What is a ‘Getting ready for my new school’ guide?

A ‘Getting ready for my new school’ guide is a short, personal document written for your child as they get ready to move to a new educational setting. This could be preschool, primary school, secondary school or a new school.

A getting ready for school guide includes information for your child about what to expect and how they’ll be supported as they prepare for and transition to the new school.

A ‘Getting ready for my new school’ guide is different from a school transition plan. A ‘Getting ready for my new school’ guide is for your child, whereas a transition plan is for you and school staff.

Who is a ‘Getting ready for my new school’ guide for?

A ‘Getting ready for my new school’ guide can help your child if they have disability, autism or ADHD.

Getting ready for school guides can also help children with other additional needs, including children in out of home care or children who speak English as an additional language.

You and your child could also create a profile of your child for other parents once your child starts school. This could include your child’s strengths and interests, plus ideas for how other families can support your child’s inclusion in activities.

Why is it good to develop a ‘Getting ready for my new school’ guide?

A ‘Getting ready for my new school’ guide can help your child:

• know what to expect as they transition to their new school
• prepare for and cope with the change
• feel confident about their new school environment.

When to develop and use a ‘Getting ready for my new school’ guide

It’s best to start planning well ahead of your child’s transition to a new school. But your decisions about when to develop and start using a ‘Getting ready for my new school’ with your child will depend on your child’s needs.

As a general guide, many parents find that it helps to develop and start using the guide 4-6 months before children start at a new school.

Sometimes transitions can happen suddenly, and you can’t do any early preparation. But it’s never too late to put together a guide. If time is short, think about what’s most important for your child right now and include this in the guide. You can keep building the guide as the transition happens.

How to develop a ‘Getting ready for my new school’ guide

Involve your child

Start by asking your child questions like these:

• What are you most looking forward to about your new school?
• What are you nervous or worried about?
• What will help you get used to things being different?
• What will help you feel calm and happy?
• What do you most want to know about your new school?

Your child’s responses will help you know what to put into their guide.

Get help from others

You can get advice and ideas about what to include in the new school guide from people who support your child now or will support them at the new school. These people might include teachers, support staff and therapists.

What to include in a ‘Getting ready for my new school’ guide

Here’s an outline of topics to include in your child’s new school guide. As you put together information, think about how much your child needs to know to feel prepared.

Depending on what works best for your child, the guide might be a:

• written plan
• visual plan with photos and other visuals
• plan that includes both written information and visual resources.

The school

This might be information about and photos of the new school, the classroom, the playground, the library, the toilets, the oval and other school spaces.

People

This might be information about and photos of the classroom teacher, principal, teacher aides, learning support staff, office staff, school buddies and other people who will support your child.

Similarities and changes

This might be information about:

• what will stay the same – for example, ‘I’ll still take a packed lunch’, ‘I’ll still wear a hat outside’ or ‘I’ll still get to and from school by walking’
• what will change – for example, ‘I’ll line up outside the classroom in the mornings, so we’ll say goodbye outside the classroom’ or ‘At secondary school, I’ll change classrooms a lot during the day’.

Orientation activities and resources

This is a list of orientation activities, with information about:

• what orientation activity is happening – for example, ‘I’ll do drawing in the same room as other kids’ or ‘I will go on the oval to run around’
• when they’re happening – for example, ‘25 October’ or ‘After the October school holidays’
• where they’re happening – for example, the classroom, library or other space
• who will support your child during orientation activities – for example, ‘Ms Parwal will help me’, ‘Joshy my aide will walk with me’ or ‘Dad will be there if I feel worried’.

Other things that will help me get ready

This includes practical strategies to prepare for the transition. Examples might be practising how to get to and from the school on the bus or how to use a timetable.

My first week

It might help to include a routine for the first week – for example:

• when to leave home
• where to say goodbye
• when and where classes happen
• what happens after school.

Transitions supports and resources

This is a list of things you’ve prepared to help your child with the transition, like:

• visual schedules
• social stories
• sensory objects
• a school map
• a list of lunchtime clubs.

Want to see what a ‘Getting ready for my new school’ guide  might look like? Download the word version of the template for completing with a computer, or print the PDF version of the template to complete by hand.