Well, 2020 has been nothing if not unpredictable! As you may have read in our previous blog post, Anita has ended up working for Sainsburys and, as for me, I was shielding for 4 months. That, is a different story I guess, but as many of you would have been doing, while I was working from home, one of my jobs was our transition into school for our new starters. 

Normally, we would have at least one 'Stay and Play' session, we would visit our local nurseries and preschools, invite the children starting from our on-site preschool to come for story and/or play sessions, have a parent's information evening, offer home visits (in September) and have a staggered start to school. 

​This year we had to think a little differently...

Firstly, we started by writing a letter that introduced the school, complete with some photos of the staff. We explained a few of the processes going forward and our transition plans. This letter was mailed to our parents, along with some of the other important registration information. 

I then started to contact all of our parents directly. I phoned all of them over the course of a week or so in April/May. I don't know if you're like me but I don't really like phoning people - sort of a hang up from when I was younger I think. Wrong numbers and having to speak to 'strangers' makes me anxious! But actually, it was a really good experience (apart from one long, rambling answerphone message where I lost my marbles completely - I think that parent has forgiven me though!). It was lovely to chat with everyone, see how they were doing during lockdown, ask if they thought they might be sending their child in for some final sessions (by this point we knew we were reopening preschools) and check to see if they had received our letters. Parents were also able to ask any questions or let me know of any concerns, which meant I could start to try and put things in place if necessary. 

During this time I had also started to create a special page on the school website. It had a lot of information on it that I hoped the new parents, and children, would find interesting. I put copies of the letters and information we had sent out. I explained organisational things like lunches, uniform and the start dates for terms etc. I included information about the EYFS profile, along with photographs of our existing children during their learning, I even made little profiles about the staff - their likes, dislikes and what they felt they needed help with.  Also on the website I included a couple of documents about 'school readiness' and some activities that children might lie to have a go at doing with their parents. 

My next job was to contact all of the preschools and nurseries that were sending on their children to us. I enjoyed the general catch up of course (How odd has everything been? Have you coped? Have you had many children back in?!) but it's always invaluable listening to professionals who know the children we are going to receive and can pass on information about their progress but also their likes and dislikes and what works for them. 

I contacted all of the parents again a few weeks later to catch up, see how things were and check that they had all of the information they needed. Once again it was good to be able to answer questions, make parents feel more at ease and also learn a little about all of our families.  ​

At our school we use ClassDojo to communicate with our parents and because our on-site preschool also uses it, I was able to contact parents through this if necessary. It has also helped the transition no end because it has meant that parents can message me with questions about uniform etc.

We also made a video that was a little walk round the classroom and outside area. This gave us a change to introduce ourselves to our families and also give everyone an insight into what the school looks like. 

​In September we begin our school term with 2 INSET days. On the afternoon of the second INSET day, all of the families have been invited in for a very short 'Welcome to School' session. Parents will not be allowed into the classroom (as per the government guidance) but we hope it will give children a chance to experience their journey to school, find out where to go once they are here, find things such as the toilets and their pegs and just to introduce the school environment in a very relaxed way. 

For the first 2 days children will be attending school for 2 hours. This will extend until before lunchtime for the rest of the week. For the following week the children will be staying the entire morning, this time including lunch. They will then start attending full time the following week.

During the afternoons when the children are not attending,, we have offered 'Garden Visits'. My TA and I will be visiting families in their garden to say hello and to get to know everyone a little big better in their own environment. Our home visits are usually a great way of getting to know families and offers parents a chance to ask questions or express concerns. The children often enjoy showing us their toys and find it very exciting! Fingers crossed for good weather! 

So that's pretty much our transition for 2020. What are you all doing? Whatever it is, I hope everyone stays safe and well and has a fantastic Autumn term!