Transitions from nursery to P1


1. When assessing and making decisions for safe return of nursery and primary schools, another factor to take into account should perhaps be school size and location , as risk of infection would be lower in a small rural village primary school versus a primary school in a busy town or city location?

Our child is due to commence primary 1 in Aug, so would be starting transition from nursery now... so my question is in addition to the older children transitioning from primary to high school - will you consider a sooner return for those transitioning from nursery to primary in the planning (taking into account the above, re school size & location too)

Are you also considering reducing the 8 week summer break.

Thankyou

Why the contribution is important

I think these are important and appropriate factors to take into account. Rural villages versus densly populated towns should be considered differently in terms of high versus low risk assessments.

by thomskl on May 05, 2020 at 01:23PM

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Comments

  • Posted by MairiMac3 May 06, 2020 at 15:01

    It worries me greatly that we’re even thinking of our pre school
    Children starting school in
    August & doing that virtually. Our early years children, whose neurological development at this stage is quite different from over 7’s.
    “The hands are the instruments of man’s intelligence.” – Dr Maria Montessori
    Children learn by touching, feeling and doing. They learn through movement, not just visually & must be encouraged to move around the classrooms they will be in and engage with the wide variety of activities available and make discoveries for themselves.
    Perhaps someone has shown you how to put together some IKEA furniture on a video - It is generally easier to remember the steps if you have the opportunity to try it yourself.
    Similarly when children move & work with their hands in the environments they are to spend time in, they gain a very concrete understanding of the setting & materials. When we can show children and let them touch and explore, they will make many more neural connections. And later, more abstract learning will naturally evolve from the concrete experiences they have had.
    If ‘Realising the Ambition” is to be achieved, virtual transitions are a non starter for the under 5’s.
    Realising our Ambition says it all really “Transition is a complex and dynamic process. In order to better understand this complexity we need to be aware that each child’s development is influenced by their direct and indirect experiences of particular social and cultural contexts. In other words, where they live and who they interact with as they grow and develop contribute to shaping who they are as individuals.”
    We can’t achieve this virtually.
    We do know that in the EY the child can only construct herself in an environment that she knows & meets her developmental needs. An environment which does not satisfy those developmental needs is one in which ‘deviations’ occur. We see this phenomenon in all the stages of child development but development is occurring so rapidly in the early years that when a child is placed in an environment for which they do not know through concrete experiences & are not ready - there is rapid deterioration in behaviour. To avoid creating a situation promoting deviations developing, the adults like us need to ensure we spend time with the child in an environment that will provide for them with a positive concrete experience.
    We can then observe, plan, prepare and allow transition to occur naturally. We must continually ask ourselves: “For whom does the school function: for the needs of the adults or the needs of the child?”

  • Posted by AWAD2020 May 07, 2020 at 17:26

    Thank you for this - At a time when children’s social worlds have changed dramatically getting Primary 1 start right is incredibly important for family confidence, for children’s wellbeing and happiness and for nurseries and schools. At the very least nursery leavers need to reconnect with their ELC setting- to ensure positive memories, retrieve status as a creative, competent and engaged early learner who is used to time away from home, and to see their friends and nursery adults again. These networks are essential so children can make a confident transition to school. It is essential that children know who their Primary 1 teacher will be and have met their new teacher ahead of school start. This is an opportunity to treat the CfE Early Level as one phase - for the first term staffing in P1 should be matched with nursery staffing ratios. This will support everyone well to achieve a good move to school. 1) reconnect with current stage 2) create transitions networks 3) staff every P1 with a teacher and an early years graduate practitioner 4) Scottish Government to support Local Councils to guarantee who the P1 teacher in every school will be now- not leaving children and families worried and uncertain - this is the highest priority in the current climate
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