Starting a new school can be quite daunting for children starting Reception. At Westbourne, we have recently created a new buddy system to help some of our youngest pupils settle into life at school. Year 6 children are paired with a pupil from Reception and they work hard to make them feel safe during the year. Most of the buddy work is done outside in the playground at lunchtime, where you can see Year 6 children initiating and joining in play with their buddies. As well as spending lunchtimes together, they have engaged in other activities. Once a week, they spend time together reading books in our library. Also, they have shared pizza parties, silent discos and they performed an amazing nativity performance at Christmas.
Our Year 6 buddies have helped build the confidence of reception children; it has also benefited our Year 6 pupils as they have been able to use and build on different skills through this responsbilility.
