It’s the first day of “big school” and your child is clinging to your leg at the school gate, bawling their eyes out. You’re perplexed. The weeks leading up to this day were filled with excitement and anticipation; school supplies were sourced and labelled, uniforms were tried on with glee. Your child has been going to daycare for years and is used to the concept of a drop-off. But today something is off, and as you look around to other parents dealing with the same separation woes, you realise you’re not alone.

The transition from daycare to big school is not always a smooth one, no matter how much we plan for it. A recent survey by early learning educators Young Academics revealed that 72% of parents fear their kids aren’t prepared for school, and that 42% of parents found their child struggled in the transition from daycare to big school. To address this, Young Academics partnered with The Wiggles to enhance their curriculum with music-based resources to help children develop confidence, emotional resilience and creative and scholarly skills.

But is this a viable approach, and can it be applied more broadly?

Yes, says Dr Steffen A Herff, the leader of the Sydney Music, Mind, and Body Lab at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, the........

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