Nursery World - A flying start

A unique scheme is preparing children for reception class and assessing their needs on home visits, writes Bernard Adams

Flying starts in reception classes at primary school are what teachers, parents, and sometimes the starters themselves earnestly desire, but don't always get. Now a clever, economical scheme operating at a school in York shows how a few simple measures can sharply reduce the number of children feeling unready to brave the school gates.

The originator of the scheme is ex-head teacher Sue Robinson and it is funded by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation. When she ran a school, Sue observed how speech and language problems prevented children from accessing the curriculum immediately. She recalls, 'I wanted an active early intervention programme. For example, I saw how early assessment by a speech therapist made a big difference for some children.'

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