How to Support Children with Transitions

For many children and young people at school, the move to a new class or year group at the start of an academic year is an exciting time. Equally, it is often a major milestone in life, which could lead to anxiety for some children.

There are many reasons why a child may need to move schools. The natural transition from Infant to Junior school or from Primary to Secondary is the most common but some children may need to move schools for other reasons such as parents moving jobs, being taken into care, changing foster families, or be claiming asylum. Children of parents or carers in the Armed Forces and those from the Traveller Gypsy Roma communities may also move schools more often.

Research has highlighted that children from disadvantaged backgrounds are most at risk of poor-quality transition, leading to poorer mental health, low self-esteem and confidence (UCL Improving School Transitions for Health, 2015). The longer-term potential impact of this is also clear: pupils who experience poor transitions are 3x more likely to develop mental health difficulties by Year 9, further reinforcing the importance of embedding robust support systems across schools. Implementing additional support for these children can ease their transition into a new school or class.

Most children in the UK will move schools between 11 and 12 years of age. This comes at a time when there are other significant contributing factors to children’s health and wellbeing and their sense of identity and belonging, including the natural changes that are occurring in pre-adolescent and adolescent brains and the physical and emotional changes that puberty brings (University of Cambridge and Nuffield Foundation, 2015). For most children, this also comes at a time of increasing independence outside the home as they take new routes to school and have increased access to digital technology with its wider messages from society.

Many schools already have robust arrangements in place to support their learners as they make these moves. They recognise that some children will be feeling anxious, nervous and even fearful of the new situations they are about to find themselves in, but with increasing expectations on schools and limited resources, it can be difficult for some to provide the support needed both before, during and after a change in school.

Several research articles highlight the challenges around effective transition, such as the loss of funding that occurred around the time of academisation post-2010. A 2015 Cambridge University study highlighted that this led to transition arrangements changing considerably in some schools with a reduction in teacher exchanges, bridging units and post-induction sessions which resulted in a negative effect on academic achievement and pupils' attitudes to school (University of Cambridge and Nuffield Foundation, 2015).

However, we also know that this period of change can be full of opportunity and can offer a ‘fresh start’ for children who have had fewer positive experiences in primary (S. Lorijn et al., 2024). Nevertheless, it is important for us to see where the challenges lie, so that we can build on existing systems to build a positive transition framework that works between our school communities.

The Education Endowment Foundation Transition Tool suggests three key challenges for schools supporting transition:

• The lack of continuity between curricula and new academic challenges.

• The lack of familiarity with new school systems, routines and expectations.

• The challenges of forming new friendships and peer networks.

The new Jigsaw+ Transition pack (available from 23 May) provides resources to support schools with each of these challenges, whilst helping to maintain children's sense of belonging.

The importance of belonging

A sense of belonging is crucial for young people in school. When children feel they belong, they grow into confident learners who contribute positively to their communities (see our article in Bigger Picture magazine – Spring 25).

From a very early age, schools can support and nurture a child's sense of belonging across three key themes, helping them to recognise how they feel safe, connected and successful. A whole school approach means that all curriculum areas can foster the three pillars of belonging:

• Feeling Safe

• Feeling Connected

• Being Successful

These lessons use the Jigsaw Friends to introduce children to their new classroom and, using the same lesson structure they are used to, provides familiarity for children and supports the whole school approach to PSHE.

Some schools have systems in place to allow children to ask questions at the start of the school year. There might be a designated worry box/ask-it basket for children to post questions. Some schools use activities such as 'What I Want My Teacher To Know' at the start of the year, giving children an opportunity to tell their teacher something about themselves and their family situation, special things they are looking forward to, and can flag to the teacher any potential issues that can be addressed in advance or at the very beginning of the next school year.

Setting up a safe learning environment is another activity which is usually done at the start of the academic year. This is always suggested for PSHE lessons (the Jigsaw Charter is set in lesson 1 of the first puzzle, Being Me in My World) but can also be used throughout the school day. Agreeing rules can help to create an environment where children can have discussions and share their views safely while also building self-esteem, self-confidence and resilience.

Managing transition to Secondary School

Research by UCL (2015) shows that children tend to have common worries associated with transition to secondary school. These include:

• Getting lost

• Anxiety about being bullied

• Managing the increased workload, including homework

• Making new friends

For many, these anxieties are short lived, and most students will settle into new routines within a short space of time.

Although forming new friendships can be daunting, for many children the opportunity to expand their peer relationships is a positive experience. Indeed, for some children, the move to a new school provides the opportunity of a fresh start, particularly if their time at Primary school has not been a happy experience, with many students reporting they felt less lonely and more attached to their peers as they settled into Secondary education (S. Lorijn et al, 2024).

Supporting the tutor group in developing their own group agreement for behaviour within their tutor time begins to foster that sense of belonging that is so important for success within school. Adding some icebreaker activities can also start to support new friendships developing.

The Jigsaw+ Transition pack specifically supports children in Years 6 and 7 to address common worries and to build a sense of community within their new Tutor Group at the start of Year 7. These sessions may enhance current activities already offered by the school, building that all important sense of belonging within their new school community.

PSHE lessons then provide a major opportunity to reflect on these, supporting children to understand what each one means to them and understanding who can support them both in and outside of school. PSHE also provides opportunities to build social and emotional life skills such as resilience, self-confidence and self-esteem, which are all crucial for dealing with difficult situations, including those associated with transition.

Managing transition throughout Primary school

There are several natural transitions that children make within their time in Primary school such as the move from Early Years Foundation Stage to Key Stage 1 and from Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 2. For some children this may mean a movement within school buildings or to a new site completely.

If a school is using Jigsaw PSHE, there are additional opportunities to ease the move to a new class by using the new Jigsaw+ Transition pack.

Other helpful resources:

Anna Freud Centre:

Transitions : Mentally Healthy Schools

10 practical tips for school staff to help children settle when starting primary school : Mentally Healthy Schools

References

Education Endowment Foundation (2021). Transition Toolkit. Transition_tool.pdf

Lorijn, S. et al (2024) A New School, a Fresh Start? Change and Stability in Peer Relationships and Academic Performance in the Transition from Primary to Secondary School

McLellan, R. and Galton, M. (2015) The Impact of Primary-Secondary Transition on Students’ Wellbeing. Final Report June 2015 (formatted) University of Cambridge.

University College London: Institute of Health Equity (2015) Improving Transitions for Health. improving-school-transitions-for-health-equity.pdf (pp.2-15)

Written by Judy Allies - Jigsaw Associate Consultant