Preparing for school or kura

Attending early childhood education (or ECE) is a great way to help tamariki and their whānau prepare for starting school. Examples include preschools, daycares, kindergartens and kōhanga reo.

Benefits of attending ECE include: 

• helping children develop their social skills through interaction with their peers. This might include learning to play, share, take turns, cope with conflict and express themselves. 
• teaching children to be comfortable in a structured environment: waiting, sitting on the mat, and having set meal or break times. 
• getting everyone in the household used to a routine:  
  • establishing bedtimes so make sure tamariki get enough sleep 
  • practising morning routines including getting dressed and eating breakfast in time to leave the house. 

As children get closer to school age, they may start attending ECE more often or for longer days. While the experience will still be mostly informal and play-based, it may include more formal instruction, like learning to recognise letters and numbers. 

Many ECE providers also help preschoolers prepare for the transition to school with activities like: 

• visiting the local school or kura 
• practising eating from lunchboxes.  

You might like to talk to your ECE provider about what they offer.

Find out more about choosing an ECE provider.

We recommend booking your child in for their free B4 School Check as soon as they turn four years old. The B4 School Check is the last scheduled Well Child Tamariki Ora appointment. It helps you make sure your child is ready to learn well at school.

At the B4 School check your nurse will assess your child's language, growth, development and behaviour. There is also a hearing and eye sight check.

If your child could benefit from extra support to help improve their speech or language skills, development, behaviour, vision or hearing, we can give you information and connect you with support services before your child starts school.

Find out more about the B4 School Check 

Find out more about speech and language development from 3-5 years

Other checks and appointments 

Tamariki get free dental care from birth until they are 18 years old. Now is a good time to check if your child is due for their next free dental checkup. Call 0800 TALK TEETH (0800 825 583) to find and book a dental check in your area.  

Find out more about looking after your preschooler's teeth.

At four years old, tamariki are also due for a booster dose of the diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough and polio vaccination. This is a good time to make sure they are up to date with their other scheduled immunisations. 

Independence skills

You can help your child be school-ready by encouraging them to be independent. This includes practising skills that will help them throughout the school day, like: 

• being able to ask for what they need, like asking for a drink if they are thirsty or saying that they are too hot or cold 
• opening and closing their school bag, lunchbox and drink bottle by themselves 
• knowing when to eat different foods in their lunchbox and being able to open packets or containers 
• dressing themselves – taking their shoes or jumper off, and putting them back on 
• going to the toilet by themselves.

You can practise these skills and activities with your child at home, so they feel confident by the time they start school. 

Learning and communication skills

There will be plenty of time for your child to develop their literacy (reading) and numeracy (maths) skills once they start school. However, it is useful if they can recognise their name and start learning to write it.   

You can also help your child learn and prepare for school through everyday activities: 

• Regularly reading to your child helps develop their listening skills and an interest in learning new things 
• Point out shapes, signs, letters and numbers around the home or while you're out and about. Talk to them about what they see and hear.

Find out more about communication skills

Find out more about play and learning skills

Learning to express emotions

School is a new environment and can feel overwhelming at times for tamariki. You can encourage your child to express how they’re feeling and what they need – are they feeling happy? Are they angry and need some space to calm down?  

It can also help to think about how you speak to your child, using gentle approaches that acknowledge their feelings. Encourage them to think about how their words and actions affect others too.  

Try these suggestions:

Credit: WeAreTeachers.com

The more tamariki practise expressing their emotions, the better they will be prepared to deal with conflict or big feelings while they're at school.

You could also talk to them about ways to manage how they are feeling. Below are a few useful articles.

You will need to enrol your child in school before their start date. Some schools and kura have enrolment schemes based on school zones, so you will need to check where your child is eligible to attend school and find out what the enrolment process is. 

Once your child is enrolled at school or kura, you can ask about their transition process, including any scheduled school visits they might offer. 

As well as any formal school visits, it can be a good idea to visit outside school hours (if allowed) to have a look around. This can help children get excited about their new school, get them used to the school environment, and calm any anxiety they may be feeling.  

You might like to find out about: 

• where to drop off and pick up your child 
• where the playgrounds, water fountains and toilets are 
• whether there is a uniform your child must wear (and how to find second-hand uniforms).

Talk to your child and encourage them to ask you questions about school and tell you how they are feeling about it. You might like to read some books about starting school together – see what your local library has on offer. 

It's okay for tamariki and their parents to feel anxious about this next step, but the more you prepare, the smoother the transition will be.