Prep is coming, and somewhere between packing bags and labelling hats, you might be wondering how much your child's new teacher will actually know about them on day one. It's a fair thing to wonder — and there's a simple way to help close that gap before term one even starts.

Teachers are meeting 20+ new kids at once. You already know one of them really well.

A Prep teacher starts the year getting to know a full classroom of new children from scratch — how they play, how they communicate, what helps them settle, what throws them. That takes time, and the first few weeks are often spent figuring things out through trial and error.

You've already done a lot of that figuring out. Sharing some of it before day one means your child's teacher isn't starting from zero — they're starting from what you and your family already know.

Two ways to help your child's team get to know them

The easy one: All About Me Handout

We've put together a free "All About Me" printable — fill it in together as a family, by hand or digitally. It's designed to be quick and low-pressure, not another form. It covers things like:

What your child likes to be called, and what they love talking about
How they communicate, and what helps you understand them
What's tricky for them, and what helps them settle or join in
Sensory things to know — sounds, textures, movement they seek out or avoid

There's a spot for your speech pathologist's name too, so the school knows who else is part of your child's team if they want to reach out.

Download the Handout Here ->

Your child’s reports and assessments

If your child has existing reports — from a speech pathologist, OT, paediatrician, psychologist, or an NDIS plan — sharing these with the school can make a real difference, beyond just giving the teacher a fuller picture. Reports often shape the practical side of what a school can put in place, including, for some schools, how they access additional support or funding for your child.

In Victorian government schools, for example, the Disability Inclusion Profile process draws on exactly this kind of existing documentation to identify a student's strengths, needs, and the adjustments a school can make — and it directly informs additional funding allocated to support them. (Catholic and independent schools run their own processes, so it's worth asking your specific school what they need and when.)

The friction point we hear about most often from schools isn't families sharing too much — it's the opposite. Reports and diagnoses often only reach the school partway through the year, usually after something has already become a challenge in the classroom, rather than before. When a school has this information ahead of time, they can plan accommodations from day one instead of reactively putting in place supports once an issue has already surfaced.

This is still your call. Some families are comfortable sending everything they have. Others prefer to share select details, or talk it through with the school directly instead of handing over paperwork. Both are reasonable choices, and neither is required — the All About Me sheet on its own is genuinely useful even without any formal reports attached. But if you're weighing it up, this is usually where the extra effort pays off.

If you'd like a short summary written specifically for the school, ask your speech pathologist — this is something we can put together as part of your child's ongoing sessions.

How to actually send it

Ask the school's Prep transition coordinator or front office what they'd like to receive, and how (email, enrolment portal, or in person).
If the school runs transition or orientation sessions, bring a copy along — it's often an easy handover point.
Aim to send it a few weeks before term starts, so the teacher has time to read it before the first day rather than during it.

None of this is compulsory, and no single document changes how your child is welcomed on day one. But a bit of context, sent early, tends to save everyone — your child included — a few weeks of guesswork.