School Readiness
“School readiness is about being able to thrive, flourish, and enjoy the challenges – it is about emotional and social maturity, rather than the ability to read and write, know colours or count.”
Parents and caregivers play an enormous role in readying a child for school. School readiness is not about knowing the 3 Rs (as emphasised in many schools today), but rather being ready to learn easily, effectively and without emotional disturbance.
A child’s readiness for school is multi-faceted, encompassing five key domains: physical well-being and motor development; social and emotional development; approaches to learning; language development; and cognition and general knowledge, including mathematics.
- Physical well-being and motor development:
Physical well-being and development refers to well-developed gross motor, fine motor, and perceptual motor skills, as well as balance, coordination, and health, i.e., hygiene, sleep, nutrition, and maintaining a healthy weight. School-age children also need to have basic self-care skills, such as grooming and dressing themselves, as well as feeding themselves. They should have established hygiene routines, such as toileting, and washing their hands and face.
- Social and emotional development
For young children, social and emotional development is "the developing capacity to experience and regulate emotions, form secure relationships, and explore and learn”. Children are more likely to do well in school when they have a positive sense of self, developed through consistent, caring relationships in their early years. Emotional support and secure relationships build a child’s self-confidence and the ability to function as a member of a group. The ability to regulate one's own responses, actions, and emotions, in pro-social versus anti-social ways, is a critical aspect of emotional and social development that supports school readiness.
- Approaches to learning
Children's approaches to learning greatly contribute to their success in school and influence their development and learning in all other domains. Children's ability to stay focused, interested, and engaged in activities helps them acquire new knowledge, learn new skills, and set and achieve goals for themselves.
- Language development
Language proficiency is central to a child’s early years development and school readiness. Early literacy skills (size of vocabulary, recognising letters, understanding letter and sound relationships) at preschool, are good predictors of children’s reading abilities throughout their educational careers. Language and literacy skills enable children to develop cognitive skills and knowledge, and to interact effectively with peers and adults.
- Cognition and general knowledge
Cognitive development encompasses general knowledge (including mathematics), thinking, creative expression, reasoning, and problem solving. The cognitive skills that grow out of a child’s everyday experiences are what help children to acquire new knowledge. From these experiences children learn to observe, recognise differences and similarities, ask questions, and solve problems. The best foundation for later learning is provided when children have multiple and varied opportunities to interact with their environment and are encouraged to learn from their experiences.
