[Narrator] Starting school is a big milestone in a child's life, and a positive transition to school can have a real impact on their longer term academic, social, and wellbeing outcomes. In the year before Kindergarten, strong relationships and planning between schools, families and early childhood education and care services are essential for supporting a child's transition to school.

- We know that the impact for a successful transition is that the students come in, and are much more confident in the school environment and ready to learn, and it really does set them up to be those lifelong learners moving forward throughout their primary years and beyond.

- I was so excited to go to school 'cause I was going to learn new friends.

- I was really excited to learn maths.

- Parents are very much a part of our transition process. They're the keepers of the information on their child, and so we do everything we can to get that information from the parents through interviews, and through information sessions.

- The Transition to School Digital Statement is easily accessible, and it gives you a lot of information about each individual student that's coming to school directly from the early childhood settings, where they're spending a lot of their time prior to that year of school. It is also highly valuable for our learning support team teachers and our assistant principals of early stage one, as it gives them that detailed information before the students enter our school site.

- I was so inspired watching my son's preschool get him ready for school and a thirst for learning. He was ready to learn because of the work the preschool and the Kindergarten teachers did.

[Narrator] We all have a role to play in supporting every child to have a positive transition to school, as they start their journey into Kindergarten and beyond. To learn how you can help prepare children for a life of learning, visit our website.

• Plan in collaboration with families and early intervention professionals when needed.
• Create social stories in various languages or formats to show the child what school looks like, how they will get to school, and who their teacher is.

Relationships are the core of successful transitions, and connecting with local schools will support high-quality transition practices. This can be achieved in 2 ways.

Asking questions of your local schools

• Is there a school-level transition planning team in place?
• Are there photos and videos of the classroom environment, or social stories, that you can share with children and families?
• When do you prefer receiving Transition to School Digital Statements?
• What virtual orientation activities can we plan together?

Building a positive relationship with the school’s onsite or local outside of school hours care service (OOSH)

• This will help the transition for children and families who need access to education and care beyond school hours.
• Ask if they have any orientation materials to share.

• Reach out to the OSHC service if available to help children access continuous care beyond the classroom.
• Include useful teaching strategies within the Transition to School Statement for Kindergarten teachers that can be used in the classroom, such as removing overwhelming artwork and signs from walls, supporting an indoor/outdoor learning model for children, or breaking down individual tasks to smaller steps.

• Seek feedback from schools and families to help reflect on your service’s current transitions practices. What works and what could be improved?
• Reflect on the child’s learning to inform the Transition to School Digital Statement.