ABSTRACT
By the time children start school they have already received strong messages about themselves, other people and the world. They form their initial sense of themselves and how they are perceived as people from within the family, and this can be either positive or negative. A child’s internal rule book is developed early, along with their template of how to build and manage relationships. The family models ways of managing feelings that provide children with experiences that they bring to school and use in their daily life. All of this occurs within the family, which can be seen as the child’s first classroom. The more information that school staff are provided about a child’s background and experiences (while maintaining any necessary confidentiality issues), the better equipped they are to respond to the child’s needs.
