Preschool Program & School Readiness
importance of School Readiness
As your child approaches 4 parents start to wonder whether to start big school or to have another year of school readiness. Research by the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) shows that 22% of children start school with a learning vulnerability1
Before children start big school it is important to ensure that they are developmentally ready across all aspects –
- physical health and wellbeing
- emotional maturity
- communication skills
- social competence
- language and cognitive skills
- general knowledge
Multiple studies have shown children who start school behind the group tend to stay behind, and are at risk of being locked into a lower trajectory.
Attending a structured Preschool program can significantly help! International and Australian studies demonstrate that children who attend a structured preschool program are less likely to be developmentally vulnerable in their first year of school and have greater success in transitioning to school2
The benefit of Preschool has been shown to be true for children regardless of background.
- Australian Early Development Census (2015)
- Further reading - Early childhood education and care and the transition to school, AEDC (December, 2014)
WHAT IS SCHOOL READINESS?
When considering school readiness it is easy to consider only specific skills such as numeracy, prewriting, literacy and others to a specific 'school-ready' level. However, a key component of school readiness is to also focus on broader maturity and emotional readiness. The ability to have confidence in a group learning environment, to communicate with peers and build relationships all provide key ‘Foundations for Learning’.
While Kinda Kapers philosophy supports the development of specific skills & knowledge, we place significant emphasis on also developing "Foundations for Learning".
Kinda Kapers is childcare & preschool provider based in the Newcastle, Lake Macquarie & Maitland region. We have centres in Adamstown, Belmont, Tighes Hill, Maitland, Charlestown, Mount Hutton and Toronto. For more than 25 years we have provided safe and nurturing care in our purpose-built learning environments. Our curriculum incorporates the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) to support children's learning development and their transition to primary school.
