Home visits for all!

“Do you remember when you came to my house?” I was asked by a Year 6 pupil, seven years after the visit. I absolutely did remember. The child and their parent/carer had made me fairy cakes with blue icing, and I was taken on a tour of the garden to see their new trampoline. It wasn’t the first time I had met the child, but it was clearly an important enough meeting for this child to remember at 11 years old as they were starting their next big transition to secondary school.

Over the years, there has been a decline in the number of schools facilitating home visits as part of their transition procedures for valid reasons. The impact of the pandemic exacerbated this further, and it seems to be an area that is yet to fully recover. I am therefore on a mission to bring back home visits for all nursery and reception starters by exploring some of the barriers and ways to mitigate them.

Time constraints

Where schools are facing challenges with staffing and recruitment, trying to cover any time away from the classroom is difficult. As with everything in school, forward planning is key. Keep transition on the agenda all year, not just in July and September as this is too late and puts a lot of pressure on everyone.

• Put transition events on the whole school calendar so that everyone is aware of them.
• Consider restricting school trips on the days where home visits are planned to be carried out to ensure sufficient adults are available in school.
• Give enough notice to any adults that might be required to cover in EYFS and remember to check ratios and qualifications for covering nursery classes.
• Consider using non-contact time to facilitate the visits (PPA, subject leader, management time etc) or using INSET days.
• Consider carrying out home visits for nursery children moving to reception in the summer term and for all new starters at the beginning of the autumn term.

Safety concerns

In some cases, schools have indicated that carrying out home visits might not be safe. If we are concerned with the safety of our staff being in the home then we should be just as, if not more, concerned about the safety of the children. Whilst schools offer opportunities for children and families to visit the school through induction meetings, stay and play sessions and other transition events, what about the families that do not access any of this? How are you ensuring the safety of the children?

• Ensure risk assessments are in place for every home visit and make adaptations for individual situations as required.
• Ensure two people carry out home visits. This may usually be the class teacher and teaching assistant. However, if there are concerns it may be appropriate to have a member of the senior leadership team accompany the teacher instead.
• Conduct doorstop/garden visits and insist on seeing the child. You might consider organising a series of shorter visits to bring resources to the family to support transition.
• Consider finding a more neutral ground to meet, such as a local library or family centre.

Children already in nursery

As someone whose background is in teaching mixed aged classes, I can honestly say that no two home visits are the same, even for the same child! There is no harm in offering a home visit to families that are already accessing EYFS provision at your school, but you may find that not offering it has a detrimental impact.

• Offer a home visit to all families moving from nursery to reception.
• Take the opportunity to build relationships as the new teacher, especially if you have separate nursery and reception classes.
• Use the home visit to inform parents/carers of how to best support their child with transition through the summer. 

I remember the home visits I have participated in with fondness and privilege. I recognise that I am lucky to have not faced any seriously challenging situations but know that home visits can be invaluable for ensuring the safety of children as well as enabling a more successful start to school. Offering a home visit to every family gave me a more realistic view of their daily life and made me reflect on the provision I put in place for when they started.

If you would like further guidance with developing your transition procedures, the HFL Education Supporting Smooth Transitions toolkit is available with a wealth of resources that can be used to supplement your school’s transition.