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Moving from preschool or nursery settings to beginning primary school is a huge milestone for any child and it's important to reassure and prepare them as much as possible to make the transition go smoothly.
Nurseries can sometimes be joined to a primary school, which helps prepare children for the move ahead by introducing them to the school environment, events and their teachers throughout their final year of nursery or preschool.
However, many childcare settings aren't partnered with a school, so it's helpful to look out for local school open sessions and any settling activities that may take place at your local playgroups, libraries or community events, which can help familiarise your children with the teaching staff and culture.
If you are at the stage of applying for or thinking about your twins, triplets and more starting primary school, we have lots of information available to support you through the process in our Primary section.
To help you prepare fully for this transition, Twins Trust have created an additional set of resources which are available to our registered users.
Exclusive member content: How to Prepare Twins for School webinar
Members of Twins Trust can also access an exclusive webinar with top tips on preparing your multiples for school. In the webinar, Krystina, a teacher with experience in early years and a mum to twin boys, offers advice on preparing twins, triplets, or more for school. She discusses whether to keep them in the same class or separate and the factors that influence this choice, like class sizes and the children’s dependence on each other. Krystina highlights the importance of individuality, language, and social skills, ensuring each child can express themselves independently. Additionally, she shares ideas for play-based learning, social interactions and basic literacy and maths preparation.
Join as a member today to access the webinar, or if you are already a member sign-in here.
Are you concerned that your twins or triplets aren't ready for school?
Twins and triplets are often born prematurely or at low birth weight, so they are more prone to experiencing developmental delays or having additional learning needs. Talk to your health visitors or nursery workers if you are concerned about your children’s development to get their advice on whether they are ready for starting school. Delaying or deferring admission is something that you can consider for primary school children and we have information and resources to help you make this decision.
You can also access further information from Pat Preedy on the Twin Education website, which explores in more detail the considerations for multiples and starting school.
Further help and resources from Twins Trust
We understand that there are a lot of questions around your children moving from preschool to primary school - especially when twins and triplets are more likely to experience developmental delays and prematurity. The below resources can help you feel confident and supported with this next stage of parenting.
Access downloadable content as a Twins Trust registered user
Personal stories from parents of multiples
Let it go
Whether you're punching the air or weeping into the sink, Twins Trust’s Head of Family Services, Louise Bowman, offers tips on a good start at school.
Over to you
Together or apart can be a vexed question for parents when multiples start school. But what do the children think?
Second time lucky
Twin mum Verity Snook on her triplet childhood and the lessons learned from some less than sensitive school handling.