The survey was needed because school readiness can mean different things to different people. Having a clearer goal or shared ideas can help as we plan and develop services for children, families and the childcare professionals who work with them.
Report
The full ready for school report with a summary and recommendations is attached to this page.
We want every child to get a flying start at school and the results of the survey will support professionals, carers and parents to implement the recommendations.
Recommendations
From the ready for school report, the following recommendations are built into Derbyshire’s strategic planning for health, education and children’s centre services.
Health and childcare professionals are ready to advise parents and help them to develop a secure attachment (relationship) to their babies and young children, using methods such as baby babble sessions, health clinics, face to face conversations, discussing brain development and attachment training for professionals.
Families, nurseries and childminders can get help to develop children’s language skills from places such as Derbyshire ECaT: Every Child a Talker, children's centre support, training and activities in local communities and by working closely with health visiting teams.
Parents and professionals will be made aware of milestones for toilet training and helped to meet them, through the use of Derbyshire health’s social media. Parents and professionals are also advised to read the helping your child learn to use the toilet information and guidance.
Schools will be helped to provide flexible admissions arrangements to suit individual children and help them move from early years to primary school.
All nurseries and childminders are encouraged to deliver high quality 0 to 5 education that makes learning exciting. For example early years improvement services, early years newsletters to keep up to date and informed and quality assurance checks and inspections.