During the year we have started the transition process for pre-school

children by visiting children and places in the main school.

We visit the

Gym hall in our

Keyworker

groups and

during the

session.

We have

explored the

school to learn

more – how

many signs can

we see?

We watch special

assemblies and

performances

with some or all

of the children in

the main school.

We visited our

friends who went

into P1 in August to

see how they were

getting on.

We have

started to visit

the P1-3

assemblies in

the afternoon.

Throughout this term, we will be visiting the Primary 1

classrooms and the school on a regular basis and meeting

other members of staff who will be a part of the children’s life

when they start school in August.

We will also be getting to know our P5 buddies. They

will help the children to get to know the school in the summer

term, joining in some of our activities and they will be around

in August to help the children when they start P1.

As part of the Transition programme, this booklet

explains some of the visits in more detail. This series of

visits to the school have arisen from discussion with children,

parents and staff and relate to aspects of P1 that children will

find different and may find difficult.

This booklet is for parents and children to explore

together. Talk about the activity they have taken part in and

listen to what they can tell you about their experience. Please

share any comments and thoughts you or your child has with

us.

Please return this booklet to Nursery after you have

completed it to allow Nursery staff to share in your child’s

journey.

The feedback from previous years has been that

undertaking these experiences enabled a very smooth start for

the children as they entered P1. We hope that this will will

happen again this year and that children feel confident when

they start P1 in August.

Transition 1 – Coats

In P1 children hang their coats on

pegs and each peg has a child’s name

next to it.

The P1 children put their school

bags in boxes next to the pegs after

they have hung their coats up.

Whenever we visit the main school

over the next few weeks, we will try and

spot pegs and bags belonging to

different classes.

Parent’s thoughts and comments:

By _______________________

(name of parent/guardian)

Child’s views and comments:

How did you feel about your visit?

You can begin to prepare your child for P1 by

…encouraging them to practise putting on and taking off different

jackets, i.e. using zips, buttons or press studs.

Transition 2 – Visiting the P1 Toilets

There are different toilets in the

school and we will be finding out about

the ones near the P1 classroom. We walk

from the P1 classroom to the toilets.

We are learning to identify the signs on

the toilet doors so we know which are

for the boys and which are for the girls.

We talk about how important it is

to wash our hands with soap so the

germs do not get passed to other people

or make us sick. We are learning that it

is important to put the blue roll in the

bin to keep it tidy.

Parent’s thoughts and comments:

By _____________________________

(name of parent/guardian)

Child’s views and comments:

How did you feel about your visit?

You can begin to prepare your child for P1 by

…visiting the toilets when you are out and developing your child’s independence in using

the soap and the sink by themselves. Talk to your child about why and when it is

important to wash their hands.

Transition 3 – Playground

At playtime in P1, you will be able to have

lots of fun. Sometimes small equipment like

balls and hoops are put out or you can use the

pictures on the ground to jump on. You can also

just sit quietly on the seats. There are walls to

climb through but not climb over. There is a

STOP sign to show how far you can go so that

the helpers can see you all the time.

At the end of playtime, the whistle will

blow and all the children line up next to the

cones. It is a good idea to go to the toilet at

playtime and there is a special door that is kept

open so you can go easily. Your buddy will be

with you at the beginning of P1 and will be able

to help you with all the playtime routines.

Parent’s thoughts and comments:

By_______________________

(name of parent/guardian)

Child’s views and comments:

How did you feel about your visit?

You can begin to prepare your child for P1 by

…talking about the playgrounds: as you walk past them on your way to Nursery, or if

you are picking up older siblings. Talk to your child about the games you used to play in

the playground, (i.e. tig, hide and seek, hopscotch). Play some of the games in your

garden or when you are at the park.

Transition 4 - Gym

Children take part in gym lessons

in P1 and we are learning how P1 children

get ready for their lessons by changing

into a t-shirt, shorts and gym shoes.

The children get changed in the

classroom and we can practise that

routine too. We are learning that the P1

children put their clothes on the table

or in a bag to keep them tidy.

Parent’s thoughts and comments:

By _____________________________

(name of parent/guardian)

Child’s views and comments:

How did you feel about your P1

visit?

You can begin to prepare your child for P1 by

…Encouraging them to get changed by themselves into different clothes in the morning

and at night-time, including putting their own socks on and doing up buttons.

..Showing your child how to put jumper or t-shirts the right way around when they are

inside out and practising folding up a jumper.

Transition 5 – The Dining Room

At lunchtime, the children will have a choice of a

school dinner, packed lunch or a home lunch. If they

choose to have lunch at school then they will eat in the

dining room. We are exploring the dining room and

talking about the routine with our buddies.

Packed Lunch - We are learning that it is important to

eat our sandwiches first and to take home anything

that is left, apart from open juice cartons.

School Dinner – We are learning that each week there

is a different menu (on a 3 weekly rotation) and that

each day we can choose from 3 different meals. Each

meal is a different colour and we will be given a band

that matches our choice. We show this to the dinner

ladies at the hatch. We are exploring where we take a

tray from and how to tidy the tray away afterwards.

We know that our buddies will be there to help us at

lunchtime when we first start in P1.

Parent’s thoughts and comments:

By _____________________________

(name of parent/guardian)

Child’s views and comments:

How did you feel about your P1 visit?

You can begin to prepare your child for P1 by

…showing them how to use a fork, (and a knife too if they are confident,) when you are

eating together at home.

…talk about the order in which food is eaten, i.e. sandwiches before biscuits, main

course before dessert, and the importance of healthy food.

Please help us to continue to improve our transition experience for Nursery

children and complete this after you have explored the booklet with your

child.

Which visit did your

child enjoy most?

Which visit do you

think was the most

helpful?

Do you and your children

have any other questions

about P1 relating to these

visits or anything else

they/you are worried about?