"School readiness is not a problem we should be tackling at school but from birth".

Last week saw the annual publication of the YouGov and Kindred Squared School readiness report. You can read it here

It made sober reading. "On average, teachers report that almost half the children in their Reception classes (46%) were not developmentally 'school ready' on entry to reception."

You might be asking, well what has that got to do with me? I haven't even had my baby yet, or my baby isn't yet two surely we aren't thinking about school already are we?

Well, as the quote above from the Kindred Squared report says, getting your child ready to thrive in school starts from the earliest of days.

Those tiny things you do every day with your bump, baby or toddler are all forming the foundations for success for your baby when they arrive at school.

Of course, it's not just about academics, in order to thrive in life we need to be really well-rounded. We need to be able to run, jump, play, giggle, write, read, be creative and so much more

So by reception year (the year your child turns 5) we need our children to be able to:

~play with others at a level that is developmentally right

~turn take and share

~dress and toilet themselves (remember this is by reception year)

~eat independently

~have strong language foundations so they can articulate their needs and understand what is being said to them, they need to be able to follow simple instructions so they can access the learning that is being offered to them.

~hold a pencil, recognise some letters and numbers and be familiar with some nursery rhymes

so that they can access the learning and thrive at school.

All the tiny playful adventures we do in the Oliiki app, build tiny bits of the skills your child is going to need in order to be school ready. None of the school readiness things listed above just happen overnight, they happen through tiny developments and experiences that we give our babies every day from before birth onwards.

You might think that singing Old MacDonald with your baby is nothing, but actually, it's giving them a strong foundation on which they can build to become school ready and fly.

You might think having a play date with another child while they are just babies is pointless, but it is in these tiny moments of lying together and watching the other baby that our child is able to begin to build their social foundations, likewise the time they spend playing and interacting with you.

As The Princess of Wales pointed out to us last week in her #Shapingus campaign "our early childhood shapes the adults we become".

So if all you did today was change a nappy and sing a song, go for a walk, or chat with your baby, know that each one of those activities is building your baby's brain.

It's helping them to take a tiny step towards being school ready, towards shaping the adult they will become.

The activities might seem simple and pointless to you, but to your baby, they are the foundations of all the things that are to come. When we unpick the learning that your baby gains from the play you are doing it's HUGE.

The oliiki app supports you on that journey it shows you not only what to do each day in order to build those foundational blocks to allow your baby to thrive, but it also shows you the learning they are gaining from the play that you are doing which makes you feel fabulous!

Never underestimate how amazing spending a playful moment with your baby is!