Being school ready is not about having a child who can already read the works of Shakespeare or knows all their timetables before the age of five. Of course, it’s great if they can demonstrate some ability to read and write. However, school readiness is connected more with a child’s ability to cope and succeed in this new and significant step in their life. It relates to their emotional maturity, their cognitive development and the extent of their social skills that will support them as they transition from preschool to school.
The Good Level of Development (GLD) is used to understand how well adjusted a child is for school. At the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage, children are defined as having reached a GLD if they have achieved the expected level in the early learning goals in areas such as personal social and emotional development, physical development and communication and language, as well as specific areas of mathematics and literacy.
Certain markets such as the new baby market are a prime focus of companies designing the next ‘much have’ item for parents and grandparents to be. With families spending an average of £1645 in the lead-up to having a baby, it is understandable that this has become a focal point for businesses wanting to make a mark for themselves in this multibillion-pound industry.
However, school readiness is an area that is often overlooked by product designers and is arguably just as important, if not more important, than the newborn stage. In a report created by Public Health England in 2015, a case was put forward regarding the benefits of increased investment in school readiness.
Looking globally, the United States is leading the way in understanding the importance of school readiness. The School Readiness Act was passed to help children from low-income families get the support they need, in order to make them ready for school. With over 221,711 children in Florida alone actively partaking in school readiness programs, it is clear there is a versatile and lucrative market that is in its relative infancy. With increased awareness surrounding the need for school readiness, this is the ideal time for bringing to market products aimed at supporting school readiness.
Here at Fundamentally Children, we have the experience and expertise to help you to make the very best version of your product.
We have a wide selection of services that we can tailor to suit your needs. If you have an app or a toy that needs testing, we are well positioned to do this. With our reputation for being experts in both child development and toy production reaching across the globe, we are well placed to test your products’ suitability in both the European and American markets.
For group feedback, we are able to conduct focus groups at our base in Hitchin, UK where we can gain direct insight into the likeability, usability and readiness to buy any product that we test. With our access to a wide participant pool, we are able to recruit individuals from a specific target population, to ensure clients gain the best insight into their product. Our experience of working with children allows us to design a testing setting that is appropriate for the age of the child, whilst still delivering the desired insight into the product being tested. Although the views of the child are imperative when testing the likeability of a product, particularly in the area of school readiness, the views of the parents are equally important. After all, it is the parents who have the overall decision as to whether they would be willing to purchase a product. Our team of experts are able to work directly with the parents within a group setting to understand their views and opinions in an unbiased and reliable way, delivering a well-rounded and complete evaluation of the tested product.
Similar to the focus groups, we are able to conduct interviews in our comfortable and welcoming play setting in Hitchin, UK. However, our interview packages deliver the option to take advantage of our global connections, with virtual interviews meaning that insight into your product can be gathered from around the world. Whether you are designing a product for America or Europe, we can support you in gaining unbiased and detailed insight into the strengths of your products as well as areas for improvement.
Following on from the testing of your product we are able to offer accreditation and endorsement of your product.
With our reputation as the market leaders in both child development and experts in play, our accreditation delivers the opportunity to demonstrate to both parents and service providers, that your product is worthy of investment and will support children in their preparation for school.
School readiness is a highly important and currently overlooked market within the child development and toy industry.
With increasing acknowledgement across the globe that there is a need for improved funding and investment being given to this underdeveloped area, there has never been a better time to enter the market.
We at FUNdamentally Children have both the expertise and the knowledge to support you in ensuring that your product is industry ready and successful across the globe.
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