Page 60 - Education Supplement February 2026

WHY ‘READY FOR SCHOOL’ IS NO LONGER

ENOUGH – AND WHAT’S REPLACING IT

By Paula Algar, Head of Early Learning School, Reddam House Ballito

or decades, “school readiness” It means moving beyond worksheets Every interaction, from a story read
has been a reassuring milestone and content recall, and creating aloud to a puzzle solved with a friend,
Ffor South African parents – a an environment where learning becomes an opportunity to build the
checklist of letters, numbers and is embedded in play, inquiry and foundations of resilience, empathy and
classroom behaviours that signals connection. In well-structured early critical thinking.
a child is prepared to enter Grade R. learning environments, children arrive
Still, as our understanding of early in Grade R not only recognising letters Marianne Valentine, Director of Early
childhood development continues to and numbers, but also knowing how Years at Inspired Education Group,
evolve, one thing is becoming clear: to manage emotions, collaborate with puts it this way: “We often talk about
being “ready for school” is no longer peers, and adapt to new challenges. preparing children for the future – but
enough. in the early years, the future is already
This is the ethos embraced by many of happening. The habits of mind, heart
Recent South African and international the Early Learning Schools within the and character formed between birth
research confirms what many Inspired Education Group. and five are the blueprint for everything
educators have long suspected: that follows.”
the foundations of a child’s lifelong Research supports this approach. The
success are not laid in primary school Ilifa Labantwana ECD Workforce Report As parents increasingly seek education
or even Grade R, but in the earliest (2024) notes that children who receive that nurtures the whole child, the
years of life. According to the 2024 high-quality early education are more conversation around school readiness
South African Early Childhood Review, likely to succeed academically, complete must evolve. It’s time to ask not just
school readiness is a multidimensional school, and avoid long-term social risks whether a child can sit still and hold a
concept that includes emotional such as dropout or disengagement. pencil – but whether they’re curious,
regulation, confidence, physical confident and equipped to engage with
coordination, social skills and At Reddam House and Reddford House, a rapidly changing world.
classroom adaptability, alongside early our classrooms are designed to nurture
literacy and numeracy. curiosity and build independence. Redefining school readiness isn’t about
Children are encouraged to solve shifting expectations – it’s about raising
A 2023 review published in The problems, ask questions and them. And it begins long before a child
Hechinger Report highlighted global collaborate – not just follow instructions. wears their first school uniform.
shifts in Early Years education –
including the growing emphasis on
play-based learning and emotional
development as critical indicators
of future academic and life success.
Actual readiness is not just a checklist.

Education | February 2026 | 58