Those ‘first day at school’ anxieties won’t be a problem for young children in the Dubbo region thanks to a project coordinated by six Charles Sturt University (CSU) students which concludes this Friday.

 

The project comes to completion after months of collaboration with local caretakers, parents and children preparing to enter primary school in 2007.

 

Last week, the CSU Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood) students presented their research on the topic at the Research in Early Childhood Conference 2006.

 

In their final year studying Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood), the CSU students developed the project Working Together For Children: Strengthening Transition Pathways and spent ten weeks attending various early childhood settings within the Dubbo community providing many children beginning school in 2007 with a resource bag compiled as a part of the project.

 

The bag included fun activities for the children, as well as crucial information to support parents and carers in making the transition to school process easier for the child.

 

Coordinator of Dubbo Family Day Care, Kim Edwards said the project has been beneficial to both children and parents. “It’s reinforcing the skills children have been developing at day care,” she said, “but it is also beneficial for families.

 

“The packages provide practical information for children but the real benefit is for the parents who don’t always understand the transitional process and aren’t sure of how they can help prepare their child for primary school.”

 

Collaborating with prior to school settings and primary schools, the Working Together For Children Team have also made time for children who will be going straight from a home environment to school.

 

“We visited the Macquarie Regional Library on several occasions to work with children and their families by presenting a fun and interactive session entitled, ‘Ready, Set, School!’,” explains Working Together For Children representative Louise Collie. “This free play group session discussed beginning school in a positive manner with songs, stories and puppets.”

 

The group hope the project materials can be used in future years ensuring Dubbo children and families are always prepared for that first year of school.