ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the relationships during the two phases of adjustment. The first phase, phase 3, is the term after the children have moved into the reception class; the autumn term. The following phase, phase 4, comprises of the spring and summer terms of the reception year. Findings suggest as the children move closer to the curriculum transition, there is a shift from supporting children’s adjustment to school to preparing them for the curriculum transition. The emphasis on the preparations for academic learning lead to the qualities of the relationships generally becoming distant or dominant. However, in both these contexts findings suggest the qualities of the relationships between parents and ECEC practitioners remained as a utopian relationship, whereas the qualities of the relationships between the other groups changed. The chapter ends by summarising the qualities of the relationships between parents, ECEC practitioners and teachers during the four phases of the transition.
