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Primary School

As your child starts in the education system, you will soon realise that some aspects of teaching and school organisation have changed a great deal since you were at school.

The more you know about your child’s school and their education, the more you will be able to support them. It is important to get a good start, and the key is a good relationship between you and your child’s teacher.

Your child’s school career

If your child goes to school in England, this table will give you a quick overview of what happens and when it happens. The National Curriculum is made up of a series of ‘Key Stages’. These are the developmental building blocks in a child’s education:

Choosing a primary school

Ideally, a primary school close to your home is a good idea. It’s not just because of convenience, but because your child’s schoolfriends will then be local and within easy reach. However, there are other factors to take into consideration:

You can log on to www.schoolsnet.com to find out the following:

• Location of the nearest schools
• Performance tables (showing Standard Assessment Test gradings - SATs)
• Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education) reports, describing the strengths and weaknesses of the school. For full Ofsted reports, go to www.ofsted.gov.uk 
• School prospectuses are a good starting point, setting out the aims and policies of the school

You will also need to visit schools to find out:

• if you like the headteacher.
• if you like the school’s image (look at the children’s displays on the wall, and check the noticeboards).
• if you like the school’s atmosphere (get an impression of what the children are doing and how they behave).
• levels of parental involvement (high levels are a sign of a thriving primary school).

Your child’s progress

Your child’s teacher is your main point of contact. Teachers are almost always happy to discuss your child’s progress at a convenient time; you can also come into the classroom to look at their written or creative work. Take time to do this occasionally; it is much appreciated by children and teachers!

Homework for younger students is usually reading with occasional worksheets. Your child’s teacher will help pinpoint weak spots in your child’s letter and number work if you’d like to do more with them at home.

Homework for juniors can include small projects, stories and so on. You should take a supportive and almost supervisory role as they start off with homework. Children find it hard to organise their time and are easily distracted. They need help to settle down quietly to homework, before they get too tired.

Your child’s teacher

A good teacher will always be happy to have your perspective as it will help her or him to understand and teach your child better. Remember, the more a teacher understands your child, the happier your child will be in class.

Criticism of a teacher is rarely necessary or helpful in the long run. However, if there is something you are really unhappy about, you should have a quiet word with the headteacher of the school.

Getting involved

It is always worthwhile getting involved when your child is at primary school because you will gain a good insight into their daily lives.

You might be able to help the teacher with reading practice, outdoor lessons or school trips.

You can also get involved in the practical running of the school – you will find parents volunteering to work in the grounds and, of course, at school fairs and events to raise money. If you have the time, don’t be shy!

Schools are busy places, so turning up without notifying the school in advance can cause problems.

Helping your child

You can always help learning at any age by offering a slightly different approach to what’s in the curriculum.

It could be something as simple as taking your child on a trip to the local library or museum, or a visit to a farm.

You can practise number and letter recognition on car registrations and front doors; reading on roadsigns and in shops; arithmetic when buying sweets; fractions when cutting cakes; science in the bath and so on.

If you want ideas, www.educate.org.uk/parent_zone has plenty. The websites www.learn.co.uk and www.einsteinonline.co.uk are great for primary learning.