School checking out home before 4 yr old starts school

The schools I've been connected with have had the kids go to the school to meet the teacher (before formally going to the school). I can imagine a parents' evening for new parents being just as useful as home visits and much more time efficient.

I'd love to hear from some teachers who have done this visiting.

I will ask my DD who the a chair of Govenors,what she thinks as I find it all rather strange TBH

Actually Bags I think you do retain it better because you have seen the child in context. Effective assessment is a long process and involves building up a picture of the whole child, not just the exceptional things. I think most reception teachers find it worthwhile.

Typo

I will ask my DD who is the chair of Govenors, what she thinks .
She is here tonight, so an ideal opportunity.
I find it all rather strange TBH

I think I must be in need of therapy as my life must have been tainted somewhat by being put on the school bus at 8am, trundled around the countryside for an hour, dumped off at a building I had only ever seen the outside of, put in a room full of children up to the age of 8, taught by a teacher I didn't even know the name of never mind met, eaten a school dinner (everything even if it took all of the lunch hour), and then a few hours later back on the bus to get home at 4.30. And all that at the age of 5. It was considered normal and I don't remember being traumatised by it at all. How times have changed !

Obviously the children all have visits to the school, to meet their teachers and peers, but for the teacher to have a personal meeting, in the child's own home, is, I think, invaluable. To see someone in their own setting can tell you a lot. I don't think there is any element of real social assessment involved, but you would learn a lot.

Great idea.

This home visiting seems to be the norm now - mind you, often the teacher is in and out before you can blink!

And I know people who have sent their children to Steiner schools and the home visit is lengthy and detailed - do they sit to a family meal each day? - have they got a TV (tsk, tsk!) etc. If they give the wrong answers the children do not get a place.

That makes sense, mamie —what you said about retentiveness because of the context. As you've probably gathered, this is an entirely new thing to me. I've never heard of it, which does rather leave me wondering if "most reception teachers" find it worthwhile. But I guess I'm just being picky.

Not really. With cubs I always found one discovered their strengths and weaknesses very easily without any context other than the one they were in with me at cubs. I suppose I'm wondering why this wouldn't work with teachers and new schoolkids too.

However, I accept that perhaps it's yet another (good or otherwise) idea to try and improve schooling. I wonder if it is working as expected.

It's that Steiner approach that worries me, mishap.

The home visit system does not usually cost money thatbags staff go in their normal working hours.

I first did home visits way back in the '80s so it is not a new idea! The idea is to help the child get to know a school adult in a 'safe' environment, i.e.home. Sometimes I have visited kids at their childminder or at their day nursery. It is just about making links with the child to support them as they transfer to a new environment. Often kids are photoed at home by the school staff and this is used as their coat peg marker.

I obviously can't speak for all (or even most) reception teachers, Bags, but it was common practice when I was an LA link inspector. I used to discuss it as part of the package of induction strategies with the heads and reception teachers in my link schools and they thought it was worthwhile. Can't say more than that really.

Just spoken to my DD about this as she has been on the receiving end of a visit and she is also a teacher herself. She said that one of the benefits from a parents point of view is that she got the opportunity to tell the teacher a quite a lot about her son, one to one with the teacher, and also, as an example, to point out that he'd only had his 4th birthday a week before and would therefore be the youngest in the class.
She says that stuck more in the reception teacher's mind that just glancing at a DOB on a form.

So it's not just for the school's benefit.

Our DD1 would have loved the opportunity to talk to the teacher at home- but GS1's very severe allergies and the need for great care. She only had the chance to go to a parents' public meeting- and when she asked to speak to the teacher alone about this, the teacher just didn't understand the severity of the situation- so whe will have to ask for a separate private audience + Head of year.

To be fair thatbags responsibiity for a cub group, whilst there are of course similarities, is not quite the same as being responsible for the educational development of a class of 30 4-5 year olds. Of course teachers do quickly get to know the children in their care but it is a big step for some families (and just another day for others) when kids start school! Home visits are just one of many ways school adults use to get tho know children well so they can make sure they settle as quickly as possible. No hidden 'big brother' agenda. Though, as a young teacher it was a good learning opportunity for me, going to flats with little furniture and no pictures/ornaments / books/toys. Though I knew the children lived in 'poor' circumstances being in a 'deprived' home helped me to be more empathetic. I was always offered a warm welcome!

Some parents plus granny weep as they leave kids at the classroom, others cannot be there because of work commitments etc! I have had five adults from one family drop off a child on their first day! Everyone is different!

Thinking back to my own kids, in two cases (1 in Edinburgh & 3 in Oxfordshire) the nursery school that the child went to was part of the primary school, with the primary one class/reception class in the next room. The kids had met their 'school' (as opposed to nursery) teacher quite a few times a lot already and the teacher had met the parents. DD2 just missed out on the new attached nursery school (that I helped set up and for which I took part in the interviews for the first teacher) but she started school with kids she had been at playgroup with so it wasn't a big deal.

So maybe that's the answer—nursery schools in every primary school. The transition simply isn't an issue for the kids or the parents that way.

Pretty well all the kids who would be attending the school had places at the nursery schools too. Good City and County Councils respectively.

DGS also had 3 or four days during school holidays where he was introduced to 'school life' as a taster. I still think that just 4 is much to young for school. He was 4 yesterday. A bright lad but quite young emotionally and I just hope that there is a bottom wiper amongst the staff for these little ones

The homes I visited were for the kids coming to the school's nursery class.
In towns now kids come form so many different places it is possible that they don't know many others before they come to school. One school I work with , in a London suburb, has 120 Reception children starting in September from 46 different nurseries/playgroups/childminders & that won't include the ones coming to school direct from home care.

When I was a HT we had taster days and parent introduction evening too. Each event had a slightly different emphasis: home visit for parent/child /school adult to meet on 'child' territory in a 1-1 situation for parent to share anything they want with school, school visit/s for the children to become familiar with new environment (find the toilet!) and meet new class mates , parent evening to give info to parents about school routines, expectations etc & chance for parents to ask general info. (we had 90 families at these meetings so little time for 1-1)

I also think that we all tend to think of the children (& parents??) we know personally and how they may be well adjusted, confident and articulate 3/4/5 yr olds but there are 100s of kids who are anxious, shy and with poor communication and play skills and they need a great deal of support to get a good start at school.

flower there probably will be

120 reception kids in one school! Bloody hell!! This is completely out of my ken, thank god, so I'm backing out fast.

Individual appointments at the school with the child's future teacher, where my GCs go to school. It also happened when my DCs went to school in that area, too. During the holidays, just after they knew which school they were going to. If they couldn't make it because they were away on holiday, then during the week before term started. All siblings were invited to attend along with the parents as well, the teacher chatted and asked questions for about 20 minutes.

My DD is 24, and her headteacher went to every single childs home and had a cup of tea - reassured the child that the teacher was a friend of mummys, and gave an opportunity to understand the family background and so on, pets , siblings etc, and talk through any concerns parents might have, I thought it was a great idea

I guess if they have concerns when they are in the home, they would use their nonce and check it out - in my last year as a SW took 2 girls into care who had been sleeping on a filthy urine soaked mattress in an unheated bedroom with no flooring......

It is something I have never come across as a parent or heard of as a grandparent. My DC started school variously in the West Country, London and Wales and we did not encounter any home visits. DGC is at school in Wales (and another DGC is overseas) and I don't think DS and DIL had a home visit.

I am not sure of the value of this; if the child has been to a nursery or playgroup attached to the school then there will be a natural progression so I would not have thought it was necessary at all. However, the scenario that Penstemmon mentions in the above post where 120 children are expected in the reception class from 46 different nurseries etc. would be daunting for the children, I should imagine, so perhaps meeting their teacher prior to starting school might be an advantage to the child; however, for a shy child who may be only just 4, joining such a large school could still be overwhelming.

There are not that many children in the whole of DGD's primary school!

I think it would be far more sensible to make primary schools smaller and more child-friendly than to send children to huge factory schools. Primary schools with four classes per year group are a ridiculous idea. No wonder some people think kids need a teacher visit. No wonder some kids get totally stressed about school. No wonder people want to open free schools. I'm am shocked and very glad I have no experience of such a huge and terrifying establishment.

Perhaps, if the teacher from my DGS,s class had visited his home before he started school last year, she would have seen how he was in his own environment. As it was, when he started school he was labelled as an anxious child with emotional problems and poor parents. He has recently been diagnosed with Aspergers syndrome. He did not enjoy his first year at school. My DD has since moved away and the GC now go to a much smaller school, where he is better catered for.