new children to their new learning spaces. Additional staff are also on hand on Preschool and Kindergarten starting days each year to ensure that your child has an available and trusting adult close by, to help them navigate their transition into a new environment.

In the early days, we invite our Preschool parents to accompany their child into their learning space – helping him/her to organise their belongings, helping them to settle into an activity and giving a chance to greet and reconnect with the child’s teacher.

Once a child is reasonably settled, and an adequate handover time has passed, we ask parents to say their goodbyes and then to be brave and leave promptly, trusting the care of their children’s wellbeing to us. We provide reassurance and comfort to children in these situations, as well as offering the welcome distraction of wonderful resources to explore, and activities to join. Building rapport, and providing consistency and comfort to children in these early days helps to builds trust in the relationship between child and educator, and encourages children to feel at home in the learning environment. If a child has been distressed by a parent’s exit, in any context or at any time, we make it our priority to contact parents at the earliest opportunity in the day, to provide a reassuring update.