It’s not usually the stuff of headlines, but you might have noticed that potty training has been in the news lately! In particular, reports that a growing number of children are starting primary school without some very basic skills.
Of course, it’s so important that children are properly ready when they start nursery or school. And while toilet training makes for an attention-grabbing newspaper headline, there’s much more to the story than that.
Getting children ‘school ready’ naturally involves teaching physical skills, like going to the toilet, or using a pencil. But it’s equally vital that we help young children with their language skills, which in turn encourages their reading they start school.
Why is this so important? Well, reading really is the cornerstone of a good education. When children can read, they learn through their own reading. When they can’t, they struggle to understand other subjects properly. And that’s not just English, but subjects across the whole curriculum, including maths, history, geography and everything else. Once a child is a reader, they can discover what most interests them. It opens up a world of possibilities!
As our Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman, said earlier this month, parents and carers have a hugely important role here, alongside childminders, nurseries and schools.
For pre-schoolers; singing songs, reciting nursery rhymes, or just talking to children as much as possible can make a real difference. And later, reading regularly with Reception-aged children improves their understanding further, whether it’s a bedtime story or weaving reading into everyday activities, like spelling out labels in shops or on the street signs you pass.
When I was a teacher, I found it really rewarding to get children to enjoy reading. I also quickly realised how important parents and carers are in encouraging and supporting their children to read and have a genuine, deep-rooted love of reading.
The majority of schools are doing really excellent work here. If you haven’t already, do find out what your child’s nursery or school is doing to encourage their reading and language skills, and find out how you can support this at home.
And finally – let’s all be good role models through our own good reading habits.