Early childhood education is a fundamental learning stage where children can build their basic and academic skills. As per Pangestuti et al. (2018), in this stage, students will build skills for life, such as communication, cognitive skills, social interaction, motor skills, and self-recognition and regulation. A meta-analysis by Duncan et al. (2007) demonstrated how acquiring early math, reading, writing, and attention skills can significantly predict better students’ academic achievements in math and reading up to grade five (Jozsa et al., 2022). As early as we start preparing our students for school, this will reflect positively on their readiness and reduce the need for differentiated interventions in the upcoming grades (Le Gall, 2019). This highlighted the crucial role of early childhood education and emphasised the role of building students' readiness and its impact on future grades. To support school and student readiness, adopting transformational leadership practices based on transformational leadership theory can be the power of change (Farran, 2011). Transformational leadership promotes organisational readiness through collaboration and innovation and facilitates an adaptive school culture (Alboroto et al., 2024). Despite the efforts to support early childhood education (ECE), there is still a gap at both the literature and the practice levels in building the school and students' readiness within the local context. This study aims to investigate the impact of transformational leadership practices on building school and student readiness, facilitating smooth transitions, and how building the capacity of the stakeholders can support overcoming any possible challenges. The study employed a qualitative methodology, collecting data through semi-structured interviews with nine school leaders, a focus group of 5 ECE educators and an analysis of school documents. The data was analysed using thematic coding. The primary findings revealed that a shared individualised school vision which meets the school's needs and aligns with the UAE vision is crucial to building school and students ' readiness on solid grounds. The leaders are practising and show transformational leadership traits. However, most are unaware of the leadership style, which calls for professional development for the leadership team to improve their knowledge capacity. There is a gap in the partnership between preschools, kindergartens and school curricula, affecting the smooth transition of students. An alignment of the curricula is recommended. The participants expressed awareness about the importance of building students' and school readiness. They requested support, professional development for teaching staff, and collaboration with all stakeholders to improve school practices.

References: refer to the research paper

Keywords: Early Childhood Education, Motivation, Transformational Leadership, Building Readiness, Curriculum Alignment, Professional Development, Partnership, Qualitative Methodology.