Starting school: what to practise before September
Starting school: what to practise before September
The short version
- The government's own list of what helps a child start school is about looking after themselves, not about letters and numbers.
- Getting dressed, using the toilet alone and opening a lunch box matter more in week one than knowing the alphabet.
- Children start school at very different stages. That is normal, and teachers expect it.
What does my child actually need to know?
Less than you think.
In April 2026 the Department for Education published advice on getting children ready for Reception. It lists what helps a child settle. Here is that list, in plain words:
- go to the toilet on their own, if they can
- wash their hands
- get dressed and undressed
- carry their own bag and look after their things
- sit and listen to a short story
- follow a simple instruction
- take turns and play with other children
- say how they feel, and ask for help
- get used to routines, like snack time or tidying up
Notice what is not on it. No reading. No writing their name. No counting to twenty.
That surprises most parents. Reception teachers are trained to teach the reading and the counting. What they cannot do is get twenty-nine children dressed after PE.
Why is the list all about coats and toilets?
Because a child who can manage themselves has more of their attention free for learning.
Think about your first day in a new job. If you were also worrying about where the toilet was, and whether you could open your own lunch, you would not take much in. It is the same for a four-year-old.
There is also a plainer reason. School is busier than home. One adult may be helping several children at once. A child who can do a coat zip does not have to wait.
What can we do at home?
Small things, in normal life. You do not need to run lessons.
Let them do it slowly. The fastest way to get a coat on a child is to do it yourself. The only way they learn is if you stop. Start on days when you are not late.
Practise the fiddly bits separately. Buttons on a shirt hanging over a chair are easier than buttons on a wriggling child. Zips are easier when the coat is flat on the floor.
Make lunch a rehearsal. Give them the lunch box they will actually take, with the actual containers, and let them open everything themselves. If they cannot open it at your kitchen table, they will not manage it in a hall with forty other children.
Play games with turns. Snap, snakes and ladders, anything where you have to wait. Losing at home, with someone who loves you, is good practice for losing in the playground.
Talk about feelings out loud. "You look cross. Are you cross because we had to stop?" Children copy the words they hear. A child who can say "I feel sad" is easier to help than one who can only cry.
What about the toilet?
This one worries parents most, so let us be direct about it.
Schools would like children to manage the toilet on their own. The government's own wording is gentle — "where possible" — because it knows not every child is there.
If your child is not, tell the school before term starts. Do not wait for something to go wrong. They will have had this conversation many times before and they will have a plan. What they cannot do is plan for something nobody told them.
The same goes for anything else you are worried about. A quiet word in July is worth more than a difficult phone call in September.
Things that genuinely help
| What | Why |
|---|---|
| Shoes they can fasten themselves | Velcro or a single buckle. Laces are a daily battle nobody needs in Reception |
| A lunch box they can open | Test it at home first. Test it when your hands are cold |
| Name labels on everything | Everything. Jumpers, water bottles, wellies. It will all end up in a pile |
| A water bottle they can work one-handed | Sports caps beat screw tops |
Should we read books about starting school?
Yes, and it is one of the few things that reliably helps.
A story gives a child something to picture. "School" is an abstract idea to a four-year-old. A story about a rabbit who was nervous on the first day and then made a friend is not abstract at all.
Read the same one many times if they want it. Repetition is how young children get comfortable with an idea.
What if my child seems behind?
Children start school at wildly different stages. Some arrive reading. Some arrive still in nappies. Both are in every Reception class in the country.
The government's advice says this plainly: children develop at different rates, and confidence, curiosity and independence matter as much as any skill.
If something is worrying you, say so. Tell the nursery, the childminder or the school. The people who work with young children are used to this and they would far rather know.
One thing not to do
Do not spend August teaching your child to read because you are worried.
If they are interested, follow their interest — that is different. But a child who arrives at school already told that reading is a test they might fail is harder to teach than one who arrives curious.
The reading will come. Save your energy for the coat.
Where this comes from
- Supporting a smooth transition into reception, Department for Education, published 16 April
- This is part of the publication Getting children ready for reception: supporting effective transition, and it aligns with the Kindred Squared Starting Reception materials. ⚠️ It is written for nurseries and schools, telling them what advice to give parents. The list above is that advice, put into plain words.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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