Get to Know Staff

When you go for your visits to the school, take photographs of key people your child will interact with each day. These could be their:

• Class Teacher
• Teaching Assistant
• 1:1 Learning Support Assistant
• Dinner Ladies/Men
• The Headteacher
• Lollipop Person

The photographs could be used to create social stories or comic strip conversations which are visual aids that can help children to feel prepared, help you talk about the school day and allow your child to become familiar with people if they need support on their first day. 

Find out more about social stories here

Use Visual Supports

Visual supports can help your child become familiar with the structure of the school day, the environments they will encounter and how long they have left before they will be going home. In an uncertain situation, visual supports can help to calm their worries and give them back a little control. 

Examples of useful visual supports include:

• Photographs - Take photos of key places your child will see on their first day, like the cloakroom, their classroom, the playground, lunch area and where they will sit in class.  
• Visual Timetables - Creating a visual timetable using visual symbols can help young people visualise the structure of their first few days in school.  Watching resources created by other young people in primary schools can also help children understand what a usual day in primary school looks like and know what to expect. 
• Communication Tools - If you use certain communication tools like The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) it's useful to check the availability of this tool at the school, or request it before your child starts. Letting the school know your child's preferred style of communication will allow them to prepare support in advance. 
• Calendar Countdown - Some neurodivergent children benefit from visual aids to help them know when to expect change. Using a calendar to count down to their first day of school can help them understand time over the holidays when activities can be less structured. 

See primary school children show you what their day looks like

Practice Routines 

Getting children prepared for the new routines they will encounter in their first weeks at school can start before their first day. Start to practice their evening and morning routines by:

• Packing your bag together the night before an event or activity
• Starting a consistent bedtime routine, which could be having a bath, reading a story then going to bed at a good time
• Beginning a consistent morning routine by having a healthy breakfast and getting your child ready for the day at a similar time as you will when they begin school 

Building independence and confidence in your child's abilities will help them when they are in their new school environment. Consider practising tasks to help them become more independent by packing their school bag together or preparing your child to use the toilet on their own. 

Use Stories

Stories can be used in many ways to prepare children for events and activities.

Social Stories

Social stories and comic strip conversations are tools used to help neurodivergent children understand certain experiences or events. For example:

• To develop and practice self-care skills like brushing their teeth, or social skills, like saying thank you
• To help your child understand how someone might behave in a particular situation
• To cope with changes to a routine, or set up new routines
• To help develop strategies to cope with behaviour patterns, like what to do when they are angry 

Picture Books

Picture books can also be a useful tool for young children transitioning to reception. Reading books focused on transition skills and change before bedtime can help children get used to the upcoming idea of change while giving space for questions about any worries they may have. 

Picture books to support transition include:

• The First Day of School - Toby Forward
• See You Later, Mum - Jennifer Northway
• Going to School - Usborne First Experience
• Maisy Goes to Nursery - Lucy Cousins
• Come to School Too, Blue Kangaroo! - Emma Chichester Chalk
• Starting School - Janet & Allan Ahlberg
• Lulu Loves Nursery - Camilla Reid
• I Am Too Absolutely Small for School - Lauren Child
• Billy and the Big New School - Catherine and Laurence Anholt