Helping Your Child Transition from Nursery to “Big School”

The transition from nursery to “big school” can be quite overwhelming for little people. It’s a big milestone for them and, while it can be exciting in some ways, it can also feel quite scary. It’s important for parents to help prepare their little ones for this new chapter, by supporting their independence and social skills. Here are some suggestions to help get you started, from a nursery school in North London.

Help familiarise your child with what will be their new surroundings by visiting their big school a few times before their first day. You don’t even necessarily have to go inside, but just showing them the grounds and pointing out where they can wait for you at the end of the day and where they might be able to play during their lunch break will help them feel more comfortable with the environment. 

If you have a friend, relative or even just a neighbour whose child attends the school, your child might benefit from chatting to them and finding out more about the teachers etc. You can also pull the school website up online and show your child some pictures of the facilities and find out some other useful information. 

Essentially, the trick is to find some time where possible to chat to your child about this new step in their life. Remind them that it’s perfectly normal to feel nervous and that their new classmates are probably all feeling the same. Perhaps you could share an anecdote about a time when you felt nervous about something but be sure to reinforce that everything turned out well in the end. Use positive terminology when discussing big school and suggest some of the exciting changes that will happen, rather than focussing on the scarier aspects. 

Having gone to nursery, the chances are your child is probably already familiar with the structure and rules of a school environment. However, at big school they will have to be more independent, so it’s worth practising certain tasks at home, like going to the toilet alone, remembering to wash their hands, and dressing or undressing themselves without help. Be patient with your youngster and give them lots of praise and encouragement; it won’t take long for them to eventually settle into a solid routine.