Last year at kindergarten - preparing for school, but how?

Decision will be helped by school-organised sessions and open days, usually starting in the autumn, to showcase the school. In addition, parents will listen to the advice of people they know, and teachers, who are still cautious at this time, will be consulted.

But do we know the full potential of our child? Has an assessment been carried out that gives an objective picture (independent of us and the teacher) of our pre-school child's strengths and areas for improvement?

It would not be a bad thing if this period were preceded by a assessment, the results of which would make it easier to choose a school - and in the last year of pre-school, after the results have been gathered, there would be an opportunity for targeted development of the various areas and consciously strengthening any gaps.

Therefore, we recommend that school choice should be supported by a complex, objective assessment (such as PractiKid®) as early as middle school, but it is not too late to start before exploring the possible schools. Such an assessment is not only instructive for parents, but also a great way to support and complement the kindergarten's internal assessments and the kindergarten teacher's own professional impressions, and can be of great benefit to the child preparing for school.

If you are already aware of your child's abilities and are consciously preparing for the challenges of the first class, you should also consider other circumstances. For example, the specific orientations of the schools, their geographical location or the family's financial and organisational possibilities. Careful consideration of these factors and the opinions we hear will make it much easier to choose the institution(s) whose activities and open opportunities are worth visiting and trying out, so that we can make a much more informed decision.

Mums and dads of age 5 group children, are you already preparing for the start of school next year? If so, please tell us how!