Going to school is an exciting time for children and families. Planning ahead is the best way to make sure your child with CP has the right support from day one. 

[Reproduced with permission from the Association for Children with a Disability (ACD) www.acd.org.au]

Start by choosing the school you would like your child to attend and complete the enrolment process. Applications for students starting Prep vary from state to state, but generally happen in Term 3 of kindergarten.

Remember schools cannot discriminate against students with CP.

Once your child’s enrolment is confirmed, you can work with your child’s healthcare team, kindergarten and school to make sure your child is supported when they start school.

Moving from kindergarten to school

Your child’s kindergarten will put together a summary of your child’s knowledge, skills and development across a number of areas. In some Australian states, this is called a Transition Statement. You will be asked to provide information about your child in the parent section of the statement.

During your child’s time at the kindergarten, staff will update the information about your child’s needs and the best strategies to support their learning.

In Term 4, the kindergarten will give you a final copy of the Transition Statement and send one to the primary school that you have chosen for your child.

Usually in Term 3, the kindergarten will set up a meeting with you, the kindergarten teacher, someone from your child’s healthcare team and a staff member from the primary school. This is the time to share what your child is good at, what they like and things that help your child learn.

You can also talk about how best to support your child and the next steps to plan for the transition to school, such as applying for funding.

In Term 3 or 4 before your child starts school, the school will organise a Student Support Group Meeting This meeting will include you, the school principal (or their representative), the school transition coordinator, and possibly prep teachers.

If your child is eligible for funding to support them at school, the school will complete the application process. You may need to provide copies of reports from your child’s healthcare team.

During the meeting, the school will gather information for a funding application. It can also be used to discuss your child’s requirements and get your input about what will help your child during the transition. This information helps the school to put ‘reasonable adjustments’ in place to support your child as they start school.

Some reasonable adjustments might include:

• extra transition visits to the school for your child
• getting to the classroom before everyone else arrives
• a visual schedule of what will happen during the transition visit
• a visual schedule of what will happen on the first day of school
• making sure your child is placed with children from their kindergarten that they connect with, if possible.

You know your child well. You can make suggestions about what will work best for them.

So that all school staff can access the right information about your child and put the agreed reasonable adjustments in place, the school will create a number of plans, including:

• an Individual Plan to record your child’s learning goals and how the school will support these
• a Student Health Support Plan to record any of your child’s medical and personal care needs
• a Behaviour Support Plan to record if your child has behaviour support needs.

Transition days

All new preps attend a number of visits to school during Term 4 so they feel more familiar with the classroom, teachers and can learn where to find things, such as where the toilets are located.

You can make suggestions about what will make these transition visits a success for your child, such as having extra visits, letting your child visit the classroom before everyone arrives, or providing a visual schedule.

What you can do to support your child

• Follow up your child’s kindergarten or school if they haven’t contacted you by the start of Term 3.
• Share information and attend meetings.
• Help your child feel comfortable at school with extra visits, or playing in the playground after school and on the weekend.
• Use stories to help your child understand school routines.
• Practise skills they’ll need at home, such as packing and unpacking their bag, using their sun hat, going to the toilet, fastening their clothing, washing their hands, and opening lunch boxes and drink bottles.
• Arrange playdates with other children who will be in your child’s class, if possible.
• Ask your child’s teacher what the routine is for a school day, so that you and your child know what to expect.
• Get involved in the school community.

Communicating with the school

Good communication helps the school to work with you to support your child’s learning and wellbeing. This can include informal communication, such as a quick chat at pick-up or drop-off times, as well as formal communication through Student Support Group meetings.

Ask your child’s teacher if they are happy to communicate by email, or make an appointment to discuss a particular issue in more detail. Find a way of communicating that suits you both.

Let the school know if there is anything happening at home that might affect your child at school. The school should also let you know if your child is having any difficulties at school.

A communication book can be a useful way to share information. This is a book that travels with your child from home to school and back. Both you and the teacher can write in the book about how your child is going.