The Government has launched guidance to help families prepare children for starting school, proving that the journey from primary school offer day to September can now be accompanied by a national framework, three building blocks and a pair of shoes that has been told to practise independence.
The guidance, published on 16 April 2026, sets out how schools, nurseries and childminders should work with families before children begin Reception. It arrives with a sobering statistic. The Government says 37% of children are starting school without the basic skills needed for the classroom.
Those skills include communication, confidence and independence, alongside such daunting daily tasks as getting dressed, using the toilet and following instructions. The little shoes have treated this as a governance emergency. One lace has become chair, another has become deputy chair, and neither can explain why the minutes are written in crayon.
The advice recommends practical measures including home visits and stay and play sessions. Families can visit the school, while teachers can meet children in their early years setting. This is a sensible effort to make the transition less mysterious, although the shoes suspect that stay and play is how institutions politely ask everyone to remain near the soft furnishings.
The guidance also calls for early identification of children’s needs, including special educational needs and disabilities. That means noticing what support a child requires before the first morning becomes an elaborate public demonstration of adults forgetting where the toilets are while insisting that the process is going smoothly.
Alongside the guidance, the Government announced continued investment in the Nuffield Early Language Intervention programme until 2029. It also launched a national campaign featuring teacher and rapper MC Grammar, whose Steps for School song encourages families to practise everyday skills at home.
This is the moment public policy acquires a soundtrack. Conversation, routines, songs and institutional cooperation are assembled into one reassuring package. The little shoes have approved the principle, then requested a lyric sheet explaining which organisation is responsible for finding the missing lunchbox.
The guidance cannot make every family’s September identical, and it does not claim that a leaflet can replace support. Its useful ambition is more modest. Make the route clearer, help adults work together and give children a steadier start.
The little shoes have now accepted the conclusion. They agree that confidence matters, independence is essential and somebody else should carry the bag. Their committee has therefore achieved its first successful handover, from the child to the nearest available government department.
Source: GOV.UK.
