When your child sets off for their first day at our school, they should be full of positive emotions –  confident, happy and excited to start their school journey. This happens if they know exactly where they are going, who will be there, what they will be able to do when they get there and how long they will be staying there. Getting the transition right means children settle quickly into school, learning and developing from day one, so we work closely with families as partners and our local pre-schools to ensure we know the children well as individuals before they begin their journey of learning with us.  

Our aim is to make sure that your children build a positive relationship with the adults in the setting right from the start and builds friendships with the children coming to our school. We therefore start our transition activities in the summer term before your child starts school. 

To help give your child the smoothest transition possible, we offer the following:

• A parent meeting hosted in the school hall, where we will share important information with you about school life, including school meals, curriculum and more. This will also be an opportunity for you to purchase your child’s school uniform.
• A transition morning in school where your child will get to meet their new teacher and teaching assistants. This is a great time for them to familiarise themselves with their new classroom, learning environment and classmates.
• A 'stay and play' session for an afternoon.
• Visits and or discussions with nurseries and preschool settings about your child.
• Additional meeting if your child has SEN.
• A carefully planned transition approach to starting school.
• Induction booklets – these include pictures of your child’s teaching team, classroom, where we hang our coats, where we go to the toilet and where we eat our lunch. 
• Images shared of your child settling in when beginning school through our online platform, Tapestry.
• Reception class meeting during the first two weeks of school as an opportunity to get to know the teaching staff and see our learning environment. This meeting will also include an introduction to phonics and our online learning platform, Tapestry.
• Staggered transition during the child’s first week so that children are slowly introduced to their new classmates and school routines.

During the first few weeks and first months of being full-time, we will gradually introduce the children to the routines and expectations of being in Reception Class, slowly adding different parts of the curriculum so that have time to process and get used to anything new. With all this in mind, we hope that all the children feel settled and happy, so that they are ready and confident to move through Autumn Term and the rest of the school year. 

We are looking forward to meeting you and your child as they begin their learning journey, here at St Thomas’ Leesfield.

Please use the link to visit our Reception Class website pages.