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The concept of
school readiness is a widely researched area and views
regarding what determines if a child is ready for school
vary accordingly. Some view age
and the child's ability to learn as the primary factors, while others place more emphasis on
social and emotional skills and the interaction between an individual child and his/her environment.
Most psychologists, however, would agree that school readiness is the combination of different individual
and environmental factors.
Language
Language skills
incorporate expressive and receptive language use. To perform in
a school environment a child must be able to communicate
with teachers (and the teacher must be able to communicate with
the child) and with his/her peers. The emphasis here is
on appropriate use of language, not necessarily word
knowledge.
Cognitive
Skills
Cognitive skills refer to a
child's academic ability within the learning environment. It is
the ability to learn new information, to be curious and eager to
learn and to be able to use language for one's learning needs. A
child needs to be able to concentrate and carry out instructions and
integrate the new information presented by teachers. The emphasis
here is on the mental/academic capacity to function within the
school environment.
Motor Skills and Physical
Health
Motor skills include fine motor skills, such
as holding a pen or scissors, eye hand and motor coordination
and gross motor skills, such as dressing, running and physical
play activities. Additionally, physical health is important to
attend school and meet learning requirements. Physical health
not only refers to the child's health status, but his or her
general well being, including nutrition, good sleep hygiene and
regular exercise.
Social and
Emotional Skills
Social and emotional competence is
an integral part
of being in school and interacting with others. Although
children are not required to possess complex social skills
and attending school also teaches prosocial behaviour,
before entering the school system children should have
some level of social competence. Children are likely to do well in
school if they generally positive and independent, willing to learn,
can cope with setbacks, experience empathy towards others and able
to build at least one or two significant relationships. In order to
do so, children should be able to reason and express emotions
(especially difficult emotions such as anger and frustration) on an
age appropriate level, be able to engage in discussions with others
and be able to compromise.
Self Help
Skills
Self help skills
refer to a child's ability to function without adult supervision.
These include independent toileting, dressing, tying shoelaces,
feeding or eating skills, putting toys and things away without being
asked, offering help and knowing and following
rules.
What if a Child is not School
Ready?
Questions that parents often ask when
their child seems to be behind in some developmental area
are:
- would holding him/her back a
year have a negative impact,
- isn't sending him/her
to school would actually help him/her to develop these skills,
and
- what do they need to do to prepare the child for
school?
The answers to these questions are difficult, as each
individual child is different and requires a different approach.
However, when a child is not meeting most of the above listed
developmental milestones, holding him or her back from school entry
can be helpful, given that the parents are willing to put extra
effort into preparing the child for school entry.
When helping a child
to gain the necessary skills for school entry, parents should
always keep in mind that focus should not be restricted to
the developmental area they would like to improve, but should
include all areas of the child's functioning. Most importantly, make
sure that children held back from school entry remain
in pre-school and have adequate level of social contact.
What We Offer
We offer
sound, research based advice about school entry and expected
outcomes. Although we encourage parents to make the final
decision, we provide suggestions whether to pursue school entry or
to hold children back. We provide a review of
the different areas that may need further attention to ensure smooth
transition to the school system. If your child
is attending pre-school or childcare, we may ask permission to talk
to pre-school teachers to gain more information about his/her functioning.
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