Transition From Primary to Secondary Schools
A Parent/Carer’s guide to transition from Primary to Secondary School for a student with Special Educational Needs

From small acorns, large oak trees grow….

Points to consider about the choice of Secondary School

Size of School?
The Environment?
Experience of staff?
In service training?
School Visits/Taster Sessions?
Social Skills
Homework Club?
Summer School?
Communication?
Transport?
Troubleshooting Strategies

Questions To Ask About Transfer to Secondary School
Top Tips For Parents To Help With Transition to Secondary School
Personal Development
Organisation
Pupils Comments on Moving Up to Secondary School
Change
Transition

Size of School? (The size is not necessarily the important issue .... it is what takes place within the classroom and school that matters).
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The Environment? (Consider access, safety and sensory issues such as noise, school bells, fire drills, lighting, where to sit in the classroom without distraction, lunch time queuing, somewhere to retreat, finding the way round school, where the toilets are etc).
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Experience of staff? (Have the teachers taught children with similar difficulties before and do they have an understanding of the condition and how it will affect the child’s ability to learn?)
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In service training? (What in service training and practical advice will staff receive to help them understand your child’s disability and SEN?) Top

School Visits/Taster Sessions? (Ask if your child can attend Year 6 School visits/taster sessions, preferably with peers – even if they are not going to that school)
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Social Skills (What opportunities are available for the development of social skills such as turn taking, listening to others, learning friendship skills, being assertive, understanding body language, tone of voice and facial expressions?)
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Homework Club? (Is there a lunch time Homework Club?)
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Summer School? (Is there a Year 6 Summer School?)
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Communication? (Ask if a home school diary can be used. How, when and who do you contact in the event of any problems? How will your child’s progress be reviewed and who will be involved in this process?)
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Transport? (Try and find a buddy to sit with your child on the school bus. What happens if your child misses the bus or lift home?)
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Troubleshooting Strategies (Who should your child approach for help if they feel anxious, upset and cannot cope? What happens if homework is not completed or your child does not understand it? What happens if your child loses their dinner money, uniform or equipment? Who should your child talk to, if bullying occurs?)
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Questions To Ask About Transfer to Secondary School

• Has the school recently had any other pupils with similar SEN?
  
• How many children have statements and how many are on the SEN Register?
  
• What is the school’s policy on pastoral care?
  
• How large are the classes? How are children with SEN integrated?
  
• How many special needs staff are there and how do they operate?
  
• Does each subject department have a designated special needs expert, and do subject departments work closely together?
  
• How does the school cope with the different needs of SEN children and their different disabilities to ensure that they all can access the curriculum?
  
• Do pupils have homework diaries for easy communication with parents?
  
• How can parents communicate regularly with staff and how will they be informed of day to day problems?
  
• Does the school include any social skills training for SEN children in the curriculum in addition to Personal and Social Education?
  
• Does the school have an anti-bullying policy?
  
• Is there a homework club run by the school?
  
• Is there a quiet area or room where SEN children can go to retreat if necessary?
  
• What support and training will the staff receive to help them understand the child’s SEN? Will this support and training be ongoing and who will provide it?
  
• What opportunity does the school provide for extra curricular activities and inclusion of children with SEN?
  
• What support will the child receive on educational visits and school trips?
  
• What opportunities are available for vocational skills and qualifications as an alternative to GCSE’s
  
• Does the school help children with SEN to learn the keyboard on the computer? (Particularly if hand-writing presents difficulties)
  
• Who will have overall responsibility for making sure that the child’s needs are met? How will the responsibility be delegated?
  
• How does the school help with the planning of transition? Will a member of staff visit the primary school to see the child in the school setting?
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Top Tips For Parents To Help With Transition to Secondary School

The New Environment

• Arrange for several visits to the school to familiarise your child with the site and buildings and the new route/journey to school.
  
• Ask the school for a copy of a school map to help your child learn the location of classrooms, the school office, toilets and the canteen/lunch hall. Put a copy of the map in the homework diary.
  
• Take some photographs of the school and main areas and use them to recall visits with your child.
  
• Discuss the school rules with your child at home and make sure they understand what happens if they are broken.
  
• Ask if the teachers can wear visual name labels for the first week of term, to help your child learn their names.
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Personal Development

• Speak to your child’s tutor or Head of Year and ask for regular feedback about progress, including academic work and social interaction. If you have any concerns, share them and find a solution.
  
• Ask if all staff will be given a copy of your child’s statement, so that they are aware of the Special Educational Needs (SEN) provision, understand the objectives and have some indication of your child’s difficulties.
  
• Ask what supervision/help is available for unstructured time such as before and after school, break and lunch time.
  
• Suggest strategies that can be used to help your child if they experience anxiety or become upset.
  
• Tell the school about any medical conditions, sensory difficulties or special dietary needs and ensure that this information is disseminated to all staff.
  
• Try the new school uniform on at least a week before so that you can find out if there are any problems which need addressing.
  
• Talk to your child about how they are settling into school and ask them if they have any problems they want to share. Find out if they are coping with anxiety and managing frustration/anger.
  
• Above all, be positive, praise your child for every small achievement, encourage independence and boost their self esteem at every opportunity.
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Organisation

• Ensure that your child has the correct stationery and equipment for their pencil case e.g. spare ink cartridges!
  
• Encourage the child to become independent and more organised. Suggest that they pack everything they need for school the night before, such as school books, homework to be handed in, dinner money, sports kit etc.
  
• Make sure that your child knows your mobile/home telephone number and address and consider giving them a phone card for emergencies.
  
• Have a good routine for the morning and evening to give your child a familiar structure. Make a visual day planner/checklist.
  
• Keep a regular supply of change for dinner money and the bus and remember to give your child the correct amount each day.
  
• Give your child a purse/wallet/key ring that can clip safely to their trousers/school bag so that it does not get lost or fall out.
  
• Check your child’s homework diary and schoolbag each evening and make sure that you see all letters that come home from school.
  
• Make sure that your child has the correct equipment for school such as the necessary ingredients for food technology.
  
• Colour code your child’s timetable to correspond with their exercise books and laminate. Display a copy of the timetable on the fridge and in the child’s bedroom for everyone to see.
  
• Use different colour-zipped sleeves to keep all loose stationery and handouts for each subject.
  
• Make homework part of your child’s routine and to help with organization, construct a visual planner/timetable. Clear a space somewhere for them to work quietly at home, preferably away from the TV, computer and other distractions. Make sure that they label their homework and write the date, title and their name on it if it is on a loose sheet.
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“Transition is about moving, ‘to where or what’ one asks?
This is my very question, from present or the past.
Time for me is all the same,
I know not of its future
I only know I trust in ‘now’...tomorrow can come,
I just need to know how.”
Wendy Lawson (2003) An adult with Asperger Syndrome
Reprinted with her kind permission

Pupils Comments on Moving Up to Secondary School
“Don’t worry you will remember where to go when you have been there a few days.”
“You will like it when you get there…..it is just the thought of moving that is frightening.”
“I like the things I like. If you have to do certain things I get really angry. It feels like my brain takes over.”
”Mum, I am coping fine, I am settled and enjoying school …...will you please stop asking me if I am OK?”

“There’s lots of space at Secondary School not like at Primary School.”

“My timetable was hard to read at first but after the first two weeks I got used to it. I paid 25p to get it laminated and miniaturized.”

“There are loads of school rules but I can only think of one and that is “Be Quiet!”

“They have given us books and we look at the timetable the night before. I don’t like having a heavy bag.”

“My Mum coloured my timetable and put it on the fridge so that the subjects were the same colour as my exercise books. This helps me organize everything each day as I just look at it and put the right books in my bag.”

“There is so much homework to do and I don’t feel like doing it when I get home as I am tired.”
“I have to remember to take dinner money each day but I can choose whatever I want to eat and it is brilliant.”
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Change

Change, change and more change,
Of context, place and time.
Why is it that Life’s transient stage
Plays havoc with my mind?

You said “We’ll go to McDonalds
But this was just a thought.
I was set for hours,
But the plan then came to naught.

My tears and confused frustration,
At plans that do not appear,
Are painful beyond recognition,
And push me deeper into fear

How can life be so determined?
How can change be so complete?
With continuity there is no end,
Security and trust are sweet.

So who said that change would not hurt me?
Who said my ‘being’ could not be safe?
Change said ‘You need continuity’
In order to find your place.

For change makes all things different,
They no longer are the same
What was it that you really meant?
All I feel is pain.

By Wendy Lawson 1998 An adult with Asperger Syndrome
Reprinted with her kind permission
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Transition

Take time to prepare for change.
Request in-service training for Secondary School staff.
Ask the school to structure the environment.
Negotiate a quiet place for your child to go when anxious.
Share your concerns about transition with staff.
Identify how to communicate with staff on a regular basis.
Take your child to the new school as often as possible.
Involve your child in the planning process.
Organise the transition in clear simple steps.
Never underestimate the importance of effective communication.

And finally …a practical word of advice, these are just a few ideas to help with transition, and some suggestions may be more useful for your child than others. Please do not feel that you need to follow them all. As a parent/carer you know your child better than anyone else so follow your instinct and if you find something that works, then use it with confidence.

This leaflet has been written by Sarah Sparks as a result of research for her dissertation in part fulfilment for a degree of MEd. (Special Education: Autism) at the University of Birmingham. Sarah is the mother of three children including a son who has an Autistic Spectrum Disorder and moved up to Secondary School in September 2003. She is also the Chair of The Stroud Autistic Support Group (registered Charity number 1085453).

Special Thanks go to Partnership with Parents, and Bettridge School, Cheltenham for funding the production and design of this leaflet.

Written and Produced : January 2004
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