'Let a Child Be a Child' | Trish Abreu, Head of Early Years at Alleyn's Hampstead on School Readiness, Settling-In Tears & Why Flashcards Aren't the Answer

This week Georgia Jones sits down with Trish Abreu, Head of Early Years at Alleyn's Hampstead, for an honest chat about the early years: nursery, reception, and those all-important first steps into school life.

Trish gets real about what "school readiness" actually means (spoiler: it's not knowing your alphabet at two), why so much of a child's anxiety is really the parent's, and the settling-in truth nobody tells you: that there's no such thing as a perfect one, and it can take far longer than a couple of weeks.

Then it gets practical: the flashcards-versus-real-world debate, using London as your classroom, why bombarding your child with "how was your day?" makes them shut down, and the little girl who didn't speak for a whole year and what was really going on.

Plus your listener questions answered: quiet at nursery but chatty at home, tears and fussy eating at drop-off, the questions nobody thinks to ask on a nursery tour, and how the conversation goes if the school spots something you haven't.

Grab a cuppa and get comfy.

A Create Podcast

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