Parents of Junior Infant Pupils
Information for Starting School
Welcome!
Greetings to our Junior Infant pupils and parents of 2020/2021.
As August 27th draws closer, your child will likely begin to feel a mix of excitement and nerves as they begin to look forward to this new chapter of their lives. It is important that parents speak positively to their children about school over the next few weeks, despite any fears or nerves that they may have themselves.
This first day at school in 2020 will be different for everyone due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In an effort to ease the transition, here are some resources for parents.
Information sheet for Parents of Junior Infant Pupils. Click here.
Please note that further details regarding the new routines for entering the school and other procedures/policies will be sent to parents a few days prior to school re-opening.
Resources for Parents for Junior Infant Pupils 2020/2021
Here are links to a wide range of resources and support materials which have been prepared and published by both the Department of Education (DE) and the Department of Children, Disability, Equality and Integration (DCDEI) to support pupils and their families in the transition to primary school during the COVID-19 pandemic.
They include:
Let’s Get Ready, a resource to provide guidance for parents, teachers and Early Learning and Care (ELC) practitioners in supporting children’s transition from ELC settings to primary school, available at https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/a8d8f-ready-for-school/
The Let’s Play Ireland website: https://www.gov.ie/en/campaigns/lets-play-ireland/
Guidance developed by NEPS on how the transition from pre-school to primary school can be supported, available at https://www.education.ie/en/Schools-Colleges/Services/National-Educational-Psychological-Service-NEPS-/guidance-transitioning-pre-school-to-primary-school.pdf
70,000 transitions packs are being made available to parents to support children starting school. Each pack includes the Mo Scéal template developed by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA), available at https://ncca.ie/en/early-childhood/mo-sc%C3%A9al) and a postcard for children transitioning from ELC settings to share with their primary school teacher.
TIPS FOR Parents
The INTO has published an article that gives parents an understanding of the modern primary school and how it works. Its full of useful tips from how to make life more manageable for the junior infant, school life, healthy eating, help with uniforms and books, bullying, homework etc.
It can be viewed here.