What Affects School Readiness?

Preparing for Life is focused on helping children to get ready for school and providing information so that the next generation have the best start possible and are able to make positive decisions about their futures.

There are many factors that can help children do well in school. Some of them are outlined in the following pages.

 

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The Impact of Physical and Mental Health


A child's physical and mental health can affect school readiness in a number of ways;

Health in the early years, including both pre-birth and post-birth health, can significantly affect the child's readiness for school in later years.

  • Low birth weight can affect a child's cognitive abilities leading to poorer performance on tests, lower academic performance in the future, increased likelihood of need for special education and poorer language and social skills. It can also lead to a higher incidence of behavioural problems such as increased attention deficit and hyperactivity.
  • Immunisation in the pre-school years is very important in protecting children against vaccine-preventative diseases, which can cause school absences and affect learning capabilities.
  • Poor nutrition in the early years can have a long-lasting impact on children's physical, behavioural and intellectual development. This subsequently affects their success in school. Appropriate nutrition within the first year includes breastfeeding, using infant formula if not breastfeeding, not using cow's milk and not giving solids in the first 6 months.
  • Unintentional injury (i.e. accidents in the home, car crashes, bicycle accidents, fires) can have a long-term effect on cognitive, behavioural and motor function.
  • Research indicates that depressed children are more likely to display maladaptive social behaviours, such as poor problem-solving and conflict-negotiation skills and affect-regulation deficits. In particular, the current mental health of the mother is the best predictor of child behavioural problems.


Community and Neighbourhood


The type of community and neighbourhood that a child lives in can affect their school readiness. However, research indicates that much of the effect of poor neighbourhoods on negative child outcomes is mediated through the home environment.

Therefore parents who provide a warm, supportive home environment, who use appropriate parenting behaviours, and who provide a stimulating learning environment can offset the negative effects of living in a poor neighbourhood.