Personalised book for starting Year One: your child Starts Year One

What happens in your child Starts Year One

1. Your child puts on their uniform for the first day of Year One.
2. A new classroom has new tables, trays and a place for coats.
3. Your child learns the Year One morning routine with the teacher.
4. At lunchtime, your child chats and shares a playground game.
5. Your child heads home proud of everything they now know.

How the first page could read

Your child checked their uniform one more time. It was the same school, with the same gate and playground, but today was not quite the same. Today, your child was starting Year One. There would be a new classroom, a new teacher and some new things to learn. Your child took a steady breath and went in.

Your child’s name, look and little details replace these words, and the whole story is written for their age.

Why this story works

Moving from Reception into Year One can feel exciting and slightly uncertain, even when the school building is familiar. This story gives your child a clear, reassuring picture of that change: a new classroom layout, a different place for belongings, a morning task, lunchtime conversation and playtime. Rather than making the day about one big worry, it shows how small actions help a child settle in. Seeing their own face and name at the centre of the story makes the details feel especially relevant. It is a useful read in the final weeks of Reception, over the summer, or the evening before the first day back.

Reading it together

• Read it together before the first day and pause to talk about what may be the same or new at your child's school.
• Invite your child to point out the routine in the story they feel most ready to try.
• Read it again after the first week and let your child compare the book's day with their own.

Suggested art style: Storybook watercolour

Soft storybook watercolour makes familiar school spaces feel warm, clear and approachable. A sidekick idea: a small robin who notices each new Year One clue. You can pick any of the four styles and change the details in the form.