The Next Big Adventure: Preparing for Primary School
By Kyah Steele
Here at Coastal Childcare, our main aim is to provide a stimulating and engaging environment where children can build lifelong skills, confidence and independence, all within the comfort of a home-from-home setting.
Our skilled team brings passion, dedication and an endless amount of care and love each and every day. We genuinely enjoy watching your children grow, develop and flourish during their time with us.
As the years roll by, it is inevitable that the time eventually comes for your child to fly our nest and take that next big step into primary school. Our aim is to make sure they are ready for this new adventure, leaving us as confident, adaptable and enthusiastic learners.
We provide an enhanced, inclusive curriculum that celebrates every child as an individual. We recognise their achievements and next steps, no matter how big or small, and support them to develop at a pace that is right for them.
Having said goodbye to hundreds of children over the years, we can honestly say it never gets any easier. But year after year, we are incredibly proud of how far these little people have come and of the relationships we have built with so many children and families along the way.
Our planning is shaped around each child’s current interests and individual next steps. This means we are not only meeting their needs, but also filling their days with rich learning opportunities that capture their interest, encourage curiosity and help prepare them for the future.
We have wonderful links with our local primary schools and begin working with them early in the transition process. We arrange meetings to share each child’s strengths, how they learn best and any areas they may find a little trickier. By working closely with families and schools, we can give every child the best possible support as they prepare for their next adventure.
We also offer workshops for our families as their child approaches school age. One of these sessions explains the primary school application process and the key dates parents need to know. We talk families through the process and introduce the schools within the local area. For parents going through this for the first time, these sessions can make the whole process feel far less daunting.
Once school places have been allocated, we hold a further session where families can meet other parents whose children will be attending the same school. We also launch our own closed Facebook group, giving families from across our Coastal settings the opportunity to connect, arrange summer meet-ups and share useful ideas to help their children prepare for starting school.
And, of course, we couldn’t let them leave without a celebration!
Our children’s time with us ends with their graduation party, celebrating everything they have achieved during their time at Coastal Childcare. Prepare to get the tissues out as we say our final farewells! Each child receives a very special gift from us, and the children put on their own performance with songs chosen to reflect the things they have loved and enjoyed.
It is always an emotional day, but above all, it is a celebration of just how far they have come and how ready they are for their next big adventure.