Transition

At St Cecilia's we make sure we think carefully about how the children transition in to the school and then transition through our school. We want each stage to be as smooth as possible. Below is a summary of how transition at different stages of their school life works. 

 

Joining the school

Nursery

For children who are joining our Nursery in September, we:

- Hold stay and play events during the Summer Term, both with parents present and without. These sessions allow us to see how the children interact with learning environment and also provides an opportunity for the staff and parents to have discussions about the children whilst observing. 

- Hold a parent information evening where parents will receive and information pack but also have the opportunity to listen to how the school operates on a day to day basis. It is also a valuable opportunity for parents to ask any questions they may have. During this session the EYFS lead speaks about how families can prepare their children during the Summer ready for the September start. 

- Arrange home visits to all the families. This allows the EYFS team to meet the children in their own setting. It also provides the staff and parents a more formal opportunity to discuss the children so that the school can meet their needs from day one. 

- Arrange visits to previous settings if this is appropriate so that the EYFS staff can gain a greater understanding of the children in an educational setting.

- Can also arrange additional meetings if that is appropriate and this can be with the Class teacher, SENDCO or another member of the SLT if there are concerns or things that the school need to be made aware of.  

Reception (New to the school)

For children who are joining our Reception in September, we:

- Hold stay and play events during the Summer Term, both with parents present and without. These sessions allow us to see how the children interact with learning environment and also provides an opportunity for the staff and parents to have discussions about the children whilst observing. 

- Hold a parent information evening where parents will receive and information pack but also have the opportunity to listen to how the school operates on a day to day basis. It is also a valuable opportunity for parents to ask any questions they may have. During this session the EYFS lead speaks about how families can prepare their children during the Summer ready for the September start. 

- Arrange home visits to all the families. This allows the EYFS team to meet the children in their own setting. It also provides the staff and parents a more formal opportunity to discuss the children so that the school can meet their needs from day one. 

- Arrange visits to previous settings if this is appropriate so that the EYFS staff can gain a greater understanding of the children in an educational setting.

- Can also arrange additional meetings if that is appropriate and this can be with the Class teacher, SENDCO or another member of the SLT if there are concerns or things that the school need to be made aware of.

Children who attended our Nursery

To ensure that the children have a smooth transition from Nursery to Reception, we:

- Provide regular opportunities to visit other areas of the school including the Reception classroom and outdoor area. This also includes working with the adults from the Reception class. This happens more during the Summer Term

- Nursery children eat their lunches in the hall with the Reception children

- Children will engage with learning activities such as maths, phonics and writing and routines (Snack times) which align more to the structure of Reception in the Summer Term

- Information evening as described above. 

- Thorough hand over from the Nursery teacher to the Reception Teacher

Children who join the school mid-year

If your child joins during the academic year we:

- Meet with the family before the child joins the school usually during the school tour to best understand your child. 

- Will assign a 'buddy' to your child, although from our experience, most children naturally take on this role. 

- We will monitor the child's social interactions so they are never isolated

- We will check in regularly with the child to make sure they are happy

- We will contact the previous school to discuss your child so that we can best prepare for their integration

- When settled we will do age appropriate assessments with the children to ascertain academic ability and identify any gaps. 

Transitioning through the school

EYFS to Year 1

We understand that there are often concerns about the children transition at the end of the EYFS years. To ensure that this is a smooth process we:

- Continue with continuous provision in Year 1 during the Autumn Term and if appropriate beyond this. This allows the children to continue with play based learning whilst also engaging with more formal lessons for core subjects. 

- Offer reception children will have the opportunity, during the Summer Term, to spend time in the year 1 classroom including our dedicated transition day. 

- Offer reception children who find transitions more challenging will have opportunities to spend time in the new classroom individually or in small groups. 

- Hold an Information evening where the routines in year 1 are explained to parents

- Gradually increase the number times a week the children visit Collective Worship.

- Thorough hand over from the Reception teacher to the Year 1 Teacher

 

Year 1 to Year 2  

It is during year 2 that the children's classroom is upstairs for the first time. As a result we plan for this so that children's entrance to school in September is smooth. We:

- Rehearse how to walk safely up and down the stairs in line with our behaviour curriculum

-  Spend time in their new classroom during the Summer so they are familiar with the new setting including during the whole school transition day

- Hold an information evening for parents to explain the new routines for Year 2 e.g where to be collected and dropped off

- Thorough hand over between teachers

Other Year Groups

For all other year groups, we:

- Have an annual transition day where the children spend time in their new class with their new adults

- Thorough hand over between teachers

- Children who require additional transition activities will have access to this. 

 

Transition out of the school

Sadly at the end of year 6 we will say goodbye to the children. To ensure their transitions run smoothly we:

- Provide detailed summary of every child to their secondary school

- Transfer over all documentation in a timely manner

- Hold meetings with secondary representatives including SENDCOs and Safeguarding leads where applicable

- Support families with the transition in any way that we can

- Ensure all dates for secondary transition days are known to families