Whether your child will be starting school for the first time, moving up a year group, joining a new school or going on to further education, it's never too early to get September ready.
As schools across the county are preparing to break up for the summer holiday, Warwickshire County Council is urging local families to use the summer to start thinking about what they can do to keep kids happy and healthy over the summer and as prepared as possible for the autumn term.
The council's sorted for school campaign and new website brings lots of relevant information together to help families make the most of the summer holidays and support the move back to the classroom when September rolls around. It brings together information about education services and school admissions, health advice and lots of family support.
The Family Information Service signposts to a range of information and courses to support people on a wide range of family matters. It also has lots of resources including specific advice to help under 5s gain independence and skills to begin their education journey. The county's Children and Family Centres are also great places to go for local support from professionals and other families.
The resources enable parents and carers to find information for their youngsters who are starting school for the first time, as well as resources and signposting to support around school attendance and other aspects of the education experience.
Mental and physical health is important too and children and young people should have lots of opportunity to be active. Healthy habits should be encouraged and children who are hydrated, eat a balanced diet and get enough sleep should have more energy and better concentration. Taking steps to stay healthy helps protects children’s immune systems, reducing the likelihood of absence due to illness.
Regular school attendance, from children who are well rested and ready to learn, is so important to ensure children can reach their full potential. Every school day counts though some young people miss out on education for a wide range of reasons. Some pupils find it harder than others to attend school and therefore at all stages of improving attendance the council, schools and services can work together with families to remove any barriers by building strong and trusting relationships to put the right support in place.
Warwickshire County Councillor Kam Kaur, portfolio holder for Education, said: “For many parents and carers there are back to school checklists full of uniforms, equipment, timetables and transport together with six weeks without structure to contend with, so the council wants to make sure people know where to find information about activities and childcare as well as other source of support.
“As a child friendly county we are committed to ensuring all our children and young people are safe, skilled, happy, healthy and heard and we hope these resources will support communities to find the information they need to fulfil this ambition.”
For more information visit: www.warwickshire.gov.uk/sortedforschool