The summer term was always a strange one. It was usually the longest term of the three, or six if you qualified after 2010, but you never had enough time to do everything you were supposed to do. I guess that could apply to every term now, it's just that this term always felt particularly frantic.
As the term is about to begin, the issue of transition rears its head. This will become a focus for everyone over the next few weeks, whether it is children moving classes, schools, or staff changing year groups, leaving for pastures new, or preparing to join your team in September.
Throughout my years in education, I have witnessed, experienced, and implemented a wide range of transition strategies, some of which were successful and others that didn't achieve their intended objectives. With the levels of anxiety in pupils and parents skyrocketing since the pandemic, it is more important than ever to get it right, so I thought I would share my top ten tips for effective transition.
1. You cannot start early enough.
Obviously, it cannot be your sole focus for the summer term, as there is plenty of teaching still to do, but you really need to think about this from day one of the summer term. Why not start with SEND children who require a little more support than others? Start them on weekly supported transitions, lasting an hour or two at most, with support from a TA.
2. Allocate time for staff to meet to discuss children who are 'moving up'
Devote at least one staff meeting in the summer term to this. Teachers will meet outside of this time to discuss their children, but formally allocating a bit of time for this purpose will be greatly appreciated.
3. Try extra hard to make links between this year's EYFS parents and next year's lot
Early years parents are the most anxious, so putting a bit extra into the new cohort is extremely worthwhile. Organise an event in the summer term for both sets of parents (and children) to attend. We used to hold a teddy bear picnic, which was always a success.
4. Involve the secondary school
In my experience, the transition between Year 6 and 7 is the weakest, and I would go so far as to say that children are often failed by the inadequate links between primary and secondary teachers. Get the Year 7 staff to visit for more than just an assembly, which is mainly focused on school uniform anyway. Remember, best practice is for the receiving teacher to learn from the current teacher, and that applies here as much as it does for children moving up within the same school.
5. Give the children plenty of opportunities to ask questions to their new teacher
You will have a pretty good idea of the sorts of questions that they are likely to ask, but there will always be one or two surprises. The summer holiday is a long break, and small worries can easily grow out of control in more anxious children.
6. Get the teachers to write a letter to new parents
In reception, we obviously hold a 'new parents evening', but I would not advocate doing so for every year group. A personal letter will suffice, one which includes any new information specific to the class. Ensure that teachers are also available to answer any questions parents may have, ideally during the last week or two of the summer term.
7. Get your new staff in before the end of term
Most schools are happy to release staff who are moving schools for a bit of transition in the summer term. In my experience, I have only been stopped from doing this on one occasion. Offer to pay supply rates for them to spend a couple of days with you if you have to, but most schools won't expect that. In return, if you have staff leaving, don't make it difficult for them.
8. Get new parents on the mailing list asap.
This needs to be done early in the summer term so that they get all the information they need and also to give them a flavour of school life through your newsletters.
9. Organise a staff 'do'
Make sure you involve staff who are leaving and those who are joining the team, too. This will really help with bonding, and it is important that those leaving get a good send-off.
10. Agree on your policy for sending work/books home.
And get them processed well before the last week of term. Nobody does any real work in the last couple of weeks anyway!
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