Will your child be school ready in September?

Starting school can be a daunting time for a young child, but ensuring they are well prepared can make all the difference and help get their academic career off to a flying start. However, in what seems to be an increasing trend, more children are beginning school lacking in basic skills, according to a poll of school leaders. 

In September 2017, The Family and Childcare Trust and the NAHT conducted a survey of school leaders to assess the readiness of students starting primary school – an important question in the face of increasing pressures on both schools and modern family life.  

Of the 780 respondents, eight out of ten reported that many children arriving at primary school were ‘not school ready’*. Additionally, 86 per cent of those surveyed believed children’s school readiness had worsened over the past five years. 

Within the survey, leaders highlighted concerns over students’ communication and language skills; physical development; personal, social and emotional development; maths and literacy skills; and their general understanding of the world.  

These children are at an immediate disadvantage - unable to effectively engage with the curriculum and proactively take part in classroom activities or in wider school life. And whilst in time they may be able to catch up to their peers, others may continue to struggle throughout the rest of their primary, and even into their secondary, education. 

Surveys like this reinforce just how vital it is to invest in a child’s cognitive, physical, social and emotional development from an early age. 

To complement learning and development at home, many families look to early learner providers, like us, for additional support.

Right now at Kumon we have thousands of young learners studying with us who are being equipped with many of the skills they’ll need to be school ready. 

Through short bursts of daily study of our worksheets, our youngest Kumon students are strengthening their fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination, improving concentration, learning to sit and focus on a task independently, listening to instructions and following examples and all the while developing their ability to recognise numbers, letters and sounds. 

If you’re interested in finding out how Kumon can benefit your little one and help them become school ready, we encourage you to speak with your local Instructor. You can find their contact details by entering your postcode in the search bar at the top of this page. 

By being proactive and investing in your child’s development in the early years, you really are giving them the best start in life. 

*For the purpose of the survey school leaders were asked to consider a child to be ‘school ready’ if the child was able to begin to participate in the curriculum and wider school life upon reaching the current compulsory school age.