The Starting School Survival Checklist — Printable (Reception & Key Stage 1)

Starting Reception or Year 1? The first half-term is a lot.

This is a calm, one-page checklist for exactly that — from six weeks before term to the first half-term. Twenty tickable steps across five stages, including the sleep and routine changes nobody warns you about.

The five stages:

1. 6–8 weeks before term — the school run, shifting bedtime, labelling, practising coat and shoes
2. 1–2 weeks before — the dry-run morning, lunch arrangements, settling-in sessions
3. The night before and morning of — laying out, packing together, the short goodbye
4. The first half-term: sleep and routine — earlier bedtime, the after-school meltdown (it's decompression, not bad behaviour), downtime before activities
5. Checking in, emotionally — "one good thing, one tricky thing?" instead of "did you have fun?"

What you get: 1 × A4 PDF, print at home. Written for UK schools (Reception, Key Stage 1).

Digital product — your download link arrives by email straight after checkout. Nothing is posted. General parenting guidance, not medical advice.