In this episode
School psychologist consultants, Sarah Papaelias and Brendan Everett joined us to provide tips to families with younger students who are starting school for the first time, including managing nerves and accessing support.
About Sarah Papaelias and Brendan Everett
Sarah Papaelias and Brendan Everett are school psychologist consultants at the Department of Education.
Sarah's career has spanned across both primary and secondary schools in the Perth metropolitan and Kimberley regions of WA. She received the Early Career School Psychologist of the Year award in 2017 in recognition of her work with students, families and schools. She is the state coordinator for the Positive Parenting Program (Triple P) and supports schools across the state to offer Triple P programs to parents and carers.
Brendan has been a Principal and Psychologist-in-Charge of Behaviour Centres in the Pilbara and South Metropolitan Education Regions and was the team leader for the Behaviour and Attendance in the North Metropolitan Education Region. For 17 years, Brendan has been a Triple P facilitator and used the tools and strategies within Triple P to engage and support families in his roles. With a strong professional interest in the application of parent-focussed interventions to support children with ADHD and anxiety. He is currently the metropolitan coordinator for the Triple P program and supports schools to offer the program to parents and carers.
Transcript
Fiona Bartholomaeus
You're listening to Ed Talks WA, a series to inspire and inform from the Department of Education, Western Australia.
My name is Fiona Bartholomaeus and I'm your host for this episode.
This episode was recorded on Wadjuk Noongar land. We acknowledge the traditional custodians and pay respects to the elders past, present and emerging.
Heading to school for the first time is a big milestone for students and for parents. It's a big change and a lot to take in.
While it's supposed to be the first step of a long and exciting journey, for many that first step onto a new campus or through a classroom door can be a nervous one.
First day nerves is a common situation for students, but there is support for them and their parents too.
Sarah Papaelias and Brendan Everett are school psychologists who have worked in both primary and secondary and are now school psychologist consultants for the Positive Parenting Program or Triple P.
They join us to discuss strategies for starting school successfully, managing first day nerves and what support and strategies are available for students and families.
In this episode, we will focus on the younger kids who are starting kindergarten and pre-primary. Next episode, we will focus on starting secondary school.
Thank you so much both for joining me.
Brendan Everett
Thank you.
Sarah Papaelias
Thanks for having us.
So before we begin, we just wanted to mention that the strategies we'll be talking about in this episode are general and it's best to think of your child's individual needs.
If your child has additional needs as well, we would suggest speaking with appropriate professionals for more specific advice.
And we also just wanted to acknowledge the importance of cultural values, beliefs and practices in child rearing and family life. That's really important and what we talk about today will be based around what works for most families, but it's really important that families take away what's going to work for them.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
Of course.
Students have settled into the 2024 school year, but for some, they may have been a bit nervous stepping through the door.
How common are those first day nerves among students?
Sarah Papaelias
It's really common for students and parents to feel nerves about the first day or even the first day back at school, especially if your child's entering primary or secondary school for the first time.
But it's also a really exciting time, offers lots of opportunities for your child to grow and learn new skills.
Brendan and I have both worked in primary and secondary school settings, so we're really familiar with how scary this time can be for our families so we hope that you learn something helpful today.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
And what are some of the reasons why students become anxious or nervous when they head back for the school year?
Sarah Papaelias
Well, I think starting school is firstly a really big change for our little ones and for some families that might also be the first time that they're away from their parents or caregivers.
For most children, just that classroom environment and the school environment itself is really quite new and unfamiliar but for parents too, it can also be a really emotional time especially if your child is starting school for the first time.
Sarah Papaelias
And it can be a lot for the student, but at least the student is in the same boat as all these other kids also going to school for the first time.
Sarah Papaelias
Yeah, absolutely.
Yeah, it's a really common feeling among students and parents.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
So how can parents help their children get prepared when starting for school?
Brendan Everett
Yeah, so it's really important to be talking about school frequently and in a positive way.
So all of the conversations that you have with the kids, for example, around the dinner table, when you're getting ready for school in the morning, around bedtime.
So typically, you know, a lot of the interactions that you have, particularly in the lead up in these first few weeks of school, is around talking about school in a positive way.
Being able to look and positive mean we can be more concrete in terms of some of the activities that they might have brought home to show you from these first few days back, some of the activities that you might know as the parent that they're going to be doing in the first few weeks of school.
So it just helps your child look towards school with excitement about all the exciting things they're going to be able to do and that helps you know calm those nerves and be more prepared and they can anticipate what's going to be coming up.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
And I guess one thing parents could maybe do as well is maybe share their own experience from when they first went to school or university or the first time they started a new job with their kid to say ‘look nerves are normal everyone goes through it’.
Brendan Everett
Yeah, and it's important I mean, depending what your own school experience is. For some of our families, school may not have been overly positive.
So sometimes, you know, we can accidentally convey that worry to our children. So coming back to that notion of portraying it in a positive light is just around a time that the parent has been successful.
So for example, starting at a new job, I felt really nervous, but I was able to, you know, now I love going to work.
So yeah, really important to have that positive ending in terms of when we're talking with our children about it.
Sarah Papaelias
I think reading books can also be another great way of talking about school.
And it sort of helps children to learn about that concept of separation when they're going into the classroom for the first time and asking any questions that they might have and having that sort of conveyed through the characters in the book as well.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
So how important are routines for getting students to school and how can parents prepare them?
Brendan Everett
So if your child is new to kindergarten or pre-primary, your whole school career is going to be governed by routines.
So the earliest and the most comprehensive way that we can prepare our kids is what's going to help them set up for success.
So routines are critically important and it takes the cognitive load out of things.
So even from a parenting point of view, if you're having to badger and there's a lot of angst in the morning around, ‘oh, we've got to do all the things’ and ‘get all the things ready to leave the house’.
Having simple and effective morning routines, for example, can be a really effective way of reducing the angst and the drama and just meaning that we get into a nice routine about how we leave the house in the morning.
So that will, you know, and for families who are starting school for the first time, that will be a new experience for them to set up. So you're really finding a routine that works for you as a parent.
Maybe you have older kids or you've got a new bub. So every family is going to be different.
But being able to find a routine that works for you where your child knows essentially what's coming around the corner that I can prepare and be mentally prepared for the mornings.
Sarah Papaelias
That predictability is really helpful for kids. They know what's coming up. They know what's expected of them, but establishing some of those daily routines that Brendan was talking about can be really helpful for kids to build that speed and independence when they're learning a new task as well.
You know, even things like mealtimes and playtime, they can learn little routines within those activities to help them build skills in things like packing up or cleaning up after themselves.
And when we're talking about routines too, it's important to mention that regular attendance at school will really help with that too.
It's going to help your child to build friendships, learn to separate from you and also just learning in the classroom generally.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
Now, Sarah, what are some other general tips for parents to help their child to start school successfully?
Sarah Papaelias
I think in terms of some early preparation tasks, so some things that parents can look at doing maybe before school starts or in the lead up to those early few weeks in school, can be really helpful to get to know your child's school so you feel more prepared to answer some of the questions that your child might have.
You can attend parent information sessions, familiarise yourself with that physical layout of the school, even if it's just where to park the car, start and finish times and a lot of parents find that it's helpful to get involved in the school community directly as well so you could always ask to volunteer as a classroom helper, might be working in the canteen, but those things can be really helpful just to get a sense of what the school's like what's expected of students and just building those relationships with school staff generally as well.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
And I was going to ask would it be helpful for the students and the family as well, if they may be a week before or a couple of days before school, just have a walk around the outside of the school and go, ‘oh, look, that might be where you have lunch’ or ‘look at how cool those classrooms are’.
Sarah Papaelias
Absolutely. Yeah. That can be really, really helpful just to familiarise them with that unfamiliar context that they're going into.
But things like helping them get organised ahead of time can be helpful as well.
So things like getting their school supplies ready, packing their school bag the night before, helping them get all the stationery that they need, packing their lunchbox, all of that can be helpful, just building those in as little routines before they go to school.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
And you both mentioned before, but for some families, it's the first time their child is entering the education system.
What are some of the supports available in this area for those families?
Brendan Everett
So there's a large amount of support. Probably even before we talk about the support, it's really important to acknowledge that our whole role as educators, as, you know, psychologists, as teachers, is to support your child. Our success, your child's success is our success.
So us being able to walk in partnership with you is really critical for your child's success at school.
Sarah Papaelias
I think meeting the classroom teacher as well is a really good place to start and it can be a really helpful way to learn about some of those school processes too.
That way, you know, if your child has questions or if you have questions, you're a little bit more informed to answer them and ease some of those nerves that you might have.
Brendan Everett
We always start with the teacher, particularly in junior primary the teacher is one of the most powerful agents of change for your child. So the more connected you feel with your child's teacher, the more connected your child feels with their teacher, the better the outcomes for your child.
The more we can communicate as families and between school and home, the really talking with your teacher about any concerns that you have, so the advantage of your child's teacher is that they get to see a whole group of students at that same developmental phase, so if you're coming into school, particularly the first time, you may not be aware of some of those differences for example you might think ‘oh it's only my child that feels nervous about starting kindy’ for example but there's probably a whole bunch of students that feel quite you know a little apprehensive about starting kindy and so those conversations with the teacher initially can be really helpful just to reassure you that that's quite normal.
Sarah Papaelias
And I think if you're having some more challenges as well that the teacher can work closely with you around some strategies to make like drop off a little bit easier for example but there's also other staff in the school that can work with you as a team and on top of that we've got 22 child and parent centres across WA.
Most of those centres are also co-located on school sites so those centres can offer support to families around some of these really big changes like transition to school and they also run some parenting sessions on different topics of interest as well so that's something to keep in mind.
You can reach out to your school for more information on that.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
Like you were saying before the relationship between a family and a teacher and the school are so so important for setting their kid up for such a great school year but also a good time in the education system and then later in life as well.
Teachers, we can never understate how important they are to our society and they do such an amazing job.
So definitely have a chat with your teacher if you're having any concerns or you just want to chat about how your kid is doing.
Now, every school has access to a school psychologist. Could you explain the role of a school psychologist and what they do to support students?
Sarah Papaelias
Yeah, so I guess in a nutshell, school psychologists support schools to optimise student learning.
So we have expertise in areas of mental health, learning, child development, behaviour and school systems and we work across a range of education settings as well.
So I guess what that looks like is we can work directly with students but also indirectly with some of the adults around the student and that might be school staff, it could be parents, it might be community agencies.
But important part of the work that we do as well is working with school leaders around preventative programs for all students so that all students have the best possible chance for learning.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
It's so great that these systems and both yourself and other school psychologists are there within the school to help students and families and teachers as well.
Sarah Papaelias
Yeah, and I think we often work closely with schools around this exact topic of that transition planning and managing those big changes where, you know, we know that parents and students often require a lot of support around entering school.
And there's a number of our school psychs also trained to run Triple P sessions, so the positive parenting program.
And many parents find these sessions really helpful when their child is starting school just so they know what to expect and how they can support their child with a successful start to school.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
So where can parents access support if they're worried about their child?
Sarah Papaelias
I think the theme that's come through a lot in this conversation has been that it's really helpful to start by having that conversation with your child's classroom teacher.
They're really well placed to know what supports your child might benefit from and how to work closely with you around some goals and strategies to support your child.
But if your child does have additional needs, it's important that everyone's working as a team too.
So we'd really encourage you to speak with your school, bring in relevant professionals and have a conversation about what support is available.
Brendan Everett
So it's really important if your child is requiring additional support, some students start with us in school with various diagnosis or have additional learning or support needs.
As Sarah was saying, please talk with your school, your teacher in the first instance, but please also know that there are a range of other people who are here to help with your child and we don't know unless you talk with us.
So please talk with the people at your child's school and you can arrange a meeting and if there's any other external service providers that are involved with your child or with your family, you're welcome to bring those people with you and meet and talk with your school around what your child's needs are and how we can best support and we'll develop a plan to support your individual child's needs.
Sarah Papaelias
Yeah and I think I mentioned before that it's really important everyone's working together as a team and schools are usually more than happy to collaborate with different community agencies or professionals that might be supporting your child.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
So can you tell us a bit more about the Triple P, the Positive Parenting Program, what does that entail for the school but the families most importantly?
Sarah Papaelias
So Triple P seminars give parents and caregivers quite simple practical ideas and strategies to help their child develop the skills and behaviours that they need essentially to be happy and confident.
There's a variety of topics available for parents of both children and teenagers so quite a few different programs you can look at.
Triple P is an evidence-based program so parents can be really confident that the strategies that they'll learn about in these sorts of sessions have worked for many families across the world.
And Triple P programs have been researched across many different cultures and abilities and translated into several languages too.
So Brendan and I are school psychologist consultants with the Department of Education, as we mentioned earlier, and our role is specifically dedicated to supporting schools to offer some free Triple P seminars for our families.
And we do work closely with other school psychologists to help them access training in these different programs and to offer these sessions to families and the wider community.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
So how important is it being able to deliver these programs to schools and online as well for those who may not be able to get there in person?
Brendan Everett
For families it's a, well, for us as psychologists, it's a real blessing to be able to work with families in a preventative way. That's something that's really important for us to be able to engage with families, not at the critical end. We want to really promote that universal access.
So Triple P, the logo for Triple P is ‘for every parent’. And that's something that we really want to reiterate and remind all parents about. This is for all parents.
Sarah and I are parents. We benefit from our own ability to deliver Triple P. It benefits us and our family. So it's a real blessing for us to be able to reach parents and connect with parents in this way.
From a Triple P perspective, there are a range of topics that parents can access.
So we like to make, for our primary school parents, we have one in particular called Seminar One, which is one seminar that is available.
We deliver sessions in person to parents and we also have sessions that are available online because as Sarah was saying we're aware that not all families are able to access in person can have some difficulties particularly if you've got young children at home.
Sarah Papaelias
So we understand some families can be quite time poor as well and really struggle to attend some of these sessions face to face when they're hosted in schools so thanks to the federal government there has been a $40.6 million commitment to support parents to access Triple P online programs for free.
There is a range of different Triple P programs online, so we'd really encourage parents to have a look at those and see if it might suit their family's needs.
But certainly we're encouraging all parents to come along to free seminars that schools are offering if you're able to.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
We've been having a conversation about Triple P, Positive Parenting Program, but for more information on Triple P or any other support services, where can parents go?
Sarah Papaelias
So if you're interested in attending any of these sessions we've been talking about, you can search for upcoming sessions on the Triple P and WA website.
So you can jump online and search Triple P and WA and you can type in your location and it will come up with some sessions that have been planned across the state in various locations.
On that website, you can then register to attend those free sessions.
And as mentioned before as well, there's Triple P online programs that you can access as well.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
Thank you both so much for joining us on the podcast today and having a conversation of how to support students so they start school successfully and how they can manage those first day back and first day at school nerves.
Brendan Everett
Sure.
Sarah Papaelias
Thank you for having us.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
This was part one of a conversation about how to help your child start school successfully.
Stay tuned to Ed Talks WA for future conversations where we turn our focus to transition to secondary school.
To enjoy future episodes, follow us wherever you listen to your podcasts and on our social media channels.
Notes
Find out more about the Positive Parenting Program (Triple P).
Access upcoming face-to-face programs and a range of free Triple P online programs on the Triple P website.