School attendance

School readiness

Starting school is a huge step in a child's life – and it can be understandably daunting for both the child and their parents or carers.

That’s why we have produced a handy ’16 ticks’ leaflet (PDF 310.8KB) of things which you can do with your child now to make sure that they’re ready for when they start school. You can also download a 16 ticks poster (PDF 233.1KB) .

The list includes everything from being able to take off their coat and shoes and being toilet trained to being able to enjoy a book and being aware of other children and making friends.

Don’t worry if your child can’t do them all by September, if that’s when they’re due to start school – it’s not a competition.

However, by being able to do some, or all, of these things, it will really help them make that big step.

There will always be people on hand to help your child if they can’t do something.