Full article from the Term 2 No 1 2007 Newsletter

 Ready or Not?

School readiness : What does it mean? What does it look like? How do you know?

Parenting is a labyrinth of decision making. It begins at birth - to breast feed or bottle feed, routine or demand feed.......the list could go on. Parents have a number of ways to assist them in making decisions; gut instinct, follow what their parents did, ask for professional advice, read research, observe their child, or allow nature to take its course. Despite the sizeable amount of parenting information available today, (or maybe because of it), there are still many parents who are scared, unsure, and hesitant when it comes to decision making. Understandably, parents are frightened of getting it (whatever the topic may be) wrong and may feel that consequently (from a parental perspective), a wrong choice could impact on their child's happiness, development and long term success. The decision of when to send a pre school child to school is one of those decision making times.

A variety of perspectives, research reports and professional opinions are available. What might be a right answer for one family may be wrong for another. Parents need to be in a position to make an informed decision. An informed decision is one that is made in light of the positives and negatives, the rights of the child and the obligation and responsibilities of the family unit. However, the fundamental facet in this equation is that families need to make conclusions in the context of their own lives. Each family is different, each child within that family is different and there are no hard and fast rules to determine what is ultimately best.

However we do know from much anecdotal observation and information from Prep teachers throughout Victoria, each year there are some Preps who find the first year of schooling challenging and sometimes even difficult. Taking into account the educational journey is thirteen years in duration; this would not appear to be the best introduction to formal learning for a very young child.

In an ideal world, schools ought to be ready to receive any child and their particular individual needs at the beginning of a school year. Some schools are able to achieve this through offering a play based developmental curriculum that helps the young child make the transition to formal education. However many schools are not in a position to provide this type of environment, with a ratio of 1 teacher : 25 children, an outcome based 'pushed down' curriculum and assessment procedures that do not consider individual development.

Alongside these factors, Victoria has one of the youngest school starting ages in Australia. While overseas research indicates age is not a significant factor when considering school readiness, the maturity level of the child is very important. Maturity for a preschool child does not mean being able to count from one to a hundred or recite the alphabet. Maturity means being able to separate well from a parent on arrival and be positive about the school experience. It means being able to be independent and have good self help skills. It means being able to be assertive, and deal with frustration and conflict. This in turn means the child will be able to cope when they fall over in the playground or when a friend doesn't want to play with them. It also means they will be able to follow instructions from a classroom teacher and up to six specialist teachers. These are the types of skills and abilities needed by a child of four and bit years of life experience, to make the transition into the school environment.

Only one note of caution here: sometimes personality can be confused with maturity. An extroverted child appearing ready may not be, and conversely, a shy child who may appear hesitant and unsure may be developmentally ready to take on the new educational challenge. Once again, school readiness is never determined by one single factor but by a dynamic interplay of the individual child, family context and the future educational setting.

If parents after researching the topic are still confused, or unsure about assessing their child's maturity level and readiness for school, the next step is to speak to the child's early childhood teacher. This specialist professional will assist parents to contextualise the issues and formulate a decision.

School readiness should not be measured ultimately by the Tertiary Entrance Scores that may be achieved thirteen years down the track, nor should it be assessed solely on the age of the child at the beginning of their schooling journey. The aim for parents, professionals and the child should be to create a learning journey that is embraced with anticipation and the readiness of the here and now.

Article written by Paula Silveira, B. Ed. M.Ed. Kathy Walker Consultancy Associate.