When children start primary school, they face a big challenge: they step into a measure of independence as a unique individual without you by their side. They leave the familiar environment of the home, where there are people whom they know and love, to meet new adults and children, and they have a whole new building to find their way about. The way people behave and do things at school may be very different from the way things are done at home.

Schools tend to be places of routine and structure where there are particular expectations. Children will have to learn to sit still, listen, concentrate, pay attention and absorb information in line with school expectations. They will also be noticing themselves alongside their peer group and making comparisons in the way they perform and achieve.
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