Preparation for School
New entrants are invited to join the English or Gaelic Medium Primary 1 for 3 morning visits in the summer term and the Primary 1 teachers makes several visits to the Nursery at Glen Urquhart Childcare Centre to meet the children in a familiar setting. We hope this will ease procedures in the early days of term. Throughout the year we have informal transition times prepared also. These are timetabled as below but, are open to change depending on circumstances in each centre.
Nursery – P1 Transition timetable 2020-21 (updated March 2021)
Each new P1 is also allocated a P7 buddy who helps our new pupils get ready at playtime and helps with games and activities in the first few weeks of term. Later in the school session the P1’s and P7’s have a structured share time in school and each pupil will have 3-4 buddies in their first year at school.
P1 enrolment normally takes place in late January.
Early learning and childcare enrolment normally takes place early February.
You may find some of the following suggestions helpful in preparing your child for school:
It would be helpful if your child could …
- wear slip on indoor shoes/gym shoes
- recognise his name – eg on his coat hook and tidy tray label eg. Andrew (small letters)
- dress and undress himself – for P.E activities
- remove and hang up outdoor clothing properly
- use a knife and fork
- use the toilet properly
- wash and dry hands
- tidy up after play activities
- be able to take turns, share and consider the feelings of others
- listen to and follow instructions
The Infant Classroom
Every effort is made to ensure that pupils feel happy and secure in their new environment, and are ready to learn. Children find a wide variety of stimulating experiences awaiting them – experimenting with water and sand, model making, dressing up, etc. While some activities are selected by the teacher to encourage social development, others may be used to encourage listening and communication skills, eg through drama, taped stories and use of percussion.
Early number work starts with sorting into similar groups, matching shapes, leading to recognition and understanding of number to 10 using counters, bricks and other materials.
Reading starts with the children sharing a story using a Big Book. This introduces the names of characters in reading books. In Language and Maths, games and computer activities reinforce understanding.
Parents can help by talking, listening and in their turn ensuring that children listen and respond. Pupils thrive on the interest, praise and encouragement that both parents and teachers give. Listening to reading, sharing books, talking about the pictures, making up possible story lines together, reading favourite stories and, by example, showing that books are a source of pleasure – in these ways parents can reinforce in a relaxed atmosphere the learning experiences of school.
The class teachers and Head Teacher invite parents of all P1’s to visit in early September where they will be told about our approaches to early reading, writing and number work in English or Gaelic Medium, have the opportunity to view class materials and resources and talk with the teacher about class work.
Parents of new Primary 1 pupils are issued with pre-school guides for numeracy and literacy.