School Transition
Preparing Your Child for a Confident Start to Prep
Starting Prep is one of the biggest milestones in your child’s early years. At Daisy Lane Early Learning, our comprehensive School Transition Programme ensures children feel ready, excited, and confident about their journey into primary school.
We know that school readiness is about so much more than academics -it’s about nurturing independence, building resilience, developing social skills, and fostering a genuine love of learning. Our programme aligns with the Queensland Kindergarten Learning Guideline (QKLG) and works closely with local Drewvale schools to create seamless, positive transitions for every family.
Social and Emotional Readiness
Strong social and emotional foundations are key to a smooth transition to school. At our centre, children develop these skills through play, guided interactions, and intentional support:
Building Relationships
Children learn to form and maintain friendships, understand social cues, share and take turns, include others, and work collaboratively in small and large groups.
Emotional Literacy
We help children identify and express emotions, manage big feelings, use calming strategies like deep breathing, embrace a growth mindset, and seek support from trusted adults when needed.
Communication Skills
Children practise expressing needs and ideas clearly, listening actively, using problem-solving language during conflicts, participating in restorative conversations, and understanding different perspectives.
Our educators use emotion coaching, social stories, and guided discussions to support these skills, aligning with QKLG’s focus on positive relationships and identity. Families play an important role in this journey, and our School Readiness Guide provides practical tips and strategies to support learning at home. [Download the guide here] to see how we can work together to prepare your child for a confident start to school.
Building Independence and Life Skills
Children develop essential life skills through guided, hands-on experiences that promote independence and self-management. Our educators provide scaffolded support during daily routines, gradually encouraging children to take responsibility for their personal care, organisation, and decision-making. By the time they reach Prep, children are confident self-managers, capable of looking after their own needs and navigating their day with independence and resilience.
Personal Care & Organisation:
- Opening lunch boxes, using utensils, and managing food independently
- Organising personal belongings including bags, hats, and water bottles
- Toileting independence and hygiene practices
- Dressing themselves, including buttons, zippers, and working towards tying shoelaces
Self-Management:
- Following multi-step instructions without constant supervision
- Completing activities from start to finish with focus and persistence
- Transitioning smoothly between activities
- Making choices and managing time during free play
- Asking for help when needed
Responsibility:
- Caring for personal belongings and shared resources
- Understanding classroom jobs and group responsibilities
- Developing ownership of learning through reflection
- Building resilience through age-appropriate challenges
Early Numeracy Foundations
Children build essential life skills and numeracy foundations through hands-on, playful experiences. During daily routines, our educators provide scaffolded support, gradually encouraging children to take responsibility for personal care, organisation, and self-management. Simultaneously, children explore number concepts, patterns, relationships, and problem-solving in meaningful, real-life contexts. By the time they reach Prep, children are confident, independent learners, ready to manage themselves and tackle challenges with curiosity and resilience.
Number Concepts:
- Rote counting and one-to-one correspondence
- Understanding cardinality (last number = total)
- Comparing quantities (more, less, same, equal)
- Beginning addition and subtraction through real situations
- Number recognition and formation (0-20)
Patterns & Relationships:
- Creating and extending patterns
- Sorting and classifying by multiple attributes
- Understanding sequences and predictions
- Exploring cause and effect
Measurement & Spatial Awareness:
- Comparing and ordering by length, height, weight, and capacity
- Using non-standard units to measure
- Understanding positional language (over, under, beside, between)
- Exploring 2D and 3D shapes
- Building spatial awareness through construction
Problem-Solving:
- Investigating problems through hands-on exploration
- Testing ideas and solutions
- Explaining mathematical thinking
- Applying concepts to real-world situations (cooking, building, shopping role-play)
Our literacy programme follows Queensland guidelines and evidence-based practices:
Children explore print, letters, and books through hands-on, playful experiences. Rich conversations, story retelling, and imaginative play build language and vocabulary, while fine motor activities and mark-making support pre-writing skills. By Prep, children are confident early readers and writers, ready to express themselves independently.
Phonological Awareness:
- Daily exposure to rhymes, songs, and rhythmic patterns
- Sound discrimination and listening games
- Syllable clapping and word segmentation
- Beginning letter-sound correspondence
- Rhyming word activities
Print & Book Concepts:
- Understanding that print carries meaning
- Recognising environmental print
- Book handling skills
- Beginning to recognise their name and common words
- Letter recognition and formation using diverse materials
Language Development:
- Rich conversations that extend thinking
- Exposure to diverse texts (fiction, non-fiction, poetry)
- Story retelling and sequencing
- Vocabulary development through themed learning
- Imaginative storytelling and dramatic play
Pre-Writing Skills:
- Fine motor control through threading, cutting, drawing, and painting
- Correct pencil grip development
- Pre-writing patterns (lines, circles, zigzags)
- Name writing practice
- Mark-making in meaningful contexts (signs, lists, messages)
Get Your Guide
At Daisy Lane Early Learning, our School Readiness Program does more than prepare children for their first year of school—it lays the foundation for confidence, curiosity, resilience, and a lifelong love of learning.
When children, families, and educators work together with a shared commitment, the transition to school becomes a celebration of growth, capability, and exciting new possibilities.
For tips and guidance on supporting your child’s smooth transition to school, download our helpful guide.
At Daisy Lane Early Learning Drewvale, big connections meet big heart. Our experienced team of long-standing educators creates lasting relationships with families, offering personalised early learning programs from nursery through free kindergarten.
6:30am - 6:00pm (Mon-Fri)
