The Transition to Kindergarten: A Joint Intersectoral Action Plan
For some ten years now, educational, community, health and early childhood stakeholders in Magog and in other sectors of the MRC have been working on the challenges of the first school traction for children. A number of tools and actions have been deployed throughout the territory to support practitioners, parents and children so that everyone can experience the best possible transition.
In particular, the tool «My Portrait» is now used in every Installation CPE, in most family-run daycares accredited by the Coordinator Office, and by CLSC practitioners in order to promote communication with the child’s future school. This tool has been evaluated, adapted, and even shared in other territories.
However, given the persistence of some issues, a Kindergarten Transition Committee was reactivated. What stood out was the concern over the stress parents and their children experience during the transition to kindergarten and the need to address it.
Here are some planned activities to help reduce the pressure and stress around the kindergarten transition, and to help parents navigate through this transition so they can better prepare their children.
- Distributing placemats, in both languages, to all the parents and in various settings: the installation CPE or family-run daycare, the Passe-Partout program, the community organization that the family frequents on a regular basis, the CLSC, the Youth Centre, or even the school when parents register their children. These placemats contain all the necessary information for a smooth transition.
- Designing a leaflet for parents to guide them through the period leading up to the start of school, to tell them when they’ll be receiving information and what the prerequisites are for entering kindergarten.
- Hosting a brainstorming workshop with all the stakeholders in the territory so we can bolster our action plan aimed at better preparing children and families for a successful transition. This meeting will take place on June 7. It will give stakeholders an opportunity to discover the PRÉE’s Guidebook on Kindergarten Transition and to develop a joint, intersectoral action plan that can better reach all families.
The Guidebook on Kindergarten Transition for intersectoral stakeholders in Estrie builds on the 2016-2020 strategic alignment efforts of the Partners for Educational Success Estrie (Projet PRÉE) to support educational success and school perseverance.
In the winter of 2017, Projet PRÉE conducted an extensive consultation among regional and local partners to identify the organizational challenges encountered in developing actions to support the kindergarten transition of children in Estrie. The findings formed the basis for developing, with the aid of a partners committee, the 2017-2020 Regional Action Plan for a Smooth Kindergarten Transition.
Following this, the Regional Intersectoral Kindergarten Transition Committee began work on the guidebook in order to help develop a common vision for the kindergarten transition. The committee also wanted to make clear that the parameters on which kindergarten transition activities are based are supported by research.
The guidebook was the result of a collaborative effort between Projet PRÉE and a working committee that stemmed from the Regional Intersectoral Kindergarten Transition Committee.
This guidebook serves as a tool for intersectoral stakeholders by promoting collaboration between different communities as they work to develop activities that focus on the kindergarten transition.
The guidebook is intended for community stakeholders who are involved with children and their families, including those in educational childcare services, schools, health and social services, family community services, municipal services, and any other organization that works with children or their parents.
To view a summary of the guidebook: fiche synthèse
