The ‘Next Stop School’ programme, designed to make the transition from nursery to primary seamless, supportive and successful, is now being used across all the group’s settings.
It comes as Kindred Squared’s Starting Reception website goes live today - the same day parents find out which primary school their child has secured a place at from September. The website, backed by the Department for Education, includes a new ‘school readiness’ definition to be used by early years settings, school staff, parents and carers, developed by a coalition of education and childcare organisations.
The initiative has a strong emphasis on educators working in partnership with children and their families to ensure each child leaves nursery academically, emotionally and socially ready for Reception class. It recognises that school readiness is a ‘broad and multifaceted journey’, and preparing for school is about more than literacy and numeracy -it’s about nurturing resilience, building confidence and fostering a love of learning.
It builds on Old Station Nursery’s Brighter Learning Approach (BLA), an enrichment framework to develop the key attributes, skills and mindsets that support long-term learning and wellbeing.
The ‘Next Stop School’ programme highlights the importance of strong nursery-to-home communication and includes a suite of tailored resources to ‘empower’ parents and carers. These include:
- A child-friendly progress tracker and magnet to celebrate key milestones
- A bookbag with home learning tools to encourage continued engagement
- Ongoing updates and milestone tracking via a parent app
- A webpage filled with advice, tips, and downloadable resources
Old Station Nursery Group’s early years director Emma Pittam said, ‘As Early Years educators, we know the profound impact of the early years on a child’s lifelong development and the important role we play in helping children reach their full potential.
‘The transition to school is a huge milestone, and our role is to make that move exciting, engaging and positive—not just for the children, but for their families too.
‘Our aim is not simply to help children become “school-ready”, but to ensure they are happy, confident, and eager to take on the exciting adventures that lie ahead.’
