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Whole school approach to transitions in schools

Introduction to transitions

Click on the links to access information, guidance and resources that can be applied to a whole-school approach, including an an action plan.

Very brief ideas!

Try these 'quick wins' before thinking about anything else to get you started and see the difference you could make...

  • Identify a Transitions Lead to coordinate events and ensure that children and young people are kept at the heart of any planning around transitions.
  • Share appropriate information, advice, and guidance with families in ways which are accessible for all.
  • Consider how your curriculum supports transitions effectively through responding to cohort and individual needs, high quality resources and bridging projects.

Review

Audit tool

Use the whole-school approach action planning tool (Word doc) [937KB] to identify areas of good practice and identify areas for improvement. This tool will provide you with guidance and resources to ensure you achieve a measurable impact. If you need any bespoke support and guidance, we are happy to help and can be contacted at inclusionandsend@norfok.gov.uk.

How can we promote a more inclusive ethos and environment?

Your school / setting's curriculum, teaching and learning, relationships with families, policy and systems can all be designed in ways which support transitions effectively. It is key that transitions are not just considered at the time of transitions and are integrated into your approaches throughout the year.

Remember:

Children and young people should be able to 'see' themselves within the pictures, displays, and in relevant resources across the environment.

Representation is key for children and young people as they transition between schools / settings as it helps to foster a sense of belonging and value. 

Your school or setting should foster a welcoming and inclusive culture and ethos which places importance on belonging, celebrating individual strengths and promoting emotional well-being and positive mental health. This will support children and young people to reach their own unique potential.

All staff should understand how they play a role in supporting children and young people through transitions and this should be championed at a senior management level.

When transition arrangements are effective, children and young people should feel comfortable to develop new friendships, build their confidence and self-esteem, begin to engage with their learning and community, become familiar with new structures and routines and experience an appropriate level of challenge in their learning.

There should be clear processes in place around transitions underpinned by an understanding that nurturing relationships between staff and children and young people are key in supporting moves between settings.

  • Professional connections made between settings, including early years, to support relationships and in turn support better transitions for children and young people and their families
  • Good planning and good communication, including all relevant staff e.g. teachers, support staff, SENDCos, Designated teachers, EAL co-ordinators, Early Years practitioners, MSAs
  • Information sharing - Settings need to ensure that the right information about the needs of children and young people is shared, and that it is shared in a timely way to enable planning to take place. Information should be stored and shared in a secure and safe way, in line with GDPR requirements.
  • Transition lead in both settings; this may be the SENDCo, year leader or another senior leader:
    • Keep children and young person at centre of the planning around transition
    • Plan the transition with key time scales and actions
    • Understand the value in visiting children and young people at home (early years) / previous settings
    • Aim to organise transition days on the same dates as feeder settings
    • Involve families by providing them with appropriate information
    • Ensure families are given the opportunity to share their own views in good time and in accessible formats
  • Targeted and enhanced transition for those children and young people with additional needs or specific vulnerabilities such as being a young carer, being a child or young person in care, GRT, EAL, those with medical or mental health needs or safeguarding concerns
    • INTRAN can be used to support you in speaking with families who do not have a fluent level of English - this can offer them and their child a voice and ensure you fulfils duties under the Equalities Act and in terms of Safeguarding. Using an interpretation service like INTRAN can also support those families who may speak and understand English but are unable to or lacking confidence in asking the questions they need to.

See further guidance from Anna Freud - Mentally Healthy Schools on what your school or setting can do to support transitions as well as the Education Endowment Fund (EEF) who explain how schools and settings can tackle the challenge of supporting children and young people through times of change and transition and provide a transition tool.

What do leaders, managers and school governors need to know?

For a whole school or setting approach to be fully embedded, this must be supported at a strategic level, this is why having the support of your leadership team and governors is so important.

School managers and leaders 

  • Identify a "transition lead" who oversees and coordinates any formal transition process.
  • Identify all staff members who are involved in any formal transition process and ensure that each team member knows what their role is. 
  • Support the "transition team" to develop a transition timetable and process for transitions, including release time to visit previous settings, attend planning meetings and other necessary administrative support. 
  • Have oversight of cohorts, and children and young people with specific needs or vulnerabilities. 
  • Support in strategic planning of provision for children and young people with high needs or vulnerabilities. 
  • Support the facilitation of any child specific training that is needed to ensure all staff are prepared to welcome the children and young people in advance of them joining the setting. 
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of transitions processes with the transition team and adapt based on feedback from all stake holders, e.g. staff in receiving and previous setting, parents / carers and children and young people.

Governors 

  • Be aware of incoming cohorts and any changes in profile and consider what this means in terms of provision or support, teaching and learning, and staff training.
  • Be aware of transition processes and timescales.
  • Be aware of the transition process review.

Policy considerations

Some schools or settings have devised their own transition policy to set out clear guidance on how best to support children and young people as they move through different phases and into different settings. There is some further information on the Twinkl website and you can find many example transition policies online.

All educational settings must adhere to the Equality Act, 2010 which means that they must make 'reasonable adjustments' so as not to place any learners at a disadvantage. Settings should anticipate needs and make any reasonable adjustments in advance of transitions. This is supported by the following guidance/legislation:

Policies including behaviour (or relationships), safeguarding, anti-bullying and curriculum should be clear, up to date and meets the needs of the children and young people and families that they support as well as being informed by national guidance and legislation.

How do we collect children and young people's voices and empower them to lead activities?

Child and young person voice should be at the heart of everything we do and inform any decisions we make around transition planning and provision.

You may need to get creative with how you collect children and young people's voices! Reasonable adjustments could include chatting informally whilst eating lunch or during a kickabout!

During transition days, ensure that staff plan in activities to collect children and young people voice, such as the use of circle time, worry box, one-to-one conversations or feelings and wishes templates.

Some children and young people may not be able to verbalise their thoughts and feelings because of their age, stage, or additional needs. If this is a barrier to finding out how they feel, then other approaches can be used e.g. visuals, feelings faces, scaling charts, choice boards, etc. Please see resources on this "Identifying needs and promoting positive behaviours" padlet which can support to collect children and young people voice using a person-centred approach. For EAL children and young people such as refugee or asylum seeker children who have experienced little or no schooling or those educated in systems very different from our own, an interpretation service e.g. Language Line can be used in order to collect their voice.

Many settings plan transition focused child / young person voice surveys to help them to understand successes and areas of improvement, and to provide an opportunity for children and young people to raise any concerns to make things more effective. Questions may include:

  • What are you most looking forward to about moving to your next class, year, or setting?
  • What are you most worried about moving to your next class, year, or setting?
  • What would help you with these worries?
  • What worries and questions did you have before coming to this setting?
  • How did your transition help with these worries?
  • What would have made you feel more supported during the transition?

Person centred planning resources on this page can help to collect child or young person voice around transitions.

Participation and co-production best practice has some top tips around children and young people participation as well as signposting to participation resources and tools.

Collecting children and young people's voices should not be a standalone piece of work!

It should be planned effectively and used to inform provision and individual support.

 

What support can we signpost children and young people to?

For step-by-step guidance about how to support children and young people through transitions, please see guidance within these transition timelines.

See some resources below to signpost children and young people to:

What support can we signpost families to?

Working positively with families is key in supporting successful transitions. Transition support should be extended to families so they feel more confident and comfortable when guiding their children and young people through the transitions process. Consider the following when reviewing your current practice:

  • How are they supported when they join your school or setting? e.g. open days, video tour, photos of key staff, transition events (e.g. picnics or coffee mornings) etc?
  • Are they well informed with key information at the earliest point possible?
  • How are they supported to understand systems and processes including around transition?
  • What information can be 'drip fed' throughout the year about any upcoming transitions?
  • Which key information can be shared on your website? This could include video footage of key areas, interview with key staff, etc.
  • How soon can you start building relationships with families?
  • Can you host informal events e.g., coffee mornings to provide opportunities for families to build relationships with staff and other families?
  • Which families would value and benefit from being offered targeted or enhanced support? Which families could access support via the new School and Communities teams?

During the COVID-19 outbreak, many 'normal' transition activities were cancelled which in turn made some children and young people and families feel anxious about the prospect of starting a new school or setting without knowing what to expect. Whilst face to face transition work has returned, many children and young people and families would still benefit from virtual resources as an additional layer of support including virtual tours, meetings, and videos.

Please see some links to signpost families to below.

General

Early years and primary transition

Secondary aged transition

Further and higher education and preparing for adulthood transition

Information should be translated appropriately for those families who have English as an additional language (EAL; who may not be confident with English school transition procedures/systems) with additional considerations around those families who may need the information presented differently i.e. if the family have lower levels of literacy, then verbal information may be more helpful than written.

The Bell Foundation provides practical guidance documents for parents with EAL providing key information to help them to understand the English education system, including how to find a school place. The guidance is available in 22 of the most commonly used first languages in UK schools.

 

How can we support children and young people through the curriculum?

Our curriculums should be spiral and developmental, delivering age and stage appropriate content - transitions should be planned in ways which build on previous learning and skills, supporting curriculum continuity.

Skills developed through health and wellbeing education support children and young people to manage transitions and other changes.

Early Years settings use personal, social and emotional development to ensure the wider curriculum enables children and young people to develop independence, resilience, perseverance, self-regulation and relationship building.

Schools / settings can help children and young people develop emotional and social skills from the start of their education. These skills will help children and young people prepare and cope with change by focusing on how to recognise and manage thoughts and feelings, build resilience, and also learn how to problem-solve.The statutory Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education curriculum includes topics which are relevant to highlight for transitions.

Provision and curriculum should be developed based on your cohort needs and should adapt as you have new children and young people join.

 

Supporting resources

General

  • EPSS has developed a number of helpful resources, webinars and practical tips around transitions titled 'Resources for My New School'.
  • NCC - SEND transition resources.
  • Public Health England, in collaboration with teachers, have developed this "Dealing with change lesson plan pack" (with lesson plan, PowerPoint and accompanying videos) to explore the expected and unexpected changes people may face in their lives, and help children and young people learn strategies for managing change.

Early years

Primary to secondary

  • Public Health England, in collaboration with teachers, have developed this "Transition to secondary school lesson plan pack" (with PowerPoint and accompanying video) which helps to explore the challenges that can arise with the transition from primary to secondary school, and helps children and young people identify strategies for managing the change.
  • Mentally Healthy Schools have developed an animation and teacher toolkit called "Moving Up! The transition to secondary school" which aims to support children and young people to identify worries about starting secondary school, talk to someone if they have concerns and identify solutions and strategies for looking after their mental health, including self-care.

KS3 and KS4

  • Young Minds has developed a resource called "Transitioning from school to further education" containing advice and practical tips to support school staff in preparing their students for the transition from school to further education.
  • The Careers and Enterprise Company has a resource pack which provides support, materials and practical tips to teachers and other educational professionals to secure good transitions into the next stage of education and or employment for Key Stage 4 children and young people with SEND.

You can also find book lists which support discussions around transitions on the Books for Topics website.

Curriculum continuity

Where possible, curriculums should be planned in ways which bridge between transitions and support continuity. Here are some suggestions:

  • Plan curriculum 'bridging projects' that begin in the last part of the summer term and continue in the first part of the autumn term
  • Joint planning and joint moderation of work between key stages and year groups can help to develop greater curriculum continuity
  • Setting holiday 'projects' on a theme can help to engage children and young people in learning throughout the summer break.

Read this Education Endowment Fund blog which explores how bridging projects can address a number of transition challenges.

Alternative provision, wraparound care etc

It is also important to consider how transitions are managed in and out of other provisions including after school clubs, wraparound care, managed moves or alternative provision placements such as SRBs. Drawing up an agreement, sharing individual child or young person plans and your school or setting's approach to transition can help with consistency.

How can we support staff awareness, confidence and skills?

To be able to support children and young people effectively, we as staff must feel confident in our own knowledge and skills. Please see below some training and CPD opportunities:

General

Early years

SEND specific

Specific to children in care or previously in care

Specific to refugee children and young people

What do I need to record and report?

The process of transition requires clear and efficient recording and reporting processes. Most settings use electronic systems for recording safeguarding information and sharing relevant information at transition points such as CPOMS.

In early transition discussions, ensure parental permission is sought before sharing information between settings.

Keeping Children Safe in Education states 'where children leave the school or college (including in year transfers) the designated safeguarding lead should ensure their child protection file is transferred to the new school or college as soon as possible, and within 5 days for an in-year transfer or within the first 5 days of the start of a new term. The designated safeguarding lead should also consider if it would be appropriate to share any additional information with the new school or college in advance of a child leaving to help them put in place the right support to safeguard this child and to help the child thrive in the school or college.'

With common systems, the transfer of confidential information is quicker and easier to manage. For more information about transferring of safeguarding files please see "Guidance for Schools & Colleges: Child Protection Record Keeping and the Transfer of Child Protection Records" on Safeguarding forms and templates.

For early years settings, the Supporting Transition and Inclusion Record (STAIR) is available to use, as an NCC online form or as a Word document. The STAIR has been designed to enable smooth transitions, which recognise children's emotional needs, what help they might need and to capture each child or young person's uniqueness.

Collecting information like this from the child or young person's family is the start of that home-setting relationship and is an opportunity for families to feel as though their voices are being heard and wishes being taken seriously.

Identification of needs descriptors in educational settings (INDES) are a key tool for transition. Completing an INDES for children and young people can help accurately identify need, this information can then be shared with the next setting so that they can plan appropriate support and provision for that children and young people ahead of their arrival.

For any children or young people that have additional plans such as the following, these must also be shared with the next setting:

  • One-page profiles
  • SEN support plans
  • Emergency plans (young carers)
  • Individual health care plans
  • Information around additional languages spoken and cultural/educational background
  • Boxall online profile screenings / other screenings relevant to children and young people's needs
  • Behaviour Support Plans / Risk Assessments
  • Professional reports

For children or young people where there are safeguarding concerns, transfer of information should be handled sensitively. Please see Guidance for Schools & Colleges: Child Protection Record Keeping and the Transfer of Child Protection Records (Word doc) [197KB].

It is important to then consider and plan how the information gathered through transition will be used e.g. to plan teaching approaches, organise individual support and resources familiar to the child or young person from previous setting, plan stay and plays, bespoke family events, etc

FAQs

How can I support specific cohorts of children and young people through transitions e.g. EAL, GRT, SEND, young carers?

There are some groups of children and young people who may need additional support during transitions. We have developed some guidance around how you can develop welcome packs for these children and young people.

We have also developed several One Minute Guides on a number of topics to help schools and settings access key information and signposting quickly and efficiently.

How can I support children and young people who are transitioning at different times or for different reasons e.g. transitioning as part of a managed move or into an SRB?

These types of transitions will often need a higher level of support. We have developed some guidance around how you can develop welcome packs and support children and young people through these types of transitions.

I have a child who really struggled on transition day. What can I do?

Transition events leading up to a move are important in helping children and young people get to know their new setting and understand the changes that will happen but they do not always go to plan!

You may have an individual or group of children and young people who do not engage with the events or who display behaviours that challenge. It is important to reflect on why it did not go as planned and the needs that might be behind that. Then consider what different approach may be needed:

  • Do other agencies need to be contacted e.g. SEMH and transitions or Learning and SEND team for further support?
  • What are the child or young person's views? Speak to them - what do they think? What would help them?
  • How could you adapt your plans for the next transition day to better meet this child or young person's current needs?

If you'd like further support for this child or young person, please contact us:

  • If you have a child or young person at imminent risk of permanent exclusion, please contact our helpline: 01603 307736, Monday - Friday 9am-4.30pm. 
  • For all other cases, please make a referral to the Inclusion and SEND team, by completing this Inclusion and SEND referral form. 
  • If your query relates to training, please email the training mailbox: sendandinclusiontraining@norfolk.gov.uk 
  • If your query relates to Element 3 funding, please email the Element 3 funding mailbox: element3funding@norfolk.gov.uk 

 

I have a child who I think is struggling with a recent transition. What should I do?

Once a child or young person has joined you, there are a few things to look out for which may suggest they are struggling with their transition to a new phase of education:

  • Struggles to make friends
  • Doesn't feel that they belong
  • Has ongoing difficulties coping with daily routines
  • Increased number of absences
  • Presenting with behaviours that challenge or harm
  • Making slower than expected progress or showing a lack of interest in learning

If you notice any of these, consider how you can adapt the support that the child or young person is receiving. Before doing this, take steps to understand what might be behind the difficulties you are seeing e.g. learning needs, worries with friends, etc. Speaking with the child or young person's family is also important in trying to understand what is happening for the child or young person.

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