Starting school: tips for parents

Ten top tips

1. Make yourself known to the headteacher early on, but keep the introductions short.
2. Take note of the best times to talk to your child's teacher: most prefer you to make an appointment or wait until after school rather than delaying registration or popping in unannounced.
3. Check your child's book bag daily for any correspondence: otherwise you could miss out on something important, like bringing in something specific for the next day's lessons. (One mum missed her child's Easter play because she hadn't looked in the bag for the previous week!)
4. Do act on (and give) feedback whenever appropriate. If, for example, either you or your child's teacher feel he or she is struggling in a particular area, work together to help put the situation right.
5. Listen to the school's advice on helping your child with reading or number work at home: the approach may be quite different from when you were at school, but to introduce your own methods will only confuse your child and scupper all the good work his or her teacher is doing.
6. Read with your child daily. His or her teacher will probably let you go at your child's pace rather than expecting a certain number of pages to be completed each night - but encourage your child to do as much as he or she can manage without making it into a dreaded chore for both of you!
7. Label all your child's clothing, shoes, PE kit and schoolbags: you can find companies who will supply stitch-in, iron-on or stick-on labels pre-printed with your child's name quite cheaply. Search the internet under 'pre-printed school labels'.
8. Let your child's teacher know of any special circumstances that might affect his attitude at school: a bereavement (even of a pet), for instance, may make him tearful or withdrawn, but he may not be able to articulate his feelings fully.
9. If you would like to be actively involved in school life, tell your teacher at the beginning of the school year and give her your contact details. Sometimes parents are required to accompany the children on school trips or to help with classroom reading or special projects, but you have to be quick to get in before all the other parents!
10. Enjoy your child's school: these early years are more about building relationships, giving and receiving feedback and working together to give your child a real enthusiasm for learning than anything else!