//Programs // Accomplished // Parent-Teacher Partnership for Children’s Transition to School

The first days at school are a major landmark in the life of a child. Research shows that good transition to school has a powerful effect not only on the child’s academic achievement, but also on the motivation to learn and the ability to cope in emergency situations. Yet in countries such as Poland, the Czech Republic or Slovakia, little attention is paid to the transition process. Pre-school and primary-school teachers are not trained to support children at that difficult time when they start school, nor are they aware that they can ask the children’s parents for help. Parents often have little say when it comes to the quality of education; many of them do not have enough knowledge or skills to act as genuine partners to teachers or to help develop educational programmes.

The aim of the project called “Parent-Teacher Partnership for Children’s Transition to School” is to exchange information among partner organisations with a view to involving parents in transition-facilitating programmes. The partners’ expertise will help develop a training programme to prepare parents and teachers to use the “project approach” in order to facilitate children’s transition to school.  

Working together, we designed some questionnaires to be, from early December 2006, distributed in every participating country by leaders of partner organisations. The questions were answered by children, parents, teachers, local leaders and members of school staff.
Under the Programme, we also brought out a booklet entitled Is Everybody Ready? How to Prepare a Child for Transition. Aimed at parents and children, the booklet provides advice on how to survive the first days at school and how to prepare for transition.

Project partners: Early Years Organisation NIPPA (Northern Ireland), Society for the Development and Creative Occupation of Children EADAP (Greece), Unia Materskych Centier (Slovakia), Český Výbor Světové Organizace pro Předškolní Výchovu - OMEP (Czech Republic). In Poland, our partners are parents and teachers at pre-schools, Pre-schoolers Clubs and primary schools (in Warsaw, Jastków, Lublin, Pabianice, Łódź, and other locations).