Transition to School Programme

We run a dedicated transition to school programme as part of the pre-school programme. Based on the early childhood education curriculum, this programme has been designed to support children and their families when starting school. When children turn four years old,or if they come to us at this age, they are automatically entered into our Transition to School programme.

We aim to prepare children for school in a number of ways with self-help skills, self-control and communication forming vital pillars of the programme. It has very tangible results; parents can see clearly what progress their child is making at our centre and their journey to the next chapter of their learning.

The programme is designed to help your child understand the world through activities such as growing gardens. They are encouraged to express their creativity through arts, music,dramatics and similar activities. Use of numbers, object sorting, puzzles, counting games etc help them with their maths skills. Songs, games, rhymes, plenty of writing activities, using computers etc helps with their reading and writing abilities. Physical and physiological development is equally stressed as part of this programme.

  • Foundation skills for learning. Teachers at the school would like your child to be able to ask questions, sit still, pay attention, carry out small individual tasks like opening their school bag, etc. These skills are foremost on this programme.
  • Mat time is used for story-telling, sharing news, songs, etc, which are used to directly teach the children about their interests. During this time children are encouraged to raise their hand to speak, to sit on the mat and wait their turn to share in order to best emulate a classroom environment. Through this children can learn what will be expected of them when they attend school.
  • Empowering children with responsibility of their belongings. For example, on trip days children are asked to bring their lunch box and drink bottles, which they pack in their bag and are responsible for these all day. This teaches them to be independent and self-regulated.
  • Individual writing books are made available to be used in assistance with a teacher.Children are also encouraged to write their names on their centre creations.
  • Children are provided their own book bag and can select from a range of books at different levels to read with parents at home.
  • Focused learning through play.
  • To promote numeracy, children will be taught to count in both English and Te Reo Maori through means such as song/waiata and number sheets to practice copying numerals, along with numeracy based toys and play areas being provided for the children.
  • Termly school visits. Children are taught which school they are going to. We have excellent relationships with local schools, including Arahoe School, New Lynn Primary, TItirangi Primary, Blockhouse Bay Primary and Kaurilands Primary School.
  • Curriculum experiences (Science, Maths, Physical, Literacy, Art, Music).
  • Parent involvement is encouraged. We support by providing tips on what you can do at home to make the transition to school easier for your child. We also strongly recommend the B4 School Check – a free health and development check for children aged 4.