Orientation to School 
Professor Bob Perry
00:00 – 02:40
I'm Bob Perry. I'm a Professor of Education at Charles Sturt University, in the School of Education on the Albury-Wodonga campus. My research partner Sue Dockett and I have 10 students between us, who are mainly working on the areas of transition to school. 
In 1999 we devised a set of 10 guidelines for successful transition programs. One of those guidelines said orientation is not transition. They're different things. In fact orientation is part of a transition program. 
What is the timeframe for orientation to school?
You can deal with orientation fairly quickly. I think you can have a couple of sessions at school where the children get a school tour; they get to find out where the library is, the sick bay is really important to the children, the toilets are important and different and they need a bit of coaching around those, [the] tuck shop, Principal's office, bus lines and those sorts of things - depending on the context. 
For parents, what time do I have to have my child at school? My child went to day care and then to school. In day care, I could get him there any time after seven o'clock in the morning, as long as I picked him up at six o'clock at night that was fine. At school, I had a 15 minute window when I could drop him off, and if I wasn't there right on three o'clock, then all hell broke loose. 
What is the timeframe for transition to school?
Transition finishes when we feel everyone belongs in the place. Transition might begin for a child very early in the piece. They might have a sibling going to school, and so they become interested in school. As soon as they start talking or even showing an interest (if they can't talk) that's when transition begins. The very best time to deal with matters like that are when the children start asking about them. So it could be a very long time.