Starting school is a big step for the whole family.
First child or third, Prep changes the rhythm of your home.
New routines, new faces, new tiredness at 3.30pm. We work alongside families through the move into school with simple, powerful strategies that fit inside the week you already have, so your child walks in feeling seen and you start the year with confidence and clarity.
As seen on the Today Show and in The Daily Telegraph 路 TEDx 路 Interviewed at the Sydney Opera House
See the Child: a parent guide to the moments that change everything
Simple, powerful strategies, free to download. Every strategy fits inside the day you already have, and it is a lovely place to begin before the first bell.
What parents tell us in the first weeks of school
"They held it together all day, then fell apart in the car."
That moment is not a step backwards. It is a child who finally feels secure enough to let go, and there is a lot you can do with it.
"Mornings feel like a race nobody wins."
A few small changes to the first ten minutes of the day can change how the whole day goes.
"We both work. How do we know what is really happening at school?"
Simple ways to stay connected to their day, even when pick up is a rush and the evening is short.
"The little one is home, the big one has started, and everyone is feeling it."
Siblings move through this change too. We plan for the whole family, not one child in isolation.
"It is our first. We don't know what we don't know."
What to expect, what is normal in the first term, and what helps, before the first bell rings.
"This is our third, so why does it feel new again?"
Every child, and every season of family life, starts school differently. That is normal, and it is workable.
Small moments. Real change.
Our work is relational. It sits in the micro moments of an ordinary day: the greeting at the gate, the tone at 5pm, the repair after a hard bedtime. There is no blame here and nothing extra added to a full life, only achievable strategies that make the week you already have work better for everyone in it.
Three ways to begin, this term
The Starting School Bundle
Our complete parent program and our starting school module, packaged together for families moving into Prep. Short, practical lessons you can watch over the summer holidays and come back to all year.
- The Connection Advantage Parent Edition: Parent Code. Twelve short modules covering the moments that build connection, with reflection sheets and quote cards.
- The Connection Advantage Parent Edition: The Big Step into School. Connection, predictability and emotional security for the move into school.
- The Everyday Connection Card deck, as a digital download.
- Instant access the moment you enrol.
Today Show 路 TEDx 路 Sydney Opera House
The Family Compass: your 90 day Family Blueprint
For families who want a plan made with them, not for them. We work alongside you and your child through the whole transition, from the summer holidays into the first weeks of Prep. Together we map your family's week, roles and routines, look at what the change means for siblings, working parents and the juggle at home, and build the next 90 days around it.
- A written Family Connection Blueprint for your family
- Fortnightly strategy sessions with Jess
- WhatsApp voice or text between sessions, with a reply within 48 hours on business days
- An in person half day at home, plus full access to Parent Code
Email Jess
Not sure what your family needs yet? Send a few lines about your child and your family. We will reply personally, point you to the right place to start, and send you See the Child, our free parent guide.
Have a school family code?
Your school shared a code with you on your Prep information flyer. It gives your family the school family rate on the Starting School Bundle and priority review of Family Compass applications. It is open until Friday 18 December, the last day of Term 4, because the summer holidays are the window to start, so your family walks into Term 1 with a plan.
Jess Robertson
Jess is the founder of Journey Together and the creator of The Connection Advantage Method. For more than 25 years she has worked alongside children, families and schools across Australia and New Zealand, beginning her career as an early childhood educator. She holds a Master's in relational psychology.
Today she partners with schools across Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, supports working parents through workplaces around Australia, and advises technology companies in Australia, the USA and Europe on child development and child safety. She is also a parent herself, and knows the first year of school from both sides of the gate.
Recognised across education, national media and live stages
Ready, set, Prep! Summer school readiness program
Prefer your child to practise in a real classroom before the first day? Our small group summer program runs in December and January with Felicity Cramp (Flourish Intervention and Support) and school leader Peta Sanders, and includes access to The Big Step into School for parents.
"When I've got family stopping me in the car park and saying their work with you is life changing, that's a fairly heavy endorsement."Assistant Principal at a Victorian primary school where Jess works with students, families and staff
Start the summer with a plan, and start Prep together.
Your school family rate on the Starting School Bundle is open until Friday 18 December. Enrol now and you can begin the first lesson tonight.
Enrol with my school family codeAs seen on the Today Show and in The Daily Telegraph 路 TEDx 路 Interviewed at the Sydney Opera House
Questions? Email jess@jessrobertson.com.au
