What parents can expect from Among The Leaves in helping prepare their child for school.

This year (April 2026), the government released the first definitive idea of what being ready for school looks like for typically developing children. For early educators, I think there was a collective sigh of relief that it did indeed focus on things we know to be important in child development and not heavily focussed on academic skills. (Phew!)

I believe that my childminding setting has already been building children up for success in school life for many years, because of the curriculum I provide which focuses on skills as a long term holistic journey. It isn’t something that I only start thinking about the term before they start school, instead I encourage many opportunities from baby and toddler stages right the way through. However with this new guidance being a hot topic, I thought I would write a little bit about what I actually do when your child is with me that supports their school readiness. It’s also worth remembering that school readiness is actually a slightly contested term, with many preferring to support children with life skills, as not every child will even ‘go to school’ to receive their education.

Communication

This starts from the moment your child is welcomed into my home. With singing, stories, baby signing and real back and forth conversations. I encourage your child to let me know what they need as they get older and more secure instead of pre-empting their needs continually so that I know if they need something in a school environment, they will be able to communicate it confidently. Identifying where children need support early on is a big part of my role to ensure that we are a team around your child if they need more support. Being able to follow instructions ties in nicely with children having their own responsibilities and is also a skill they will need at school. My aim for a child going moving on from my setting is for them to be able to express their needs, feel confident to use language/communication (whether that is spoken, signing or other communication tools according to their needs) and to know that their voice carries meaning an importance. This work happens from day 1.

Social and Emotional Skills

Your children become a part of a community when they are placed within my care. Not only do they feel like they have a second home with someone who cares about their needs, wellbeing and future, but they also belong within a local village. They take part in various play and real world opportunities meeting a wide range of people. From playing at ‘home’ with their peers, visiting local play groups or joining us on our visits to the local care farm. They learn to understand their own feelings as well as building empathy for others. My practice strives to deliver a balance of understanding boundaries that keep everyone safe and in a rights based approach, but also allows them to challenge and advocate when they feel something is not quite right. Sharing is taught not in a people pleasing way of self sacrificing their turns, but rather of being mindful of their own joy as well as that of others. I hope you can agree that this is not something that can be covered in one short term and instead stems from the ethos I build into the very heart of my home.

Independence

Everyone needs help sometimes. Teaching independence does not mean I allow children to struggle with no support or guidance. Rather I use my knowledge of each child’s individual needs to help them push their skills. I am someone who knows children can do hard things, such as walk a long way, or try again when they fail, and advocate for them out loud in-front of them. I take into account emotional things that happen every day, and understand that resilience can often depend on being in a frame of mind that can handle disappointment. I aim to provide narration of positive mindset so by the time children leave me, they have the knowledge in themselves that they ‘can do this.’ Independence can look like all sorts of things to me, so again not a short term set of activities. It looks like caring for their own physical needs such as toileting and hand washing. However to me it also goes into being able to play on their own happily if no one else wants to join in straight away. It can look like taking on age appropriate responsibilities. Knowing how to take care of their bodies and actually to learn when to ask for help. Where you might see this happening in your child’s time with me is hearing them repeat positive phrases when they are doing tough things. Eager to try new things ‘by themselves.’ Putting on their own shoes, coats and hats. Maybe it’s wiping their nose on their own or coming up with their own game.

Physical Development

It’s interesting that this has been put in a school readiness document. However I don’t think it is just about school readiness, it’s also the aim of improving health outcomes of children. Getting in good physical habits from a young age is going to be really beneficial for their current and future selves. Children get lots of opportunities in my setting to develop well rounded skills because our years together are so varied. From digging in the soil to plant vegetables, helping to look after the home and chores (such as folding their blankets after a nap, using a dustpan and brush after messy play) to lots of fresh air and large movements in the garden and local area they are developing an understanding of how to move their bodies and use it to interact with the world around them. This also involves using their bodies to express too. Dancing, jumping, skipping stamping in puddles all are part of our bodies expressing through physical movements. But movement can also relate to art, mark making and later on writing. Supporting all of the muscle groups and making sure your child has opportunities to express through movement (or to observe this is possible) is a big part of my setting. It starts from very small making sure there is lots of tummy time right through to children taking part in complicated obstacle courses. For children with limited mobility it might look like working with physiotherapists and occupational therapists to make sure your child is getting every opportunity that they have the right to access in my provision and beyond. Nutrition is also something I would like to highlight here, with home prepared and cooked meals and building your child’s confidence to try new things and know how their food fuels and supports their bodies you will likely hear all about what nutrients and vitamins your meals together at home contain due to our family table style of mealtimes at Among The Leaves.

Healthy Routines

For any families I have worked with, I think everyone can say that if they have felt they need some kind of support with something at home, I will often ask what the routine looks like. Sleep is a big one, making sure that bedtime routine is secure and is working for you. But it relates to mealtimes, leaving the house in the morning and other basic needs such as teeth and hair care. Your child’s daily routine in my setting will look very consistent and children often thrive from the predictability of knowing what is going to happen next. This does not mean that every day looks the same, and of course every now and again a large outing will help children realise that sometimes plans change a little, but it’s not something we can not overcome. Therefore again, this is not something your child is exposed to only when it’s time for getting ready for school, but rather something that has been built into partnership working with families from a very young age. Of course school timings and activities are going to be different, but if home routines can stay consistent it will help children to feel really secure, so making sure we have worked together to get this suited to your family from as early as possible will make this transition less tricky.

Here you can find the preparing for school document from the government website, but I think you will agree that even if your child is a year or two away from starting school, that when they are in my setting, they are already getting ready for life every single day!

And for any childminders out there, a podcase episode all about ‘school readiness’ is available here.