Transitioning to school

Starting school is a major transition in a child’s life which can be both exciting but daunting. The transition to primary school should be viewed as an ongoing process and planned for accordingly to best meet the needs of the child. This requires effective collaboration and partnership between the home, Early Years and school settings to facilitate meetings, visits and the sharing of information between stakeholders.

The following are strategies which can help to support the transition from Early Years to Primary School:

• Involve parents and carers in the transition planning. They will have knowledge about their child’s strengths, needs, likes and dislikes and may be able to provide some useful strategies.
• Support families to share their worries or concerns.
• Establish a transition team with a designated point of contact for all members of the team, including the child, parents or carers, current and receiving SENCO, key workers and specialist professionals where appropriate.
• Provide a welcome guide to the new school with pictures of staff, key areas, and a visual timetable to share with the child and parents.
• Arrange to visit the new school in the year before transition to allow the child to become familiar with the new setting.
• Introduce the new school uniform weeks before commencing in the new school and gradually increase the amount of time the uniform is worn to allow the child to get used to it.
• Increase structured activities within the pre-school setting to gradually increase the child’s tolerance to adult-led and directed activities.

• Facilitate relevant staff from the primary school to observe the pupil in the pre-school setting to ensure any reasonable adjustments are in place prior to the pupil’s start date.

The EA Autism and Advisory Service has a range of resources for supporting pupils to make the transition to primary schools .

For additional advice and guidance around transitions, this webinar from the Anna Freud Centre for Children and Families focuses on Early Years and the Transition to School.

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