Starting a new year (transition)

Preschool/nursery to Foundation Stage

We want your children to be very happy at school, so we work hard to ensure that the transition from pre-school to Foundation Stage is as smooth as possible. We try to visit all the children at their pre-school in the summer before they start with us, to discuss their progress with the staff and to ensure that we are well-prepared to carry on their development at school. Parents are invited to meetings during the term prior to their child starting school. Children and parents are invited into school prior to their start in September, to view their classroom and meet the staff and children who will be working with them.

Get ready to start school!

These are our expectations for your child before they start in Foundation Stage:

• I can ask for help.
• I can say please and thank you.
• I can listen without interrupting and follow simple instructions.
• I am getting better at concentrating when I am enjoying something I am doing.
• I can share my toys with other children and try hard to take turns.
• I am happy to leave my parent/s and I am feeling more confident when visiting new places.
• I can put on my coat and shoes on by myself and take them off.
• I can recognise my own shoes.
• I can get undressed/dressed by myself and turn my clothes around the right way if they are inside out.
• I can recognise my own clothes as they have been labelled with my name.
• I can wipe/blow my own nose.
• I can use the toilet by myself and wipe my own bottom.
• I can wash and dry my hands.
• I can use a knife and fork.
• I can recognise my name.
• I can look after my own things.
• I can look after my toys and put them away when I have finished playing with them.
• I know some nursery and counting rhymes and can tell you about my favourite story.
• I am learning how to hold my pencil correctly and enjoy using pens, pencils, paint, tape and scissors.
• I enjoy being outside, climbing, running, jumping and balancing.

Foundation Stage to Year 1

We try to ensure a very smooth transition to Key Stage 1 for the children. We use a number of strategies, e.g. in the summer term children spend time in their new settings. Staff liaise closely to ensure the organisation of activities / classroom routines in the Autumn term of Year 1 are similar to those in the Summer term of the Foundation Stage. Play-based learning e.g. sand, water, role-play areas is also used in the Year 1 curriculum. Pupils with particular learning / social needs may also have individual induction programmes to ensure they gain access to the opportunities available.

Get ready for Year 1!

These are our expectations for your child before they start in Year 1:
General

• I can sit on a chair and use the correct seating position to work at a table.
• I can hold a pencil with the correct grip.
• I understand how to gain adult attention appropriately.
• I can work independently for a suitable period of time on a set task in a group and as a whole class.
• I can be responsible for my own book bag and take some responsibility for the letters that go home.
• I understand the school values.

Maths

• I can write digits 0-9 formed correctly.
• I understand how to use 1:1 ordering when counting.

English

• I can write my full name including surname.
• I can form all my letters correctly.
• I can write down sounds when I hear them.
• I am used to writing on lines.
• I can find the next clean page in a book.
• I can write a sentence on my own.

Year 1 to Year 2

At the end of Year 1 we carefully mix the classes in preparation for Year 2, so that the children get to know their peers better before the move to Junior school. We ensure that no child is without close friends in their new class. The children then have sessions in their new classroom, with their Year 2 class teacher and teaching assistant.

Get ready for Year 2!

These are our expectations for your child before they start in Year 2:
Maths

• I can count in 2s, 5s and 10s and use to solve simple problems.
• I can read and write numbers to 100 correctly, e.g. 14 not 41.
• I know and use pairs of numbers up to 20 and their subtraction facts.
• I can add and subtract 2 digit numbers.
• I know doubles and halves to 20.
• I can recognise and name triangles, rectangles, squares, circles, cuboids, cubes, pyramids and spheres.

Reading

• I can read accurately by blending sounds.
• I can read accurately words of 2 or more syllables.
• I can read most of the 100 words from the middle of my reading record.
• I can answer questions and make inferences from my reading of a familiar book.
• I have achieved my phonics screen test.

Writing

• I can use capital letters and full stops in my sentences.
• I can spell some words with their correct sounds.
• I can spell some of the 100 words in the middle on my reading record.
• I can form lower case letters in the correct direction, starting and finishing in the right place.
• I can form lower case letters of the same size.
• I can use spaces between words.

General

• I am responsible for my own belongings.
• I can write on lines with a clear title and date.
• I can work well with different children.
• I can take turn on the carpet.
• I can use a glue stick to stick in my own work.
• I understand the school values and am an example to others.
• I understand what else happens in school away from the classroom.

Moving up from Year 2 to Junior School

We take great care to prepare your child for the next step of their school journey, going up to Junior School. Writtle Infant School children will usually progress to our neighbours, Writtle Junior School, with whom we have close links. From the summer term prior to their transfer in September, our Year 2 children will have a number of opportunities to visit the Junior School. These include: a tour of the school, playtimes, an assembly, a morning and a lunch time in their new classroom.

Our teachers also meet their colleagues at the Junior School to offer any help or information which might be relevant to help ease the pupils’ transition. We hope that this will make the move to their new school as stress-free as possible. Parents of children about to transfer to the Junior school will be invited to a meeting during the term prior to the summer break. Children with particular learning needs have additional support in order to ensure a smooth transition from the Infant to the Junior school, for example extra visits.