What is school readiness?
Simply put, school readiness is concerned with how prepared, or ready, a child is to profit from schooling (Reber & Reber, 2001).
School readiness is a crucial construct in the life of a child: being ready to learn and to interact meaningfully with a group of peers and teachers is predictive of later achievement, resilience and well-being (Duncan et al., 2007; Edwards, Baxter, Smart, Sarson & Hayes, 2009).
School readiness skills include some basic academic skills, self-care (independent toileting and opening lunch boxes), attention and concentration, physical skills (e.g. having the endurance to sit upright for an entire school day), emotional regulation, language skills and play and social skills.
Why is school readiness important?
The development of school readiness skills allows teachers to expand and further develop a child’s skills in the specific areas of social interaction, play, language, emotional development, physical skills, literacy and fine motor skills. Without these basic skills already established upon entry to school, children can very quickly find themselves playing ‘catch up’ compared to their peers that are advancing more quickly. Students that begin school with the build block (or foundation) skills in place advance quickly as opposed to those that start school only to then begin the slow process of developing school readiness.
By assessing how ready a child is to make the transition to a formal school environment, and how ready the child is to learn formally, it becomes possible to identify children who are at risk of poorer outcomes (Roodt, Stroud, Foxcroft & Elkonin, 2009). Identification of risk is not done to label children, but rather to extend a helping hand to children who have not yet developed the necessary foundational cognitive, perceptual, physical, social and emotional skills to cope with the multiple demands of formal schooling (Laher & Cockcroft, 2013). This helping hand comes in the form of recommendations for timely, suitable interventions that can potentially enable children to navigate pathways towards resilience (Laher & Cockroft, 2013).
Factors involved in school readiness
Children should be prepared in the following ways:
Emotional: Some ability to control emotions and must reasonable independency. School-ready children should be confident and adaptable to separation from their caregiver. Crying for the first few days or weeks when starting Grade R or Grade 1 is a normal part of the adjustment period.
Physical/motor: Children, without disabilities, should engage in physical activity such as running, walking, ball catching, etc. Prepare your child(ren) for school by teaching them how to hold and use pencils, cutlery, scissors, etc. Children must be able to use the bathroom unassisted.
Social: How a child interacts with others and their environment, is an important aspect of development. School-ready children should be able to communicate and share their toys with other children as well as easily join/integrate with a new group.
Language and intellectual development: This include a child’s vocabulary, speaking and listening skills. A school-ready child must be able to have a conversation in their home language and in the language of instruction in the classroom. A school-ready child should be able to express themselves in a way that others can understand. Basic numbers, letters, understanding the concept of time (before, after, day, night, etc.) and must be able to follow and remember the details of stories.