🍎 What Teachers Wish Parents Knew About Starting School
Helping parents understand what teachers see every day.
Starting school is a huge milestone—not just for children, but for parents too.
Every year, we meet children who arrive bursting with excitement, a little nervous, or somewhere in between. We also meet parents who are wondering...
"Have I done enough?"
"Are they ready?"
"What if I've forgotten something important?"
If I could sit down with every family before their child starts school, these are the things I'd want them to know.
❤️ 1. Independence is one of the greatest gifts you can give your child.
Many parents spend the summer practising letters and numbers.
While that's lovely, one of the biggest things that helps children settle into school is something much simpler...
Being able to do things for themselves.
Teachers have lots of little people to help throughout the day, so every bit of independence helps children feel more confident.
Before September, practise:
Putting on and taking off their coat.
Doing up their zip.
Washing and drying their hands.
Blowing their nose.
Packing away their own belongings.
Tidying up after themselves.
Asking an adult for help.
These everyday skills build confidence far more than being able to count to 100.
🍎 2. Please, please let them practise opening their lunch!
This is probably one of the biggest surprises for new parents.
Lunchboxes, yoghurt pots, cheese strings, crisp packets and drinks can all be surprisingly tricky for little hands.
It might not seem like a big deal at home when you're helping one child open their lunch.
In a classroom or dining hall, however, there can be 25 or 30 children who all need help at exactly the same time!
Imagine finally getting to lunchtime, feeling hungry and excited, only to discover you can't open your yoghurt, your crisps or even your lunchbox.
A few practice runs over the summer can make a huge difference to your child's confidence—and it means they're spending more time enjoying their lunch than waiting for an adult to come and help.
Before school starts, pack their lunch exactly as you would on a school day and let them open everything themselves.
Can they:
Open the lunchbox?
Twist open their water bottle?
Peel a banana?
Open a yoghurt?
Open a packet of crisps?
Manage any wrappers?
🍱 ParentEd Teacher Pick
One of the things I look for in a lunchbox is simple, child-friendly clips that little hands can manage independently.
👉 Our recommended easy-to-open lunchbox:https://amzn.to/4cb9inB
✏️ 3. Keep stationery simple.
We know those fluffy pens, giant pencil toppers, glitter rubbers and novelty rulers are exciting.
The trouble is...
Children love them just as much as you do!
Instead of helping them learn, they often become distractions, get lost, are swapped with friends or end up causing little disagreements.
A simple pencil, rubber and ruler are usually all they need.
Sometimes, less really is more.
📚 4. Reading isn't a race.
One of the biggest misconceptions is that children need to be reading books before they start school.
They don't.
If your child knows some letter sounds, enjoys listening to stories and loves books, they're already building fantastic foundations.
Teachers don't expect children to arrive as fluent readers.
That's what we're here to teach.
The greatest gift you can give your child is a love of stories and books.
❤️ 5. Talk more than you teach.
Some of the most important learning happens during everyday conversations.
Talk about:
What you can see on a walk.
Why leaves change colour.
What happened today.
How you're feeling.
What you notice in a story.
These conversations build vocabulary—and vocabulary is one of the strongest foundations for future reading and learning.
You don't need expensive resources.
You just need time together.
😊 6. It's okay if they're nervous.
Some children skip into school.
Others cry.
Some do both!
Every reaction is normal.
Even children who cry at the gate often settle within minutes.
Children take their emotional cues from the adults around them, so try to keep goodbyes calm, positive and confident.
A quick hug, a smile and "I'll see you after school" is often much easier for children than a long, emotional goodbye.
Trust the staff—they've helped hundreds of children through this milestone before.
🏷️ 7. Please, please, please label everything!
Honestly...
Everything.
Coats.
Jumpers.
Cardigans.
Water bottles.
Lunchboxes.
Hats.
Even shoes if you can!
Children have an incredible talent for taking things off... and putting them down somewhere completely unexpected!
One little tip that can really help if your child isn't yet recognising their written name is to choose name labels with a picture or symbol. Let them help choose it—a dinosaur, rainbow, football or butterfly—and point it out on their belongings over the summer. They'll soon begin to recognise that "that's mine!" before they can confidently read their name.
👉 Our favourite personalised name labels: https://amzn.to/4hbRtIx
And one last thing...
If you've ever had to phone school to ask if we've found your child's jumper, you'll know what's coming next...
"Does it have their name in it?" 😄
Trust me, labelled belongings have a much better chance of finding their way back home!
⭐ 8. Your child doesn't need to be perfect.
They don't need to know all their letters.
They don't need to write their name perfectly.
They don't need to sit still all day.
They don't need to count to 100.
School is where children come to learn these things.
What matters most is that they arrive feeling loved, supported and excited to learn.
🏡 A few simple things to practise before September
✔️ Open their lunchbox and snacks independently.
✔️ Carry their own school bag.
✔️ Put on and take off their coat.
✔️ Zip up their coat.
✔️ Use the toilet independently and wash their hands.
✔️ Recognise their own name.
✔️ Listen to a story every day.
✔️ Talk together about everyday life.
✔️ Get into a consistent bedtime and morning routine.
✔️ Feel excited that school is a place where they will make friends, play and learn.
🍎 A final thought...
Parents often worry about whether their child knows enough before starting school.
As teachers, we're thinking about something slightly different.
We're looking for children who are curious.
Who are beginning to become independent.
Who know that it's okay to ask for help.
Who have been read to, talked with and encouraged.
Academic skills will come.
Confidence, resilience and a love of learning are the foundations that last a lifetime.
Remember, your child only gets one first day of school. Don't worry about making it perfect—just make them feel safe, loved and excited for the adventure ahead.
ParentEd Teacher Recommendations
The products below are ones many parents find genuinely useful for making the transition to school a little easier:
Durable stick-on name labels for clothing, shoes and water bottles.
A leak-proof water bottle that's easy for little hands to use.
A well-fitting backpack that's lightweight and easy to carry.
A few favourite books about starting school to read together over the summer.
👉 See our recommended lunchbox here:https://amzn.to/4cb9inB
