Get My Child Ready for School

My child is starting school soon and I want them to be genuinely ready — emotionally and practically, not just academically.

Child's age: [AGE]
Starting: [reception / year 1 / a new school mid-year]
My main concern: [social skills / separation / they can't do X yet / reading readiness / general anxiety about it]
How my child currently feels about it: [excited / anxious / doesn't understand what it means / hasn't said much]

Give me a school readiness guide:
1. **What school readiness actually means** — and why it's not about reading and writing
2. **The skills that matter most** — based on what teachers actually say helps
3. **Practical things to practise** in the weeks before — dressing themselves, opening a lunchbox, asking for help
4. **Talking to them about school** — building excitement without over-promising
5. **Managing separation** — strategies for the first week if they find it hard
6. **The first term** — what to expect, how to support them, when to flag a concern

My child is starting school soon and I want them to be genuinely ready — emotionally and practically, not just academically.

Child's age: [AGE]
Starting: [reception / year 1 / a new school mid-year]
My main concern: [social skills / separation / they can't do X yet / reading readiness / general anxiety about it]
How my child currently feels about it: [excited / anxious / doesn't understand what it means / hasn't said much]

Give me a school readiness guide:
1. **What school readiness actually means** — and why it's not about reading and writing
2. **The skills that matter most** — based on what teachers actually say helps
3. **Practical things to practise** in the weeks before — dressing themselves, opening a lunchbox, asking for help
4. **Talking to them about school** — building excitement without over-promising
5. **Managing separation** — strategies for the first week if they find it hard
6. **The first term** — what to expect, how to support them, when to flag a concern