Introduction
School Readiness is about children entering formal school from pre-primary education with the necessary social, emotional, cognitive, and language competencies and skills. in order to be able to engage in and benefit from early learning experiences, successfully learn and progress to later stages of learning, and become capable and responsible citizens.
School readiness is a broad concept that embraces the readiness of the child, their families, communities, Early Child Care and Education services, and schools to provide nurturing and enabling environments for social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development.
We know the environment at the school is different from that at home. In the school, they get a new environment, physical settings, friends of different age groups, teachers, languages, rules and regulations, skills, timetables, and eating habits. These are the challenges and risks children face, and all these things create an adjustment problem for them. In this context, children need adult support and assistance to build an image of competence.
Importance of readiness
A child has to come to school believing that s/he can manage her/himself and can be engaged with friends and activities. S/he begins to learn new things and gains recognition for it. Otherwise, s/he cries, complains for recognition, and to get attention. Therefore, children need to be prepared to work with friends, to be able to build his/her self-image, be productive and creative.
Children develop their self-image and confidence at an early age. So adults (both parents and teachers) need to be very cautious to develop feelings of competence, especially in how a child feels, engage in a learning activity, and not be inferior in front of others. Small and moderate challenges are important to make a child competent however, teachers can support children by making tasks manageable and suitable, considering their feelings. These activities are important in the early stages of school, which will be familiar in later school.
Every stage of the development of the child shows initiatives, but if we, teachers/parents, do not let them do then we lose the chance of exploiting their initiatives towards creativity. This is the stage to develop confidence in children in their tasks, and instead of saying ‘no’ show her/him how to do. This will help children to be ready to ask the question and show their willingness to play or study.
In order to be a confident and competent individual, the child first needs support where s/he has the feeling that someone is there to understand their needs, support, and help them (Kay, 2018). With this feeling, initially a child becomes dependent, but by gradually reducing the support and making them independent, teachers and parents can make them an independent and confident individual.
A child goes to school with some previous experiences and with a willingness to share them with friends and teachers. Also, they need to be productive and confident in that new environment. In this context, teachers’ support makes them comfortable and provides good experiences of and about the school. Teachers have to set the environment to make children comfortable and feel at home at school. The gaps between home and school create difficulties for the child to adjust to the new place. It increases anxiety, complaints in the child, and makes them unwilling to go to school, which affects their present as well as their future in school. So the child must have heard good stories about the school and be familiar with it. The child needs to know why they are going to school, and they have known the teachers with whom they are going to spend time at school. Not only children but also parents must know why they are sending their child to school. Teachers are the key to setting the environment and facilitating exploration the learning.
What happened to children who are not ready for school?
If we are sending our children without preparing for school, many problems will hinder their future learning and development. In developing school readiness, five developmental areas need to be considered or taken: Approaches to learning, Health and physical well-being, Language and communication development,t Social and emotional development Cognitive and general knowledge (Bingham & Whitebread, 2012). Children learn and develop at their own paces and different rates. However, before entering a formal/ big school, a child needs to be prepared to follow the instructions and understand the diversity of the environment, otherwise, they easily get frustrated. They need some basic skills to start school. The common skills include attention span, language and communication abilities, independent task attempting skills, toilet training, making friends, and comprehending and accepting consequences. If a child is not prepared for school, then they will be more likely to face challenges that could impact their development and school experience. It might be academic struggles or emotional stress leading to negative self-image and risk of bullying (Demetriou, 2024).
It is important to note that every child develops differently and at different rates, and that not every child will have mastered all of the skills and behaviors when entering primary school. In such a case, ECCE services, schools, and families all have a shared responsibility to ensure that each child is ready to continue their learning journey as they enter school and get off to a flying start. Schools have a responsibility to foster and support smooth transitions to enable each child to settle and continue their learning.
If a child is deemed not ready for school, preschool teachers and administrators can talk to the family and kindergarten teacher about the particular needs of the child and work together to develop strategies for improving the child’s skills. If concerned that the child’s skills are far behind those of her peers, the team may refer the child for screening to determine whether she has a disability. Recognizing that school readiness concerns more than just the child, the team can also identify strategies all can use to support the child’s success. The preschool teacher and administrator, for example, can discuss strategies for ensuring that the child receives high-quality, individualized, and developmentally appropriate instruction that addresses all five domains of development.
For children to be school-ready, caregivers/parents, teachers, and communities must collaborate to provide nurturing and enabling environments where all children can enjoy cognitive stimulation, emotional security, physical safety and health, and safely pass through the transition period between home and school (Hayes, 2025). School readiness can facilitate successful enrolment, adjustment, progress, and achievement of children, particularly those from marginalized or minority backgrounds. Therefore, proper communication and collaboration among all the stakeholders involved are key to successful transitions of a child in the school.
Actors for the school readiness
Main actors in school readiness include children, families/ caregivers, schools/teachers, and communities (Brock, 2014). The key components of school readiness are: Ready children, Ready teachers, Ready primary schools, Ready ECCE services, Ready families, and Ready communities.
The Child’s Readiness for schools determines with the skills set such as a) independence to use toilet, to play, read books and eat; b) confidence to ask help, work as a team, solve problem, trusty friends and make choices and decisions; c) listening & understanding the instructions, feelings and name the emotions (Hallman, 2024).
Therefore, to prepare children ready for formal school, families/caregivers, school, and local authorities must work together and provide appropriate environments which promote growth, development, and learning to ensure that all children in their communities enter schools with preparation, eager and excited to learn.
It is a school’s responsibility to educate all children who walk through its door, regardless of whether children are ready or not. Most countries use age, not skill level, as the criterion for determining when a child is eligible – and legally entitled- to attend public school (Mondal, 2024). Thus, a child’s readiness should not be a factor in determining eligibility for formal school. However, practice doesn’t always follow this philosophy. Some families, school administrators, and teachers may want to delay school entry based on children’s readiness. But research suggests that delaying school entry does not generally benefit children. This is an important point as children start at different ages, stages, abilities, social backgrounds, and needs. Of course, the school has to adapt, work with, and support children to be ready to learn.
Conclusion
In short, school readiness is about “gaining skills and competences” and “transition and continuity”. The process of school readiness for children starts in early years and shall continue into early grades of primary school when children need to interact with their new surrounding environment, peers, and adults. However, school readiness is neither merely about academic achievement nor is it about children adapting to schools. School readiness is as much or even more about schools and families having the capacity and knowledge to adapt to the academic, cognitive, socio-emotional, and physical needs of children to help them learn and prosper.
References
- Bingham, S., & Whitebread, D. (2012). School readiness. A critical review of perspectives and evidence.
- Brock, A. (2014). Reflecting on school readiness. In The Early Years Reflective Practice Handbook (pp. 166-177). Routledge.
- Demetriou, P. (2024). Supporting the Mental Health and Wellbeing of Learners in Post-16 Education. Taylor & Francis.
- Hayes, D. (2025). Early Child Development. Children and Young People Now, 2025(1), 27-29.
- Hallman, J. R. (2024). Screening Incoming Kindergarten Students for Social and Emotional Concerns: Early Identification for Early Intervention (Doctoral dissertation, Wilmington University (Delaware).
- Kay, L. (2018). School readiness: A culture of compliance? (Doctoral dissertation, University of Sheffield).
- Mondal, H. A. R. (2024). A study of cognitive domain school readiness among children with hard of hearing. Academic Discourse, 13(1), 1-15.