Parent/carer’s own experience of education impacts heavily on their decision-making process.

Questions asked include:

• Where did I go to school?
• What did I study?
• When did I leave?
• How did I handle transitions?
• What results did I achieve?
• What kind of relationship did I have with my teachers?
• What was my social experience like?
• What role did my dad or mum play?
• How engaged were my parents?
• How did I cope with the pressure?
• How did I deal with stress?
• How did I learn best?
• What are my regrets?
• How was my experience disturbed?
• How helpful was school for the rest of my life?

These experiences/conditions are either:

• consciously recreated
• unconsciously recreated
• consciously subverted.

There are many factors that parents/carers take into consideration when choosing day care including:

External factors

• social influence
• family influence
• media
• cultural factors.

Parental factors

• parental independence
• career ambitions
• arrival of another child
• circumstances (for example stay-at-home parent versus working parent).

Student factors

• social development needs
• intellectual development needs.

Provider factors

• availability
• location (that is proximity to home and/or work)
• convenience (for example opening hours, full service)
• environment (for example facilities, cleanliness, outdoor space)
• staff (for example experience, connection).

Progression factors

• academic (for example developing beyond day care curriculum)
• physical and emotional maturity (for example outgrowing other students).

There are many factors that parents/carers take into consideration when moving their child from day care to preschool including:

External factors

• prerequisites for kindergarten
• social influence
• family influence
• media
• cultural factors.

Parental factors

• personal experience
• educational aspirations for the child.

Student factors

• social development
• intellectual development
• academic preparedness
• outgrowing day care
• preparing for preschool transition.

Provider factors

• location (for example proximity to home and/or work)
• environment (for example facilities, cleanliness, outdoor space)
• staff (for example experience, warmth)
• teacher-to-student ratio
• curriculum.

Progression factors

• academic (that is reading, writing, counting)
• expert opinion
• mental maturity
• physical maturity.

There are many factors that parents/carers take into consideration when choosing a kindergarten including:

External factors

• social influence
• family influence
• media
• cultural factors.

Parental factors

• personal experience
• educational aspirations for child
• does it “feel” right
• personal beliefs and values
• financial (for example cost versus preschool/day care).

Student factors

• engaging/developing interests
• engaging/developing personality
• developing social skills.

Provider factors

• reputation in community
• school rankings/results
• interaction of students in public
• teaching methodology
• extracurricular activities
• is it in our catchment area?
• will it feed into the right middle/high school?

Progression factors

• dominant narrative about what’s best for student
• expert opinion
• parent’s personal experience
• media influence
• what fellow students are doing
• financial trade-offs.

Age 0: Help my parents/carers choose the best start for me

Student experience

• Everything I know about the world is shaped by my parents/carers.
• If in day care: spending time away from primary carer/family. Being exposed to different ways of sharing the world and potential education.
• If in day care: education through play.

Parent experience

• Reduced income while mum or dad is not working.
• Parenting advice from family, social, and support network.

Events

• Day care or family care are the options.

Touchpoints

• community groups
• doctor appointments
• mothers’ groups
• family and friends
• media
• day care apps
• other parents.

Challenges

• Parents make decisions for their child based on advice from other friends and family members with children in day care.
• Parents draw on their own school experience to help inform where and when their child might go to day care.
• For parents there is a tension between getting their child into “a” day care or the “right” day care.

Opportunities

• How does a day care centre match my beliefs or behaviours?
• Should I send my child to day care at all?

Age 1: Help my parents/carers choose the best start for me

Student experience

• If in day care: spending time away from primary carer/family. Being exposed to different ways of sharing the world and potential education.

Parent experience

• Consideration of whether or not to go back to work. These include financial factors and career ambitions.
• Independence can be regained by sending a student to day care.
• Considerations for day care include availability, affordability, convenience (operating hours, location), level of service, staff, educational credentials.
• Monitoring other children to understand what “normal” is.
• Parents start putting plans in place for the student’s future education based on personal experience.
• Setting of expectations for day care/education (see quote below)

P1 (parent): “I want her to be a good person rather than being bombarded with education.”

Opportunities

• How does a day care centre match my beliefs or behaviours?
• Should I send my child to day care at all?

Age 2: Help my parents/carers choose the best start for me

Student experience

• Learning basic education at home.
• Exposure to other children at day care (see quote below)

P1 (parent): “If we met one of our friends who had kids her age, she would want to play with them but she wouldn’t know how... So we did decide that it would be good for her if she went (to day care) one or two days.”

P17 (parent): “I put him in occasional care once a week just to get him in the habit of being with other children.”

Parent experience

• introduction of learning through play
• monitoring for development issues
• establishment of parent and student education routines
• updates from day care on development (see quotes below)

P6 (parent): “You can log in, you get photos, or you get a notification when your child’s in a photograph or activity for the day. So you actually feel connected to what they might have done, and you can actually talk about it on the way home, or at dinner, about what they did, how they felt about something. That’s really nice having that connection to her day, without even being there.”

Challenges

• Parents are unsure of how to gauge if the child is developing normally.

Opportunities

• Educate parents on the breadth of “normal” development.

Age 3: Help my parents/carers choose the best start for me

Student experience

• creativity fostered by parents
• introduction to devices as learning/entertainment tools
• experience of structured learning environment
• development of personal interests.

P5 (parent): “Because he is so into learning, I actually enrolled into one of those I Can Read classes by the time he was three.”

Parent experience

• formal educational materials introduced (for example flash cards, apps)
• parents begin to cater to interest categories of the child (for example music, sport)
• passive research of kindergarten options through conversations with friends and family
• active research of preschool
• handover of the student to “the system”
• starting to look for a kindergarten (see quote below)

P5 (parent): It’s a process. You don’t really start looking. It’s an ongoing thing from preschool.”

• finding a preschool that aligns with values (see quote below)

P6 (parent): “On choosing a preschool: And I went there, and it was like walking into a hospital. There was no feeling there.”

Events

• preschool an option.

Touchpoints

• Learning Potential app
• preschool collateral
• forums/social media discussions
• online search for educational resources (see quote below)

P1 (parent): "I Googled it. I learned about Reading Eggs but I think you have to pay for it. I didn’t want to pay for something at that time, so I started looking for something free and this was free. It was actually a very nice one."

Challenges

• child not being socialised
• parents unclear on suitable materials for first learning experiences (see quote below)

P2 (parent): “We got Benjamin started on exercise books from Office Works.”

Opportunities

• guidelines/stimulus for parent-led education.

Age 4: Help my parents/carers choose the best start for me

Student experience

• students with undeveloped social skills forced to adapt
• abilities measured for progression to Kindergarten (social/intellectual/behavioural)
• being psychologically prepared for school by parents (see quote below)

P1 (parent): “I was like, ‘Oh, it’s such a nice place.’ We were talking a bit loudly, so she could hear us. We weren’t talking to her directly. We were just talking to each other and saying, ‘Ah, it’s such a nice place and look at those kids. They’re having so much fun.’”

Parent experience

• consideration of kindergarten options. There is a perception of kindergarten as the start of the school experience (see quote below)

P6 (parent): “I was pretty confident she wasn’t going to go through private school., But I needed to ask other parents to see, in case there was something I hadn’t thought of, in case there was a different way of looking at it."

• future education decisions about school firmed up
• active research of kindergarten options
• election/enrolment of kindergarten
• childcare experts provide information/recommendation of child’s suitability to progress to kindergarten
• weighing up the cost of preschool versus suitability for kindergarten
• choosing kindergarten according to what “feels right”
• social/familial pressure on choice of education style/institution
• reintroduction to the education system for the first time since parent/carer's own experience.

Events

• kindergarten selected.

Touchpoints

• My School website
• Kindergarten collateral (for example brochures and website)
• forums/social media discussions.

Challenges

• relative cost of kindergarten over preschool
• parents appraising schools in a different way to the department
• no qualitative comparison of schools
• parents unsure of what to expect from schools (see quote below)

P6 (parent): “I haven’t been in a classroom since high school.”

Opportunities

• Alignment of parental enquiries and the department's guidelines for school websites.
• Identify important qualitative measures and metrics for school.
• Start a conversation with parents about school before the selection process begins.

Age 5: Help my parents/carers choose the best start for me

Parent experience

• “letting go” of children
• confirming they’re doing the "right thing" for their child (see quote below).

P6 (parent): “It was a child psychologist/teacher who gave us some information about what we should look for ... how we could help them transition into primary school – a few dos and don’ts. It was nice to know that her recommendations were kind of things that we were doing.”

• Parents consult and judge if the child is ready for Kindergarten (see quote below)

P10 (parent): “When I put him in (when he was in preschool), they told me, “We don’t think he’s ready.”

• Am I pushing my child into school or holding her back? Are they ready?

Challenges

• Parents (rather than a childcare professional) making a decision about the school readiness of a child.

Opportunities

• Official guidelines/entry criteria for entering Kindergarten.

Kindergarten: Help my parents/carers choose the best start for me

Student experience

• Goodstart Early Learning Interviews help prepare the student for school by interviewing with the teacher before Kindergarten starts (see quote below)

P2 (parent): “The transition was handed over because they had Goodstart interviews. It’s where each child goes to see their teacher for about 30 minutes a week in the period leading up to the first day. So the teacher and child are introduced and not total strangers on day one. And the teacher gets a feel as to what each child’s abilities are.”

Parent experience

• The concern with how the child will go now they’re in "the system”.

P3 (parent): [On parent/student days at the start of Kindergarten] "It really builds confidence in the capabilities of teachers."

• Development of child brought into sharp focus by grading and comparison to classmates (see quote below)

P3 (parent): “My daughter started earlier so we know she is in the average reading bandwidth. We’re happy to accept that.”

• costs of school, activities and maintenance become apparent
• establishment of parent/teacher interventions and expectations
• engaged, concerned and "pushy" parents seek one-on-one time with the teacher
• parents aspiring to "normal" development of the child (see quote below)

P5 (parent): “That was the best thing I’ve ever heard from a teacher – that he is just a normal little boy."

• confusion of parents as to how they should supplement school learning (see quote below)

P10 (parent): “They [teachers} could send spelling words home. I couldn’t pick my own words because that’s not what he was learning at school.”

Events

• Kindergarten starts.

Touchpoints

• school materials
• open days/nights.

Age 0: Help my parents/carers choose the best start for me

Student experience

• Everything I know about the world is shaped by my parents/carers.
• If in day care: spending time away from primary carer/family. Being exposed to different ways of sharing the world and potential education.
• If in day care: education through play.

Parent experience

• Reduced income while mum or dad is not working.
• Parenting advice from family, social, and support network.

Events

• Day care or family care are the options.

Touchpoints

• community groups
• doctor appointments
• mothers’ groups
• family and friends
• media
• day care apps
• other parents.

Challenges

• Parents make decisions for their child based on advice from other friends and family members with children in day care.
• Parents draw on their own school experience to help inform where and when their child might go to day care.
• For parents there is a tension between getting their child into “a” day care or the “right” day care.

Opportunities

• How does a day care centre match my beliefs or behaviours?
• Should I send my child to day care at all?

Age 1: Help my parents/carers choose the best start for me

Student experience

• If in day care: spending time away from primary carer/family. Being exposed to different ways of sharing the world and potential education.

Parent experience

• Consideration of whether or not to go back to work. These include financial factors and career ambitions.
• Independence can be regained by sending a student to day care.
• Considerations for day care include availability, affordability, convenience (operating hours, location), level of service, staff, educational credentials.
• Monitoring other children to understand what “normal” is.
• Parents start putting plans in place for the student’s future education based on personal experience.
• Setting of expectations for day care/education (see quote below)

P1 (parent): “I want her to be a good person rather than being bombarded with education.”

Opportunities

• How does a day care centre match my beliefs or behaviours?
• Should I send my child to day care at all?

Age 2: Help my parents/carers choose the best start for me

Student experience

• Learning basic education at home.
• Exposure to other children at day care (see quote below)

P1 (parent): “If we met one of our friends who had kids her age, she would want to play with them but she wouldn’t know how... So we did decide that it would be good for her if she went (to day care) one or two days.”

P17 (parent): “I put him in occasional care once a week just to get him in the habit of being with other children.”

Parent experience

• introduction of learning through play
• monitoring for development issues
• establishment of parent and student education routines
• updates from day care on development (see quotes below)

P6 (parent): “You can log in, you get photos, or you get a notification when your child’s in a photograph or activity for the day. So you actually feel connected to what they might have done, and you can actually talk about it on the way home, or at dinner, about what they did, how they felt about something. That’s really nice having that connection to her day, without even being there.”

Challenges

• Parents are unsure of how to gauge if the child is developing normally.

Opportunities

• Educate parents on the breadth of “normal” development.

Age 3: Help my parents/carers choose the best start for me

Student experience

• creativity fostered by parents
• introduction to devices as learning/entertainment tools
• experience of structured learning environment
• development of personal interests.

P5 (parent): “Because he is so into learning, I actually enrolled into one of those I Can Read classes by the time he was three.”

Parent experience

• formal educational materials introduced (for example flash cards, apps)
• parents begin to cater to interest categories of the child (for example music, sport)
• passive research of kindergarten options through conversations with friends and family
• active research of preschool
• handover of the student to “the system”
• starting to look for a kindergarten (see quote below)

P5 (parent): It’s a process. You don’t really start looking. It’s an ongoing thing from preschool.”

• finding a preschool that aligns with values (see quote below)

P6 (parent): “On choosing a preschool: And I went there, and it was like walking into a hospital. There was no feeling there.”

Events

• preschool an option.

Touchpoints

• Learning Potential app
• preschool collateral
• forums/social media discussions
• online search for educational resources (see quote below)

P1 (parent): "I Googled it. I learned about Reading Eggs but I think you have to pay for it. I didn’t want to pay for something at that time, so I started looking for something free and this was free. It was actually a very nice one."

Challenges

• child not being socialised
• parents unclear on suitable materials for first learning experiences (see quote below)

P2 (parent): “We got Benjamin started on exercise books from Office Works.”

Opportunities

• guidelines/stimulus for parent-led education.

Age 4: Help my parents/carers choose the best start for me

Student experience

• students with undeveloped social skills forced to adapt
• abilities measured for progression to Kindergarten (social/intellectual/behavioural)
• being psychologically prepared for school by parents (see quote below)

P1 (parent): “I was like, ‘Oh, it’s such a nice place.’ We were talking a bit loudly, so she could hear us. We weren’t talking to her directly. We were just talking to each other and saying, ‘Ah, it’s such a nice place and look at those kids. They’re having so much fun.’”

Parent experience

• consideration of kindergarten options. There is a perception of kindergarten as the start of the school experience (see quote below)

P6 (parent): “I was pretty confident she wasn’t going to go through private school., But I needed to ask other parents to see, in case there was something I hadn’t thought of, in case there was a different way of looking at it."

• future education decisions about school firmed up
• active research of kindergarten options
• election/enrolment of kindergarten
• childcare experts provide information/recommendation of child’s suitability to progress to kindergarten
• weighing up the cost of preschool versus suitability for kindergarten
• choosing kindergarten according to what “feels right”
• social/familial pressure on choice of education style/institution
• reintroduction to the education system for the first time since parent/carer's own experience.

Events

• kindergarten selected.

Touchpoints

• My School website
• Kindergarten collateral (for example brochures and website)
• forums/social media discussions.

Challenges

• relative cost of kindergarten over preschool
• parents appraising schools in a different way to the department
• no qualitative comparison of schools
• parents unsure of what to expect from schools (see quote below)

P6 (parent): “I haven’t been in a classroom since high school.”

Opportunities

• Alignment of parental enquiries and the department's guidelines for school websites.
• Identify important qualitative measures and metrics for school.
• Start a conversation with parents about school before the selection process begins.

Age 5: Help my parents/carers choose the best start for me

Parent experience

• “letting go” of children
• confirming they’re doing the "right thing" for their child (see quote below).

P6 (parent): “It was a child psychologist/teacher who gave us some information about what we should look for ... how we could help them transition into primary school – a few dos and don’ts. It was nice to know that her recommendations were kind of things that we were doing.”

• Parents consult and judge if the child is ready for Kindergarten (see quote below)

P10 (parent): “When I put him in (when he was in preschool), they told me, “We don’t think he’s ready.”

• Am I pushing my child into school or holding her back? Are they ready?

Challenges

• Parents (rather than a childcare professional) making a decision about the school readiness of a child.

Opportunities

• Official guidelines/entry criteria for entering Kindergarten.

Kindergarten: Help my parents/carers choose the best start for me

Student experience

• Goodstart Early Learning Interviews help prepare the student for school by interviewing with the teacher before Kindergarten starts (see quote below)

P2 (parent): “The transition was handed over because they had Goodstart interviews. It’s where each child goes to see their teacher for about 30 minutes a week in the period leading up to the first day. So the teacher and child are introduced and not total strangers on day one. And the teacher gets a feel as to what each child’s abilities are.”

Parent experience

• The concern with how the child will go now they’re in "the system”.

P3 (parent): [On parent/student days at the start of Kindergarten] "It really builds confidence in the capabilities of teachers."

• Development of child brought into sharp focus by grading and comparison to classmates (see quote below)

P3 (parent): “My daughter started earlier so we know she is in the average reading bandwidth. We’re happy to accept that.”

• costs of school, activities and maintenance become apparent
• establishment of parent/teacher interventions and expectations
• engaged, concerned and "pushy" parents seek one-on-one time with the teacher
• parents aspiring to "normal" development of the child (see quote below)

P5 (parent): “That was the best thing I’ve ever heard from a teacher – that he is just a normal little boy."

• confusion of parents as to how they should supplement school learning (see quote below)

P10 (parent): “They [teachers} could send spelling words home. I couldn’t pick my own words because that’s not what he was learning at school.”

Events

• Kindergarten starts.

Touchpoints

• school materials
• open days/nights.

Age 0: Help my parents/carers choose the best start for me

Student experience

• Everything I know about the world is shaped by my parents/carers.
• If in day care: spending time away from primary carer/family. Being exposed to different ways of sharing the world and potential education.
• If in day care: education through play.

Parent experience

• Reduced income while mum or dad is not working.
• Parenting advice from family, social, and support network.

Events

• Day care or family care are the options.

Touchpoints

• community groups
• doctor appointments
• mothers’ groups
• family and friends
• media
• day care apps
• other parents.

Challenges

• Parents make decisions for their child based on advice from other friends and family members with children in day care.
• Parents draw on their own school experience to help inform where and when their child might go to day care.
• For parents there is a tension between getting their child into “a” day care or the “right” day care.

Opportunities

• How does a day care centre match my beliefs or behaviours?
• Should I send my child to day care at all?

Age 1: Help my parents/carers choose the best start for me

Student experience

• If in day care: spending time away from primary carer/family. Being exposed to different ways of sharing the world and potential education.

Parent experience

• Consideration of whether or not to go back to work. These include financial factors and career ambitions.
• Independence can be regained by sending a student to day care.
• Considerations for day care include availability, affordability, convenience (operating hours, location), level of service, staff, educational credentials.
• Monitoring other children to understand what “normal” is.
• Parents start putting plans in place for the student’s future education based on personal experience.
• Setting of expectations for day care/education (see quote below)

P1 (parent): “I want her to be a good person rather than being bombarded with education.”

Opportunities

• How does a day care centre match my beliefs or behaviours?
• Should I send my child to day care at all?

Age 2: Help my parents/carers choose the best start for me

Student experience

• Learning basic education at home.
• Exposure to other children at day care (see quote below)

P1 (parent): “If we met one of our friends who had kids her age, she would want to play with them but she wouldn’t know how... So we did decide that it would be good for her if she went (to day care) one or two days.”

P17 (parent): “I put him in occasional care once a week just to get him in the habit of being with other children.”

Parent experience

• introduction of learning through play
• monitoring for development issues
• establishment of parent and student education routines
• updates from day care on development (see quotes below)

P6 (parent): “You can log in, you get photos, or you get a notification when your child’s in a photograph or activity for the day. So you actually feel connected to what they might have done, and you can actually talk about it on the way home, or at dinner, about what they did, how they felt about something. That’s really nice having that connection to her day, without even being there.”

Challenges

• Parents are unsure of how to gauge if the child is developing normally.

Opportunities

• Educate parents on the breadth of “normal” development.

Age 3: Help my parents/carers choose the best start for me

Student experience

• creativity fostered by parents
• introduction to devices as learning/entertainment tools
• experience of structured learning environment
• development of personal interests.

P5 (parent): “Because he is so into learning, I actually enrolled into one of those I Can Read classes by the time he was three.”

Parent experience

• formal educational materials introduced (for example flash cards, apps)
• parents begin to cater to interest categories of the child (for example music, sport)
• passive research of kindergarten options through conversations with friends and family
• active research of preschool
• handover of the student to “the system”
• starting to look for a kindergarten (see quote below)

P5 (parent): It’s a process. You don’t really start looking. It’s an ongoing thing from preschool.”

• finding a preschool that aligns with values (see quote below)

P6 (parent): “On choosing a preschool: And I went there, and it was like walking into a hospital. There was no feeling there.”

Events

• preschool an option.

Touchpoints

• Learning Potential app
• preschool collateral
• forums/social media discussions
• online search for educational resources (see quote below)

P1 (parent): "I Googled it. I learned about Reading Eggs but I think you have to pay for it. I didn’t want to pay for something at that time, so I started looking for something free and this was free. It was actually a very nice one."

Challenges

• child not being socialised
• parents unclear on suitable materials for first learning experiences (see quote below)

P2 (parent): “We got Benjamin started on exercise books from Office Works.”

Opportunities

• guidelines/stimulus for parent-led education.

Age 4: Help my parents/carers choose the best start for me

Student experience

• students with undeveloped social skills forced to adapt
• abilities measured for progression to Kindergarten (social/intellectual/behavioural)
• being psychologically prepared for school by parents (see quote below)

P1 (parent): “I was like, ‘Oh, it’s such a nice place.’ We were talking a bit loudly, so she could hear us. We weren’t talking to her directly. We were just talking to each other and saying, ‘Ah, it’s such a nice place and look at those kids. They’re having so much fun.’”

Parent experience

• consideration of kindergarten options. There is a perception of kindergarten as the start of the school experience (see quote below)

P6 (parent): “I was pretty confident she wasn’t going to go through private school., But I needed to ask other parents to see, in case there was something I hadn’t thought of, in case there was a different way of looking at it."

• future education decisions about school firmed up
• active research of kindergarten options
• election/enrolment of kindergarten
• childcare experts provide information/recommendation of child’s suitability to progress to kindergarten
• weighing up the cost of preschool versus suitability for kindergarten
• choosing kindergarten according to what “feels right”
• social/familial pressure on choice of education style/institution
• reintroduction to the education system for the first time since parent/carer's own experience.

Events

• kindergarten selected.

Touchpoints

• My School website
• Kindergarten collateral (for example brochures and website)
• forums/social media discussions.

Challenges

• relative cost of kindergarten over preschool
• parents appraising schools in a different way to the department
• no qualitative comparison of schools
• parents unsure of what to expect from schools (see quote below)

P6 (parent): “I haven’t been in a classroom since high school.”

Opportunities

• Alignment of parental enquiries and the department's guidelines for school websites.
• Identify important qualitative measures and metrics for school.
• Start a conversation with parents about school before the selection process begins.

Age 5: Help my parents/carers choose the best start for me

Parent experience

• “letting go” of children
• confirming they’re doing the "right thing" for their child (see quote below).

P6 (parent): “It was a child psychologist/teacher who gave us some information about what we should look for ... how we could help them transition into primary school – a few dos and don’ts. It was nice to know that her recommendations were kind of things that we were doing.”

• Parents consult and judge if the child is ready for Kindergarten (see quote below)

P10 (parent): “When I put him in (when he was in preschool), they told me, “We don’t think he’s ready.”

• Am I pushing my child into school or holding her back? Are they ready?

Challenges

• Parents (rather than a childcare professional) making a decision about the school readiness of a child.

Opportunities

• Official guidelines/entry criteria for entering Kindergarten.

Kindergarten: Help my parents/carers choose the best start for me

Student experience

• Goodstart Early Learning Interviews help prepare the student for school by interviewing with the teacher before Kindergarten starts (see quote below)

P2 (parent): “The transition was handed over because they had Goodstart interviews. It’s where each child goes to see their teacher for about 30 minutes a week in the period leading up to the first day. So the teacher and child are introduced and not total strangers on day one. And the teacher gets a feel as to what each child’s abilities are.”

Parent experience

• The concern with how the child will go now they’re in "the system”.

P3 (parent): [On parent/student days at the start of Kindergarten] "It really builds confidence in the capabilities of teachers."

• Development of child brought into sharp focus by grading and comparison to classmates (see quote below)

P3 (parent): “My daughter started earlier so we know she is in the average reading bandwidth. We’re happy to accept that.”

• costs of school, activities and maintenance become apparent
• establishment of parent/teacher interventions and expectations
• engaged, concerned and "pushy" parents seek one-on-one time with the teacher
• parents aspiring to "normal" development of the child (see quote below)

P5 (parent): “That was the best thing I’ve ever heard from a teacher – that he is just a normal little boy."

• confusion of parents as to how they should supplement school learning (see quote below)

P10 (parent): “They [teachers} could send spelling words home. I couldn’t pick my own words because that’s not what he was learning at school.”

Events

• Kindergarten starts.

Touchpoints

• school materials
• open days/nights.