In one of his recent reports to inspectors of the Shenzhen Education Bureau, Yin Gang, chief of the Luohu District Education Bureau, introduced what the district has done to ensure a smooth transition for children from kindergarten to primary school.

According to Yin, Luohu has explored a set of kindergarten-primary school transition models over the past seven months in which primary schools should take the initiative to help kids adapt to their new teaching and learning environments. Previously, that burden largely fell on the shoulder of kindergartens.

Children may experience some tension and even anxiety in new primary school environments. So primary schools are encouraged to slow down their courses, make them easier, and avoid examinations and competitions in the first semester of grade one. At the same time, more group activities are expected to be organized to help cultivate children's feeling of belonging to the class and get them familiar with the new environment and classmates as quickly as possible.

The district started piloting its kindergarten-primary school transition trials in 30 primary schools in November last year. On June 17, 2021, the Luohu District Education Bureau held a seminar on their progress, during which experts provided some valuable suggestions. Those are now in part reflected in Luohu’s practices.

The reforms were carried out against the backdrop of central authorities requiring schools nationwide to reduce students’ study burdens on and off campus.