Managing the transition from secondary to primary: part 2

The transition between primary and secondary school can result in academic discontinuity as well as undue anxiety for the students involved. There are working ideas for teachers to employ to help to remove this 'longstanding weakness' (Ofsted 2002) of our education system. These may be of interest to teachers involved in the transition of pupils.

The transition class

Be mindful of what is going on for the children in a transition class. Try to understand and listen to their concerns and anxieties. At the end of Year 6 we should know what they're looking forward to and what they are sad about, what they're concerned about and excited about. One primary teacher suggested that pupils should be encouraged to collect their personal memorabilia in a scrapbook. As well as looking backward, this can help them to look forward.

• Create opportunities where pupils can talk about what it's like to be in their new school, not just in the first week or two but also throughout the terms. It is important learning for children to realise that it is OK for them to feel nervous and anxious about changes in their lives and too often we can dismiss these.
• Explore the possibility of enabling support staff to work with pupils, especially those with special educational needs, for half of Year 6 and then taking them through into the first half of Year 7. This involves extensive collaboration between feeder and receiving schools but is done successfully in some areas.
• Consider methods of helping children to understand the differences between teaching methods at Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3.
• Primary and secondary schools could tell each other about particularly good practice regarding transition. This is especially helpful when high numbers of primary schools feed into a secondary school.

Effective transfer arrangements

The Ofsted Report, Changing Schools: Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Transfer Arrangements at 11, cited examples of good practice in social and pastoral induction during the transition from primary to secondary school. These included:

• The sending of newsletters from the secondary school to inform Year 6 pupils and their teachers of the events and activities organised in Key Stage 3
• A 'moving on' booklet, initiated by the LEA, in which pupils write about themselves and complete activities related to changing schools
• Correspondence between Year 6 and Year 7 pupils to enable new entrants to ask questions about experience in Year 7
• Follow-up receptions for Year 6 teachers to meet Year 7 pupils to discuss the experience of changing schools.

• Year 7 PSHE programmes can help to tackle issues surrounding 'change' by including units on the first week, making a new start, study skills, organisation and homework, bullying and reflecting.
• Mentoring and 'buddy' systems can help with both the pastoral and academic aspects of transition.
• The opportunity for Year 6 and Year 7 teachers to observe and discuss teaching styles helps to prevent any academic discontinuity between the two Key Stages.
• The sharing of work for display between primary and secondary schools can add to the level of understanding that pupils and teachers have about expectations.
• Joint secondary and primary school concerts and sports events have worked well in some areas.
• Police School Liaison Officers are in a position to dispel myths about secondary school life, as the geographical area that they cover will include schools from both phases.
• Questionnaires for both primary and secondary pupils can help to gather an overall picture of what works and what doesn't work in supporting pupils through the transition period.

Originally published on Teachernet