Extra homework for kinder teachers

SOUTH-WEST prep teachers will be better informed next year about their pupils but it will come at the cost of a bigger workload for kindergarten teachers.As part of a State Government initiative, kindergarten teachers throughout Victoria recently took on the task of sending lengthy 'transition statements' about next year's prep pupils to primary schools.The transition statements summarise the children's abilities, achievements and interests.Warrnambool East kindergarten teacher Maryanne Mills said the task was very time-consuming and teachers had to wait until parents had filled out a three-page section before they could contribute their four pages of the statements.Some Warrnambool kindergarten teachers had to complete up to 55 of the transition statements.Kindergarten teachers were given no extra time to do the work and had to learn new terminology to meet the statements' requirements, Ms Mills said.She hoped feedback from primary schools about the initial batch of statements would streamline the process next year.Lions Hopkins kindergarten teacher Kara Thompson said there had been only a short lead-in time for teachers to learn about the transition statements.However, she said the statements were "a great idea" and formalised the communication link between kindergartens and primary schools that had previously comprised phone calls and visits.Ms Thompson said the statements had been a challenge because kindergartens focused on the socialisation of children, while primary schools were more concerned with formal education.She said all Warrnambool City Council kindergartens had previously completed a concise one-page statement on all of their children heading to prep but the State Government's transition statements had significantly increased the paperwork.State Children and Early Childhood Development Minister Maxine Morand said the transition statements allowed kindergarten teachers to pass on essential information to prep teachers, who could then devise individual support programs for pupils if needed. Ms Morand said more than 70 sessions on writing and interpreting transition statements were held earlier this year across Victoria for early childhood professionals and school staff.She said parents were also keen to understand their children's progress."The transition statements will provide information to parents that will help them understand their child's progress as well as provide guidance on how to help them in the first year of school," Ms Morand said.