Take Your Marks: School Readiness Groups
Starting school is a big and exciting step. There are new routines to learn, new people to meet, new expectations to understand and a whole lot of “big kid” skills to practise along the way.
Take Your Marks is our school readiness group program for children preparing to start Prep/Foundation. The program is designed to help children build confidence with the everyday skills that support a positive transition to school, all within a fun, supportive and play-based group environment.
Run by our experienced Speech Pathologists and Occupational Therapists, Take Your Marks uses an evidence-based, therapist-written program to support children as they practise skills for learning, communication, participation and independence.
What is school readiness?
School readiness is about much more than knowing letters and numbers. While early literacy and pre-writing skills can be helpful, children also need opportunities to practise the routines, expectations and social demands of a classroom environment.
Take Your Marks supports children to build skills such as:
- joining in with group activities
- listening and following instructions
- taking turns and participating with other children
- managing transitions between activities
- building attention and flexible thinking
- developing confidence with fine motor and pre-writing tasks
- communicating their ideas, needs and feelings
- increasing independence with everyday routines
- understanding classroom-style expectations
- practising regulation skills in a group setting.
These are the kinds of skills children use every day at school, from sitting on the mat and joining a group activity, to opening their lunchbox, asking for help, coping when plans change and having a go at table-top tasks.
How the program works
Before joining Take Your Marks, each child completes a school readiness screening. This helps us understand their strengths, support needs and the type of group environment that will help them participate most successfully.
Children are then recommended for the group that best matches their needs. All Take Your Marks groups follow the same core school readiness syllabus, but group size, activity delivery, scaffolding and facilitator support may vary.
This means children work on the same important school readiness skills, but with the right level of support to help them feel comfortable, included and successful.
A play-based approach to school readiness
Children learn best when they are engaged, curious and having fun. Take Your Marks uses playful, practical and meaningful activities to help children practise school readiness skills in ways that make sense to them.
Activities may include stories, games, movement, craft, fine motor tasks, group challenges, pretend play, turn-taking activities and simple classroom routines.
Behind the fun, children are practising the building blocks they need for school, including communication, attention, independence, regulation, motor planning and participation.
Led by Speech Pathologists and Occupational Therapists
Take Your Marks is developed and facilitated by qualified Speech Pathologists and Occupational Therapists.
Our Speech Pathologists support areas such as communication, understanding instructions, using language in group activities, social communication and early classroom participation.
Our Occupational Therapists support areas such as fine motor skills, pre-writing foundations, regulation, attention, independence, self-care, transitions and participation in everyday routines.
Together, these areas are important for helping children feel more ready for the demands of school.
Supporting families at home
Families are an important part of the school readiness journey.
After each group session, families receive a short follow-up email explaining:
- what we worked on that week
- why the skill is important for starting school
- simple ways to keep practising at home.
The ideas are designed to be practical and achievable, using play and everyday routines rather than complicated homework tasks. Think lunchboxes, books, games, getting dressed, playground visits and those tiny daily moments that secretly do a lot of heavy lifting.
Who is Take Your Marks for?
Take Your Marks may be suitable for children who are preparing to start Prep/Foundation and would benefit from extra practice with the skills that support a confident transition to school.
This may include children who need support with:
- joining group activities
- following instructions
- sitting, listening and attending
- interacting with peers
- managing transitions
- building independence
- developing fine motor or pre-writing skills
- coping with change
- participating in structured routines
- feeling confident in a group environment.
Take Your Marks is not an individual therapy program and does not replace individual speech pathology or occupational therapy. It is a school readiness group program designed to give children supported opportunities to practise important skills with other children.
Preparing for Prep/Foundation with confidence
Starting school is a milestone for the whole family. Take Your Marks helps children practise the everyday skills that can make that transition feel smoother, more familiar and a little less mysterious.
Our goal is to help children step towards school feeling more confident, capable and ready to participate.
To join our Take Your Marks School Readiness groups, contact our lovely reception team or fill out the Request Appointment form.