Seb started school this year! It was a massive change for us as a family and we didn’t quite know what to expect. My sisters and I were home educated from a young age so the whole school system was completely new to me. To be honest I was apprehensive about sending him, after personal experiences I wasn’t overly keen on the idea or the school system, I had seriously been considering home schooling my children. Everyone was telling me it would be good for him so in September 2019 I applied for his primary school place.

Applying for school

Now I know some counties are going to do this differently but for us it was a pretty easy process and all done online.Tthe application was in two parts so I had to register with my local council, I then went to the school admissions part of their website and registered for school admissions. We got a letter through the post telling us where to go, but if you don’t get a letter then head over to your local councils website. My letter said applications had to be in before January for the best change of getting your first choice.

The second part of the application was filling out all of our details including Seb’s. We then had to pick a school, and for us it was an easy choice, we wanted the one in the village that we lived in. You can choose up to three. Again pretty easy, the whole application process took about 20 minutes.

Finding out if your Child got their School Place

After you’ve filled out the online application, you will then be given a date of when you will find out if you got your first, second or third choice school, usually in the April of the year your child is due to start school. We got a letter in April informing us that Seb did get his first choice. If you have an older sibling in the same school then its more than likely that they will get the same school, so hopefully Ophelia will get the same school in 2021!

Welcome Packs

Shortly after we received confirmation the school sent out welcome packs with more forms to fill in, details of your child, needs, health, your details. Free school meals etc. The welcome pack also included information about school uniforms and induction days. There are term dates on your schools websites, I’ve already filled out my calendars and planning stuff for the half terms and holidays!

Usually the teachers will do a home visit over the summer holidays, unfortunately due to Covid Seb did not get this, but they did give us extra information on what to expect in Reception year and how we can prepare him for school.

We got some information about what they expect the children to be able to do before they start school. But don’t worry if your child cannot do all of the things on the list, Seb couldn’t zip up his own coat, and he wasn’t great at sharing toys, but now he can, this list is there so you can start helping your child to learn these things, so please don’t worry.

There was also some information for your child too, it talks them through their day at school, what things they will be learning and things they can play with. Our school had also created some videos of ‘Meeting the teachers’ and the teaches had also recorded some story time sessions. If your eager like me then these videos may already be on the schools website!

School Uniforms and Bags

Each school will have their own policy on school uniforms, but I will share ours with you.

The only items that needed the school logo on were Jumpers and Bookbags, we were sent a link to where we could purchase the school jumpers and were told that Seb would be given a bookbag on his first day. It said on the website to get your orders in before August so that they can guarantee delivery before the start of the school term.

The other uniform items were white polo shirts, grey shorts or trousers (green dresses or grey skirts for girls). Black shoes, trainers, grey or black pe shorts/joggers with a white sports top. Wellies and and all in one waterproof for forest school. Remember to make sure everything is labelled with your child’s name on it.

Its a good idea to also get them a key chain for their book bags so that they can identify their own book bag.

Seb also needed a water bottle I got a sturdy one on Amazon. We opted for free school meals, but if you want your child to have packed lunches then you’ll also need a lunch box that’s easy for your child to open, remember to label this too!

Induction Days

Seb’s first induction day was 27th August 2020, it was a 1 hr 30 minute session where he got to play and make something while parents have a quick meeting with the teachers. This felt a bit rushed and disorganised but due to Covid I was expecting that.

We had no idea where to take him as again, due to Covid we hadn’t had the opportunity to visit the school prior to him starting. Luckily the school had recognised this and had someone at the gate ready to show parents where to go and told us where to pick him up from.

His first week at school was alternate mornings and afternoons to ease them in gently. Luckily for us Seb has never had any tears when we’ve said goodbye. On his first day without us, I could see him getting a bit worried but the teacher took him in a showed him where to hang his coat and bookbag, and now we are in part two of the Autumn term he runs in and often forgets to say goodbye to us!

Your school may do induction days differently, you should receive this information within your welcome pack. If you don’t and you have any questions, don’t worry (I had lots of questions) you can ring or email the school and they will be happy to help.

School Lunches

All EYFS children (in our school) are entitled to free school lunches. I think this goes up to year 3. Your school may do this differently but this information should be given to you in your welcome pack.

We have decided to let Seb have the free school meals, he loves a hot dinner! Some advice we were given about packed lunches was that no nuts or anything containing nuts was allowed in case anyone suffers from a nut allergy. Other than that we could have put what ever we wanted in his lunch as long as it was balanced, so sandwiches, fruit, yoghurt, crisps etc. Pretty much what you would have on your lunches at home!

The First Day

Seb was so excited to go to school, we had no tears, although I could see he was a little nervous about leaving us. But the teachers are great, especially with children who get a little tearful. If there are any issues with your child settling on their first day the school will ring. Also if you have any concerns about leaving your little one in tears at school, don’t hesitate to ring the school, they expect this and are more than happy to reassure you, especially if the school process is your first time, like it was for us. I had literally no idea what to expect, and now its like second nature we don’t even think about it! I will go into more detail about his first day in another post!

I have also just applied for Ophelia’s School place for September 2021, I really cannot believe how quickly this has come around for us. This time next year I will be applying for Rosalie’s school place for 2022!!!

I really hope this post helps and if you have any other questions about your little one starting school, leave me a comment here or send me a DM on Instagram I’m always happy to have a chat x