Psychology of Starting School and How I Feel About My School : An Evidence-based Guide for Parents and Teachers Guidebook and Storybook Set

This set contains the professional guide The Psychology of Starting School alongside the storybook How I Feel About My School.

Written by expert developmental psychologists and featuring cutting-edge research, the guidebook aids parents and professionals through this exciting but sometimes tricky period in a highly accessible and practical way. It explores how social and emotional competence emerges within a network of supportive relationships and addresses the all-important topic of children’s early friendships, explaining how children’s mindreading skills and ability to regulate their feelings and behaviour contribute to a successful school transition. It is complemented by the beautifully illustrated storybook which will appeal to children, and can be used by parents and teachers as a tool to discuss emotions. Based on the Ready or Not research project, which collected different viewpoints on school readiness, How I Feel About My School helps children identify and reflect on their emotions and manage difficult feelings, encouraging them talk openly about how they feel.

This set is invaluable for parents, teachers, SENDCos and health visitors, mental health professionals and social workers supporting the important transition to school, as well as those wanting to facilitate conversations about the emotional highs and lows of a day at school.

The set includes:

• The Psychology of Starting School: An Evidence-Based Guide for Parents and Teachers (ISBN: 9781032211497)
• How I Feel About My School: A Story to Identify and Reflect on Children’s Emotions (ISBN: 9781032880846)

Claire Hughes is a developmental psychologist at the University of Cambridge, UK, where she is a Fellow at Newnham College, and Deputy Head at the Psychology Department. She was the lead researcher on the ESRC-funded Ready or Not study, which aimed to bring together different viewpoints on school readiness, and highlighted the difficulties that many parents face in getting a clear picture of their young child’s life at school.

Caoimhe Dempsey is an early career researcher. Caoimhe recently completed her PhD at the University of Cambridge, where her research focused on families during the transition to primary school. She has experience working in the field of developmental psychology in Ireland, UK, and New Zealand.

Elian Fink is based at the School of Psychology, University of Sussex, UK. Her work focuses on how best to support children’s social skills and peer relationships at the transition to school and was a Co-Investigator of the ESRC-funded Ready or Not study, alongside Dr Rory Devine at the University of Birmingham, and Dr Hana D’Souza at Cardiff University.

Anita Lehmann is a versatile, award-winning author of fiction and non-fiction for both children and adults. Born and raised in Bern, Switzerland, and with an MA in Economic and Social History from the University of Geneva, Anita has lived, studied and worked in many different places before making Cambridge, UK, home for herself and her family. She usually writes in a shed at the back of her garden, drinking English tea and missing Swiss chocolate, with her black spaniel snoring at her feet.

Karin Eklund is an artist and illustrator living and working in Cambridge, UK. Her studio is in Milton Country Park, where she works daily. Her main commissions are for children’s books, but she also works with academic book titles, museum educational material and collaborations with researchers.