Transition

At South Hylton Primary Academy we understand the importance of an effective and smooth transition.

The wellbeing of the children in our care is our main priority and we appreciate how daunting change can be so we aim to do everything we can to alleviate any worries or concerns and ensure our children are excited and motivated to come to school.

As well as moving up through the school each year, our main transition points are:

• A child entering our school (at any age)
• Moving from E2 to Nursery
• Moving from Nursery to Reception
• Moving from Reception to KS1
• Moving from KS1 to KS2
• Moving from Year 5 to Year 6 
• Moving from Year 6 on to secondary school (we have strong links with all of our local schools, particularly Academy 360, our partner LST Academy)

Our children in Nursery and Reception share an engaging outdoor environment where staff across the whole unit support the learning and development of all the children. Staff will often take part in ‘story swap’ sessions where they will read to a different class so the children become familiar with adults from the next class. 

When moving from EYFS to Key Stage 1 our transition process is slowly drip fed throughout the year. The children become familiar with staff who spend time with the children both in the Reception classroom as well as giving the children the chance to visit and explore their new learning environment. We understand that clear communication is essential to a successful transition from both staff working alongside the children and parents or carers. 

Assessments are shared with the children’s new teachers so that they can provide the right support and provision straight away. We have skilled staff who have a great understanding of both the EYFS Framework and the KS1 curriculum and plan inclusive lessons to suit all learners from their individual starting points. 

Parents and carers are invited in to school where possible to visit the classroom that their child will be attending. This gives our parents the chance to ask any questions and become familiar with the expectations of the next phase or year group.

We use the Leuven Scales to track children’s wellbeing and involvement. The Leuven scales were developed in 1994 by Professor Ferre Laevers. Wellbeing refers to children’s self-esteem, self-confidence and resilience. Their involvement refers to their engagement, interest and depth of their learning. At South Hylton Primary Academy we strive for our children to have high/ extremely high levels of wellbeing and involvement and a big part of making sure this happens is by having effective transitions. 

During any transition period, it is important that children and young people are able to talk about their concerns and are supported to cope with any readjustments. We aim to provide support to pupils to enable them to prepare and cope with change while also building resilience, self-confidence and self-esteem.

When moving year groups, pupils are introduced to their new class teacher and support staff and engage in planned PSHE sessions to help pupils develop good emotional and social skills in their new classroom setting. These skills help pupils 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.

Parents and carers are key to making sure that our pupils have a good transitional period and we ask for parental support by checking in with your child to find out how they are coping academically and also in terms of their wellbeing.

We will try to arrange a ‘meet the teacher’ informal session to allow parents and carers to come into school at each transition point. 

Parents can give their views through our regular parental questionnaires, and we have staff on our school gates every morning, and welcome parents talking to us before school starts. We also have an ‘open door’ policy, so parents can contact the school’s Welfare Lead (Mr Andrew Sherry), should they have any non-academic concerns, or their child’s Key Stage lead, should there be any other concerns.