Video Transcript: Building effective transition practices
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TRANSITION A POSITIVE START TO SCHOOL:
SUPPORTING RECIPROCAL VISITS
Building Effective Transition Practices
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The Department of Education and Training and the project facilitators respectfully acknowledge Aboriginal people as the Traditional Owners of the land and waters known as Victoria. We acknowledge the Victorian Aboriginal Elders, and recognise their central place as knowledge holders and teachers across early years learning communities.
The Victorian Department of Education and Training is committed to continually improving transition to primary school for children, families, teachers and educators. To this end, Semann & Slattery in collaboration with Macquarie University and the Boon Wurrung Foundation were commissioned to undertake this project with a focus on two sites across Victoria: Morwell and Mildura.
Over a period of seven months, reciprocal visits and professional gatherings were facilitated between prior-to-school settings and schools within a high Koorie population context. The purpose of the reciprocal visits and shared professional learning sessions was to increase mutual understanding and respect for pedagogical practices across educational sites and to strengthen the transition to school experience of Koorie children and their families.
An additional purpose was to strengthen and highlight the effective practices already in place to support transition to school for Koorie children in these local communities.
Remembering that every child, family and local community is unique, these vignettes are a springboard for further reflection, discussion and innovation in practice relating to engaging with Koorie families and communities to support transition to school.
They feature the perspectives and insights of participants from prior-to-school settings, schools, key people and community groups in Morwell and Mildura.
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Reflective Question
LOCAL APPROACHES TO TRANSTION TO SCHOOL
Chantelle Wylde & Natasha Wilson, De Garis Kindergarten, Mildura
[Starts: 01:11]
More collaboration between school and kinder. I feel that for the transition of the children to be smooth as well. I feel that it would be good to have more communication with schools. We do, do a transition statement but personally I just think that you're going to sit down and just read what's on there. It's good to be able to be chatting and to be seeing them more before the actual school is starting.
Even if the teachers could come to us.
Yeah have like teachers' meetings with the kinders.
And see the children in action before they actually go to school.
Yeah and it would be nice to sometimes have a chat with the teachers rather than to just write all this stuff on paper and send it to them I think.
Kylie Loveridge, De Garis Kindergarten, Mildura
[Starts: 01:44]
We have an interview with families at the start of the year so we ask the question initially when they first enrol for kindergarten. The question about which school your child will be attending. So right at the start of the year we're trying to help those families start to think about which school that they might be going to. We have books that we've made up on all the locals schools around the area that have photos of what happens at school. So they're readily available in the book corner at all times. So we go through and we discuss those. We also talk about uniforms that most schools will have a certain uniform. Again we use those books to support that and the children can identify which school they’ll be going to and which uniform they will be wearing.
We do lots of literacy and numeracy as well. Then we'll write our own little story about how we've been to school, what we saw at school, what we liked at school. So all those sorts of things.
Frances Bell, Ranfurly Public School, Mildura
[Starts: 02:35]
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[Starts: 03:36]
We've been doing a transition to school program I think quite well for many years even before I came into the prep unit, where we visit the kinders where students are going to be attending Ranfurly attend. So prior to them coming to school in prep, they’ve already got a familiar face. So we do visits to all the kinders. We try and talk to all the students who are coming to Ranfurly the next year while we're there. We do that over a few days in November/December. Then we also have we call them come and try days where the kinder kids who are coming to Ranfurly in the following year will then come and have some prep experiences. So again they see teachers. They’ve got some familiar faces and our hope is that that helps with their transition.
Using Transition Statements
The kinder teachers drop them or send them to us whether they drop them in or not. But the kinder teachers get them to us. I like to read it to get to know a little bit more about the child so if they're feeling a little bit nervous, you know, apprehensive I can pull something from that statement that I know they like and it can help to ease their anxieties. So that’s how I use them. I encourage my other teachers to use them in that way as well.
Leah King, Mallee District Aboriginal Services, Mildura
[Starts: 04:10]
A lot of it is done through the service. But it would be a lot better if the schools, the kindergartens and the services could actually work all together. That way you're not getting a bit from the school, a bit from the kindergarten and a bit from the service. But if we all came together and got on the same page that would be a holistic view for the child. Everyone working towards a common goal and everyone talking in the same language that the whole family understands. I think that would be the best scenario for any child.
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Reflective Question
Which of the transition practices highlighted affirms your current transition practice? Which ones appeal to you as something you could try?
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2. THE IMPORTANCE OF BUILDING STRONG RELATIONSHIPS
Marcia Lo Po, Mid Valley Kinder & Child Care, Morwell
[Starts: 04:56]
I just can't get over the value of that connection with the other educators and teachers. Also the preschool field officers, the KESOs, everyone is doing a great job and to have that all together, you know, it creates a fantastic transition because everyone's got that open communication. Then when you do your chats with your families you can sort of say, you know, go across have a chat with Kaitlin, and you know first names and it breaks down a lot of those barriers.
Josie Leng, Transition Coordinator, Ranfurly Public School, Mildura
[Starts:05:25]
How big that building relationships really is. If we don’t build relationships with - and it's not only our Koorie children. But specifically with our Koorie children that that’s where it needs to start. It needs to be a relationship based where we're building confidence and trust in one another.
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Reflective Question
Why are relationships important in supporting successful transition to school? How do you develop and maintain strong relationships with children and families?
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3. THE VALUE OF RECIPROCAL VISTS
Alexandra Lovell, Goodstart Early Learning, Morwell
[Starts:06:01]
What I found really valuable for the Reciprocal Visits project is forming relationships with the primary school teachers in the area as well as early childhood teachers. In forming those relationships, we were able to communicate efficiently and just make a phone call if we've got questions or if we would like to organise a visit. Forming these relationships were through the meetings that we had for the reciprocal visits as well as going and visiting the primary school and meeting the teachers and making times where I am able to see children participating in investigations and activities that are relevant to the early years setting.
Through visiting the primary schools I was able to see a new aspect of teaching and also incorporating, not play-based learning, but they call it investigations within the prep classroom which is really similar to what we're doing in the kindergarten at the moment.
Marcia Lo Po, Mid Valley Kinder & Child Care, Morwell
[Starts:06:53]
The reciprocal visits I found were really rewarding. We went along to a school that actually works with, I think, 56 children within one very large classroom and four educators. What we found is that a lot of the things that we're doing at kindergarten were very much flowing through into the school environment. So a lot of the skills that we'd started to work on, the pre-writing, the pre-maths, were certainly in place and we could see the direct link there.
I think the most valuable thing I've learnt from the project is the link with other teachers, the link with the primary schools to make the time for the meetings, you know, to ask your supervisors to get some time and go and visit. So even if it is a classroom visit which sometimes is the most valuable thing you can do is look at the environments and how your children will be learning in that first year of school.
Barb Hunt, Dala Lidj Woolum Bellum Kindergarten, Morwell
[Starts:07:46]
The thing I've really enjoyed the most about being part of this project is the relationships that I've been able to build between our centre and the schools. I think that will help especially first time parents heading off to school. If I've already got that relationship established at the school, it will help ease the parents' mind. A lot of our families are very wary of authority figures and that includes teachers. So it takes a long time to build their trust. So I'm hoping that if I've got the trust of the school, the parents will then find it easier to transition across from us to the school.
Alison Webber, Tobruk Street Primary School, Morwell
[Starts: 08:26]
This project has really taught me that building trust and forming collaborative relationships between everyone involved in the transition process, they're the key things to supporting children's transition to school. So a highlight would probably be getting to know the other prep and kinder teachers and collaborating with them on a regular basis has been quite powerful.
Vera Briggs, Koorie Engagement Support Officer, Morwell
[Starts: 08:44]
I think it's been really good that fact that the teachers are going out there to the kindergartens and are introducing themselves to the kindergarten and to the children and seeing that difference that has occurred within their mindset. That they're wanting to go out to the kindergarten, introduce themselves and familiarise themselves with the children. I think it's been really, really good you know on how they operate.
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Reflective Question
What are the benefits of reciprocal visits as highlighted by the speakers? What is the first step you could take to plan a reciprocal visit?
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Thanks to all who participated in this project in Morwell and Mildura. This includes participants from Morwell: Carinya Early Learning Centre/Latrobe City Council, Commercial Road Primary School, Dala Lidj Woolum Bellum Kindergarten/UnitingCare Gippsland, Goodstart Early Learning Morwell, Mid Valley Kinder & Child Care, Morwell Park Primary School, Morwell Primary School, Tobruk Primary School, Koorie Engagement Support Officers (KESOs) and Koorie Preschool Assistants (KPSAs). It also includes participants from Mildura: De Garis Kindergarten, Pasadena Preschool, Playgroup Early Learning Centre, Mallee District Aboriginal Services, Mildura Rural City Council, Mildura Primary School, Ranfurly Primary School, KESOs and KPSAs.
Additionally we wish to thank the children and families at these sites who allowed visitors into their programs.
State Government Victoria
Department of Education & Training
© State of Victoria 2016
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