Year R New Entrants

Dear Parents,

We are delighted to hear that you are considering joining Milton Park Primary School. We would like to warmly welcome you to our web-page.

Making applications and starting school is a very exciting time for all involved but can also cause some anxiety. We aim to introduce your little one to school-life slowly and carefully to ensure a smooth transition. When starting school here at Milton Park, we aim to give your children a happy and confident start. Children are at the ♥ of all we do!

Read on to find out more about starting school at Milton Park and find useful resources to support transition.

We welcome conversations to answer any questions prospective parents for Year R may have and can arrange a face-to-face tour on request.

Best Wishes

The Year R Team

Year R Video

Click in the link to see our wonderful school on Facebook and see the amazing adventures of Year R and the rest of the school!

If you would like to speak to arrange a tour of the school with our Deputy Headteacher, Mrs Middleton, please email: admin@miltonparkprimaryschool.co.uk to arrange a mutually convenient time to talk.

You will find more information below about Early Years at Milton Park and how we support transition to starting school.

Starting School Tours 2025

Please contact the office to arrange a visit.

New Entrants Leaflet 2025

Copy of New Entrants leaflet - 2024-25.pdf

Transition at Milton Park

We endeavor to make transition from home to school as smooth as possible.

We will aim to keep you updated regularly and can assure you that we remain fully committed to ensuring the best start to your child’s education at Milton Park. You will receive an invitation to our learning platform before the children start school so that you can start uploading photographs (including the Summer Holiday Challenge) and see year group messages.

As part of our transition, we hold a range of activities (detailed below) so that we can get to know you and you can get to know us! We communicate with children’s pre-schools and nurseries, childminders and families to find out more about them.

Dates for your diary

Dates for September 2025 starters

New Year R Induction Information Evening – TBC

Year R Stay and Play for children - TBC

Coffee Morning for grown ups – TBC

New Year R Transition Day for children – TBC

Teddy Bears’ Picnic for families – TBC

Home Visits – TBC - Throughout July

Children Start Full Time – TBC

Induction Evening Presentation

We hold an induction evening to welcome you to Milton Park and introduce parents and carers to key members of staff including the Headteacher – Mrs Fowler, and the Early Years Team. During the evening, different members of staff we will give you information about starting school at Milton Park, including your welcome pack. It’s a great way to put faces to names and an opportunity for you to ask any questions you may have.

Stay and Play Sessions

We hold 3 stay and play sessions for children. These are an opportunity for your child to play alongside some of the current Year R cohort and meet the teaching team.

Coffee Morning

Our coffee morning is just for adults. It’s a relaxed opportunity for you to chat with other parents/carers as well as meet the teachers and key staff members.Come and enjoy tea, coffee and treats!

Transition Day

This is for children only. Your child will spend the morning in the Year R classrooms exploring the learning environment with their new friends and getting to know the grown ups.

Teddy Bears' Picnic

Our teddy bears’ picnic is for children and their families. It’s a great opportunity to get to know each other and enjoy exploring our forest school area and playground (weather permitting of course!)

Home Visits

Your child’s class teacher, teaching assistant and our Family Support Coordinator, Mrs Hall, will visit you and your child at home before they start school in September. This is an opportunity for us to find out more about your child and for you to ask us any questions you might have.

Transition evening 2024.pptx.pdf

Useful Websites and Resources

Learning to talkRead about how you can help your child develop their speech and language skills.

Game - My First Day at SchoolHelp your child build an avatar then explore what their first day of school might be like by having a go at classroom activities, playing in the playground and more!

Reception at primary school (age 5–6) - Oxford OwlReception means most children's very first step into formal schooling, and can be both exciting and nervewracking! Find out what to expect.

Home-Start PortsmouthHome-Start Portsmouth is a voluntary organisation committed to promoting the welfare of families with at least one child under five years of age.

Children's language development and parenting advice - BBC Tiny Happy PeopleA chatty child is a happy child, so Tiny Happy People is here to help you develop your child's communication skills through simple interaction and play.

Starting primary school - BBC BitesizeAre you and your child prepared for primary school? Find out everything you need to know, from the home to the classroom.

Time for School - Starting school: parents' storiesReal-life experiences, memories and advice from teachers, parents and CBeebies presenters about starting school.

10 Top Tips for Starting School

Year R teachers and Pre-school staff in Portsmouth have put together their 10 Top Tips for starting school. Help your child to develop these key skills so that they are ready for Year R in September!

If your child does not have these skills yet, don’t worry!

This is simply a list of skills that they can develop over time and some ways in which you can help them during the summer before school starts.

10 top tips for starting schoolYear R teachers and Pre-school staff have put together their 10 Top Tips for starting school.

When you play with your child, you give their brain a boost.

Get easy ideas for working more play-time into your day: nhs.uk/start4life/chatplayread

Reading together is great, and it gives your child's brain a boost, helping them get ready for school.

Here’s how to fit reading into your day: nhs.uk/start4life/chatplayread

Every chat you have with your child helps them develop their social skills, so they can make friends more easily.

Get simple ideas to help get them talking: nhs.uk/start4life/chatplayread

Kids brains are like sponges, soaking up everything around them. And when you play with them, you give their brains a boost.

Get support at Start for Life: nhs.uk/start4life/chatplayread