Transitions Network – A Village for Every Child

What a buzz our most recent Transitions Network Event had, with great conversations, sharing of information and new connections made. Thank you to the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) and school representatives for the energy and enthusiasm you brought to the event and Latham primary school for hosting it. We had a full house.

Discussion focused on how schools and ECECs can better support children and families transitioning between them. What we heard is that:

• There are issues around families understanding the enrolment process
• Families are struggling with the preschool hours
• Families often don’t have an awareness of the developmental milestones of children

Parent expectations of preschool programs, school readiness and a lack of understanding of school expectations of parents was also highlighted. Some strategies shared and discussed included:

• Using the Education’s Transition and Continuity Statement instead of the final summative assessment
• Connecting schools and ECECs early to share information and support families transitioning
• Offering more opportunities to connect at multiple schools like this network event.

Village provided transitions and child development resources and spoke about the work it is doing to support transitions. The feedback on the event was overwhelmingly positive. If would like to attend the next Network meeting, look out for the invitation for week 6 in term 4.