Ask ten parents what “school ready” means and you will probably get ten different answers.

Knowing letters.

Counting to 20.

Writing their name.

Holding a pencil properly.

Sitting still for more than three minutes without turning the chair into playground equipment.

But Peterborough Family Hubs is trying to make the whole idea a bit less intimidating.

Its Ready Steady Grow campaign focuses much more on the ordinary things children do every day before they start school.

Things like:

• getting dressed
•  
• using cutlery
•  
• listening to a simple instruction
•  
• taking turns
•  
• asking questions
•  
• playing alongside other children
•  
• coping when somebody else gets the blue cup
•  

In other words, the stuff that does not look academic but makes a huge difference once Reception starts.

Because school readiness is not really about turning your kitchen table into a classroom.

It is about helping a child become a bit more confident, a bit more independent and a bit more comfortable around other people.

That can happen in very normal ways.

Helping make lunch.

Putting shoes on.

Going to the park.

Talking to somebody new.

Packing a little bag.

Waiting while somebody else has a turn.

Choosing clothes.

Tidying up after an activity.

None of that needs flash cards.

Peterborough’s campaign is aimed at children from birth to five and brings together Family Hub support and play-based activities.

The wider aim is to help more children reach a Good Level of Development by the end of Reception.

There is also a Play Charter for local organisations, built around giving children safe and inclusive places to play.

But for parents, the biggest reassurance may be much simpler.

You do not need to turn the summer before Reception into a crash course.

A lot of the things children need are already being learned in ordinary family life.

And now a question for parents who have already been through it:

What is the one thing you wish your child had been more confident doing before their first week at school?

Getting dressed?

Using the toilet independently?

Opening lunch boxes?

Talking to adults?

Making friends?

Waiting their turn?

That is probably the advice this year’s new Reception parents really want.