Innovative transition strategies - forging relationships with primary feeder schools

The way in which schools handle the transition from the primary to the secondary phase can vary tremendously, and there are some incredibly innovative ideas being pursued across the country to avoid what had become an inevitable drop in achievement between Years 6 and 7. At St Richard's Catholic College, the liaison with primary feeder schools to tackle this issue has taken on heightened significance, despite having had a transition strategy in place for over 15 years.

Organisation Name:: St Richard's Catholic College
Region:: South East
Topic:: Transition from primary to secondary
Type of Organisation:: Secondary school
Size of Organisation:: 501 to 1,000

Brief description of the project

There are two strong dimensions to the transition work of St Richards Catholic College, Bexhill-on-Sea: on the academic level it ensures continuity and progression are addressed as guided by the National Curriculum, and on the pastoral level it ensures that individuals begin their secondary school experience happy and confident to take on new challenges and aware that their personal and social needs are catered for.

The transition programme was put together 15 years ago and has been regularly evaluated and developed. As co-ordinator of the programme, Deborah Kenny, Year head, is responsible for visiting all the new intake pupils (some 180 students), familiarising them with all aspects of secondary school routine, answering all their questions, collecting information on the pupils and their curriculum and providing a concise profile on each pupil for tutor and subject staff use.

The motivation for this strategy, which is budgeted for entirely in-house, is anchored in the college’s mission statement and its emphasis on developing the individual socially, academically and spiritually.

See Methodology below for details of the strategy.

Outcomes of the project

The outcomes of the transition programme at St Richard’s definitely reached the original targets and stretched beyond. As a result of the work undertaken, all teachers at St Richard’s are able to see the pupils as the valuable individuals they are, to understand their academic abilities and be aware of any sensitive issues that may have arisen at primary school.

Staff have as much useful information on the pupils as possible regarding their academic and social development to date. For by far the vast majority of new pupils, the start of Year 7 is a very happy time.

Transferability

Resources and staffing

Any budget required, for example for covering staff on feeder school visits, was sourced in-house. The transition programme at St Richard’s requires fairly continuous input from head of Year 7 Deborah Kenny in particular from February onwards and through the summer term. Deborah is assisted by other subject leaders and the Year 7 SENCO.

Challenges

The main challenge arose as the number of feeder schools grew meaning that Deborah was making a high number of visits to schools. This was overcome by sharing the task with some other members of staff (subject leaders and the Year 7 SENCO) who were also then able to assist in the preparation of pupil profiles.

Lessons learnt

The main tip that can be passed on to other teachers from the staff at St Richard’s concerns the need for organisation and pacing of feeder school visits and events throughout the Easter and Summer terms. St Richard’s also places high value on the excellent working relationships it has with its feeder schools and on the need to involve current students and staff as much as possible in the transition programme.

What's next?

The transition programme at St Richard’s will continue in the future and be developed according to the changing needs of new pupils and staff members. For the immediate future, the College is planning further feeder school visits and an enhanced programme of taster lessons by St Richard’s subject teachers. The College also plans to develop the role of peer mentors and to offer after school tours for small groups of year 6 pupils. A social event for year 6 is planned at the College for the summer term.

Methodology

Pupils arrive at the college in September, known by name, with a profile on them covering their academic and social progress at their primary school. They arrive understanding the underlying aims of St Richard’s - a lively and purposeful Christian community, which offers all its members support, encouragement and a breadth of shared experiences and achievements.

The transition programme begins in October with four road shows. These are evening visits to the four feeder schools (children and parents from nearby schools are also welcome). Addresses are made by the Principal, who highlights the philosophy and aims of the college; both the Vice-Principals, who describe curriculum content during Key Stage 3, extracurricular opportunities, communication and the reporting process, and by Deborah, who describes the induction programme which will take place in the feeder schools between February and July. The Special Needs Coordinator also attends these visits to answer specific questions. After the formal presentation, parents and pupils are invited to ask questions on an informal basis over drinks.

An open evening takes place later in the autumn term and an induction evening is organised for July. This gives parents three formal opportunities to meet staff before their child starts in September, although they are always welcome to contact Deborah at any point during the summer term. In addition, parents receive a package of information about the college and a letter from Deborah during the Easter term outlining the transition programme, encouraging them to contact her over any concerns and become involved with their child’s completion of the transition booklets.

February is a busy month for Deborah who visits the four main feeder schools to give a presentation to all Year 6 pupils about the differences between primary and secondary schools. This is followed up with six more visits of about 50 minutes each in which Deborah goes through the general routine of St Richard’s, the timetable and homework timetable, expectations, clubs and activities on offer, social and fund-raising events and so on. The visits are geared to give the pupils a really good flavour of life at St Richard’s and help, alongside the excellent work of the Year 6 teachers, to build their confidence for moving to secondary school.

Considerable time is spent with Year 6 teachers discussing pupils and putting together profiles which are then distributed to St Richard’s staff in the summer term. This helps all teachers at St Richard’s to see the pupils as the valuable individuals they are, to understand their academic abilities and be aware of any sensitive issues that may have arisen at primary school. A summary of special needs and medical needs is also provided by staff along with samples of the pupils’ work, and photographs of all new pupils are displayed in the main corridor during the summer term with the purpose of allowing all members of the community to recognise faces and learn names before September.

Before arriving at St Richard’s, pupils work on a transition booklet/sample journal which involves a variety of activities to help familiarise them with life at the college and gives them a chance to reveal their strengths and weaknesses, hobbies and organisational skills. The booklets contain a classwork timetable, homework timetable, examples of how to set homework out, information on the credit/debit system and a personal profile section containing activities for pupils to fill in on themselves, their primary school, their achievements and their targets for Year 7.

Pupils receive credits for completed booklets which they collect in September. The booklets are used by the form tutors to help develop their knowledge of the student’s interests etc. Photographs of all the new students are also on display in the main body of the college to help the community learn faces and names and create a welcoming atmosphere for the new Year group.

Deborah’s work on transition at St Richard’s has led to an array of strategies and activities for new pupils to benefit from. These include:

Year 6 pupils can email Year 7 pupils during the summer term to find out more about the college – this has been built into the Year 7 ICT programme
Year 6 pupils can opt to have a Year 7 buddy to help them through the first few weeks of September
Each new Year 7 tutor group is assigned two Year 11 prefects – they take the students to all their lessons during the first two weeks and spend time with them during break and lunchtimes
Year 7 pupils visit the primary schools with samples of their work/journal. They give presentations and working in small groups answer all their questions and run quizzes and games about the college
New pupils meet their new tutor at an induction evening in June and get to meet their new tutor group and sample a typical day at the College during a taster day in July. A concert is organized by the heads of music and drama to demonstrate to the pupils the range of extra curricular activities they can get involved in
Photographs of staff are brought in to help pupils identify their new teachers early on
Year 10 peer mentors (trained by Childline) run drop-in sessions at lunchtime – they take turns on playground duty to support the Year 7s with any minor concerns or issues. Two mentors are assigned to each new tutor group – they attend Friday form time with their class, mentor individual students and build relationships with the class
Other Year Heads visit the primary schools to get to know the pupils
Teachers from St Richard’s deliver taster lessons to Year 6 pupils
The Year 7 Special Needs Coordinator visits all students with special needs and works closely with the primary school SENCO and Year 6 teacher in order to write a special profile and put together individual education plans on the pupils
There is a thorough induction programme which is delivered through PSHE lessons throughout the first term

Context

St Richard’s Catholic College is a voluntary-aided mixed comprehensive for pupils aged 11-16 years. It is situated in the seaside town of Bexhill but draws its pupils from a wide area extending well beyond the town. The vast majority of pupils are Roman Catholics drawn from 11 parishes. Pupils come from a wide range of home backgrounds, and though the proportion taking free school meals is below average, some of the parishes served by the college are in areas which suffer from high levels of social and economic disadvantage. The overall socio-economic backgrounds of pupils broadly reflect national norms and the proportion of pupils on the special needs register is close to the national average though the proportion with statements is below. St Richard’s is a Beacon College.