Starting School in September - What are the Expectations?!

[princess1980]

Hi All,

Was just wondering if anyone knows what schools expect of the children starting Reception class in September? My little girl can dress/un-dress herself, count to 10 (sometimes 20), recognise shapes etc but she can't write her name, recognise letters, wipe herself after a number 2 (her poo is still quite soft - sorry tmi!!!) or always put her shoes on the right feet. What is she expected to do? Wasn't sure whether I should post this here or the pre-schoolers section! Thank you for any advice

 

[RachA]

She will more than likely change quite a bit in the next 6 months so I would say where she's at now is fine.
When my son started he could count to 10, could dress/undress if he really had to, wipe his bottom fairly well but he wasn't actually properly dry, he knew a lot of shapes, he could recite the alphabet but only recognised the letter D. He only learnt to recite the alphabet during the summer holidays before he started. He couldn't write any numbers/letters but could draw some shapes.
He is getting in fine-he isn't ahead of his peers but the gap between those that could already read/write when they started school is getting much less as the years pass.

When we attended the school prior to him starting we were told that the teachers prefer the children to know very little academically.

My daughter starts in September and she is able to dress her bottom half but not top half. She can count up to 10. She doesn't know any letters or numbers to read or write. She knows done shapes to look at but can't draw them. She is still in nappies. And she cant talk in sentences! It's going to be interesting watching her start!!

 

[hel_5]

I was told not to worry about the academic side of things as the teacher will have to start from the beginning as all kids are at a different level. She could dress herself (not that it matters as they don't change for PE - their uniform is a polo shirt and on PE days they can wear trackie bottoms/leggings under their skirts and runners) I made sure we only put things in her lunch box that she could open herself, other than that her preschool was more about making sure they could follow instructions, interact with other kids, could sit down and do an activity and be excited about going to school and learning new things! But they don't start til a bit later over here (Lucy us an august birthday, but didn't start til she was 5, my DS is a July baby and he will also be 5 when he starts) x

 

[princess1980]

Thank you both for your help, will see how we go with the less academic bits and go from there I think! ; o )

 

[shanny]

independent toileting was the only thing my kids needed

 

[Dragonfly]

Expect colds after colds................meh!

 

[purplerat]

My son also starts in September and he can't wipe after number 2 yet. He can dress/undress, write his name and recite the alphabet but only actually recognises a few letters. He's very good with numbers though and counts to 100.

I've been told that children starting school don't need to read or write yet. Also, some children starting will be nearly 5 while others would have just turned 4, and a lot of learning happens in a year so some children will know more than others but probably most children will catch up and be at similar stages fairly quickly

 

[MissRhead]

Hi my son starts in September too. He can go to the toilet by himself but occasionally needs help wiping. He can dress himself but often puts shoes on the wrong feet too. He can count to 10 but can't read any words or recognise shapes or letters. I've just started doing letters in dots for him to join up and he's doing well with that x

 

[discoclare]

My daughter starts in September. She can toilet independently, wash hands, put on coat, put on shoes but cannot dress herself in her clothes other than coat and shoes. She can count to 30, recognises numbers and alphabet, knows phonetic sounds of letters, write her name and recognise her name written down.

I have been told they need to be able to go to toilet themselves, wash own hands, dress and undress, do own coat up and feed themselves without help (I believe schools are supposed to be providing lunches for free for all infant school age children from this September). Academically they don't need to be able to do anything really, but I have been told it helps if they can recognise their own name for identifying their clothes / things (if your LO is at nursery they probably already have name on peg / tray / box etc?). Buy shoes that don't have laces.

I am worrying about the dressing and undressing, really need to practice with her more. When I went to visit a school in October the new reception class was doing PE in their kit and had obviously all managed to change and not lose their uniform. I remember being quite astounded.