Supporting Families with Primary School Readiness: Guidance for Professionals

Starting school is a significant milestone in a child’s life. As professionals working with young children and families, your role is crucial in supporting children and their networks with this transition.

The 2025 national 'Starting Reception' guidance provides a clear framework to help children develop the skills needed for a confident start in Reception, to enable them to thrive and grow from the moment they step through the school doors.

The concept is designed to enable everyone supporting children on this journey, from parents and guardians, to early years and school staff, to have a shared and cohesive understanding of what school readiness looks like.

In Doncaster, we have been working to develop a strong offer of support and guidance around Primary School readiness, and alongside dedicated formal support routes offered by services locally, we will also be working hard to communicate the Starting Reception campaign to parents, carers and families in Doncaster.

The key focus of this campaign will be around informing families of what school readiness look like, educating them on the importance of children starting school with a solid foundation of skills, but most importantly, empowering and inspiring parents to engage in their children's journey to skills by incorporating accessible and inclusive activities at home or in their daily routines. We will also be raising awareness of the formal support routes should families need to access them.

Starting Reception in Doncaster - School Readiness Guidance
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Understanding the ‘Starting Reception’ Definition

The 'Starting Reception' guidance focuses on four key areas:

  1. Growing Independence: Encouraging self-care skills such as dressing, toileting, and eating independently.
  2. Building Relationships and Communicating: Developing social skills, emotional expression, and effective communication.
  3. Physical Development: Enhancing fine and gross motor skills through play and daily activities.
  4. Healthy Routines: Establishing consistent sleep patterns, hygiene practices, and screen time management.

You can find out more about these key areas and further information under each theme in the ‘Starting Reception’ guidance document.

Your Role in Supporting Families

As professionals working with families of children approaching school age, we know it’s important that you also feel confident in understanding what appropriate school readiness looks like, and the key skills children need to begin their school journey.

This will enable you to identify and support families to help their children develop these key skills, but also recognise when children and their families might need additional or formalised support through the local systems and processes available here in Doncaster.

Support can be given through:
  • Sharing Resources: Direct families to the Starting Reception website for practical guidance and activities to help their little ones to develop the key school readiness skills and empower parents and carers to engage in their children’s development ahead of them starting school.
  • Collaborating with Families and Providing Clear Signposting: Supporting parents and carers to identify their child’s strengths and areas for development if appropriate, and being able to confidently sign-post to the various services providing school readiness support in Doncaster.
  • Providing Tailored Support and Guidance: Recognise that each child is unique and may require different levels of support, especially those with additional needs or those who have English as an additional language.
  • Promoting Consistency: Encourage families to integrate school readiness activities into daily routines, reinforcing skills learned in early years settings.

Local Support for Families 

Some families may find they need a helping hand or additional support beyond the Starting Reception and wider resources available. If you are supporting or working with a family or child that you feel would benefit for additional support around school readiness, there are several routes available to them locally:

  • Dedicated council service - need more info/titles/contact details
  • Health Visiting Team - Health Visitors support children in the early days from nfancy until the age of 5, and are trained to support families and children in key areas of school readiness. Families can directly contact their assigned Health Visitor, or if they are unsure who their Health Visitor is, they can contact the Health Visiting team on 0300 021 8997
  • Their local Family Hub - There are 12 Family Hubs located across Doncaster and families can access these in person or via telephone/email whenever they need support. Our Family Hubs have dedicated Early Years staff available to provide school readiness guidance and help. Find out more about Family Hubs and how to contact them HERE

Online Resources for Families:

  • Starting Reception website – this is a comprehensive digital resource with downloadable materials designed to inform and education parents and carers around the key skills related to school readiness, and approaches and activities they can incorporate at home or into their daily routines to build on these key skills

Specific online resources around the key themes within the Starting Reception guidance can be found below:

'Growing independence'

Growing independence 

Taking care of themselves 

Toilet training

Playing, creativity and curiosity 

'Building relationships and communicating'

Being with others

Communication and language

Listening and engaging

'Physical development'

'Healthy routines'

Understand what 'healthy' levels of screen time are, by age

Get insights on internet safety, how screen use impacts young children and recommended screen time

And for those with younger children, the NCT covers advice for babies and toddlers too:

Help children build a strong relationship with food and make the right choices from the start

Brushing teeth

Sleep guidance

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