At Sherborne House School we recognise the importance of smooth transitions throughout the day between different activities and lessons, both when children join the school and also when they move on to the next year group.
Before your child starts in Nursery or Reception
We will endeavour to visit all children in their current setting before they join Sherborne House School. This is an opportunity for the children to meet our staff in an environment that is familiar to them. Staff will spend time talking with your child’s current Key Worker as well as introducing themselves to your child and learning about your child’s interests and the activities they enjoy the most.
Each child will be given a book bag which contains information about Sherborne House School, as well as a small gift. The book bag will be used for Home Communication books and reading books throughout your child’s time in Nursery and Reception.
Children are then invited to attend a series of transition visits in order to familiarise themselves with their new surroundings and meet their future classmates.
We work hard within the Early Years’ department to ensure firm links are established between Nursery and Reception. Transition into Reception is made as smooth as possible. The children will already be familiar with the Reception staff as they will have had the opportunity to be involved in a variety of Early Years’ activities such as listening walks. They are also invited to visit the classroom and staff prior to joining Reception. We follow a transition programme that is open to children in Nursery as well as those children from other settings who will be joining the school. We recognise the importance of continuing and strengthening the links made with home during your child’s time in Nursery, and we provide parents with opportunities to also visit the Reception classroom and meet the staff.
There is a Curriculum afternoon, in the Summer Term, to which we invite parents of children who will be joining Reception in the Autumn Term. We aim to give parents a detailed explanation of the Curriculum and the way in which children are assessed. Parents will then gain a greater understanding of the Early Years’ curriculum and how children learn, and our expectations in terms of achievement.
Top 5 Tips for Settling Your Child into Nursery
Starting Nursery for the first time is a big step for both you and your child, and it’s natural to feel anxious about how you are going to cope with the transition. At Sherborne House, we aim to work with parents to make the transition as easy as we can for all the family as you join the Sherborne House community. Read our top 5 tips for settling into Nursery, which we hope might help you and your child settle into our Nursery.
Top 10 Tips for Preparing Your Child for School
Starting school is one of life’s major milestones and for many parents, it can be an emotional time. It’s natural to feel both nervous and excited, but with a little advance preparation, both you and your child will be able to cope with the transition more smoothly. Read our top 10 tips for preparing your child for school, which we hope will help prepare your child for school.
Daily Transitions
Throughout Early Years and Key Stage 1 we use a visual timetable for the children to follow during the day. The timetable orders lessons and events that are happening that day. They are introduced to specialist teachers for French, music and PE within their classroom. French is taught within their classroom while the children are in Early Years and Key Stage 1. Reception children, with a member of Reception staff, go to the Music Studio for lessons. When the children have PE lessons we endeavour to ensure that a member of the Early Years’ Team joins them. Nursery and Reception children join together once a week for their assembly. During the Summer term the Reception children will begin to join the rest of the school for Celebration Assembly.
Moving on to Year 1
Year 1 staff take the Reception children to the Library once a week throughout the year. The Year 1 staff will also spend time with the Reception children during a variety of activities such as science week, visiting theatre groups and to celebrate different festivals. During the Summer term there is a Transition programme in place for Reception children to spend time with their Year 1 teacher within the Year 1 classrooms.
Moving to Senior School
The preparation towards 11+ is gradual and supportive, placing our knowledge of the individual child at the heart of the process. It does not involve non-stop cramming and coaching; instead, children are taught the ability to use and apply knowledge and to have well-honed exam technique through exposure to a variety of practice papers. Read more about our preparation for Senior Senior School on our Preparation for 11+ page.
