Transitioning to a new educational setting is a big step in every child’s life but especially for those with additional needs. The move from primary to secondary school is a particularly significant milestone, and for parents of children with additional needs, it can bring unique challenges and concerns.
Change in itself can be difficult for many children to navigate, and there may be natural feelings of nervousness and anxiety about moving to a bigger, busier environment.
In contrast to the slower pace of primary school, your child may be expected to move from classroom to classroom over the course of the school day with a new member of staff for each lesson, and there may be higher expectations and different pressures on them at this new stage in their educational journey.
If your child is transitioning from primary to secondary school, there are some practical steps you can take to ensure this important transition feels as positive as possible for both you and your child.
Preparations for the transition will likely begin well in advance and choosing the most suitable school to meet your child’s unique educational, emotional and social needs is often a key first step. This is often started months before the start of the school year and often involves researching schools and understanding the types of support available. It might also include looking into, the location and transport options, the pastoral and SEN provision and the atmosphere of the school. For some parents, it might also include deciding if mainstream secondary school is the right option for their child.
If your child has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), you will have had the option to request a school, which is included in the document. Whilst parents must still follow the standard admissions procedure, it will ask whether the child has an EHCP and will try, where possible, to place the child at the school requested. In these situations, it may be that the planning for a child’s secondary school happens even sooner.
Preparing to take this big step into secondary school can give rise to a whole range of emotions for your child and so taking time to understand these early on can really help. In some cases, you might find that some of their worries and concerns can be easily and practically addressed as part of their transition.
As their parent, you too might be feeling some difficult emotions too. Acknowledging your feelings by writing them down in a journal and sharing with a friend or within a support group can be helpful strategies. You might find our article on Managing Difficult Emotions as a Parent Carer useful.
Once your child’s place has been confirmed at a secondary school, the new school staff will want to get to know you and your child before they begin school so they can begin planning for your child’s individual needs and put strategies in place to support you.
If your child has an EHCP this will be shared with the secondary school, along with any other helpful information which will allow them to support your child most effectively. This may come from you, their primary school or any professionals involved in their care. The new school will liaise directly with your child’s primary school to discuss effective supportive strategies and to familiarise themselves with your child’s EHCP (educational, health and care plan), if there is one in place.
Working closely with the school throughout the transition can help to ensure that any adaptations needed are put in place and the staff are suitably trained in supporting your child’s needs before your child starts school. It may be that they ask for a meeting to talk this through in more detail and observe your child during induction days to help them understand this further.
Making an appointment to meet your child’s form teacher, head of year, and the school’s special educational needs coordinator (SENCO) in person can often be beneficial. It can set the tone for a positive relationship that will continue to develop over the time your child is at secondary school. This meeting can be a great opportunity to talk about your child’s needs. To help with this, you might also share a simple written document that outlines the main points you feel would be helpful to know when working together to develop support for your child. This can be used to inform an Individual Education Plan (IEP) if needed.
If your child requires medication during the school day, it can be helpful to develop a clear plan with the school nurse and teachers to ensure this is stored and administered safely. In addition to this, staff may need to be trained to support your child or to recognise certain signs so that any action needed is taken promptly, and where necessary, put an emergency plan in place. The more information they have from you to ensure that everyone feels confident to respond fully to your child’s healthcare needs, the better.
This is also a good time to get clear on the strategies the school uses in terms of meetings and home-school communication. You might set up regular meetings or email exchanges with teachers and support staff to discuss your child's progress, any challenges they might be facing, and how best to address them together.
There are additional actions you and the schools can carry out to support the transitioning, ensuring it is smooth and your child is prepared and knows what to expect:
- You may want to create a transition plan for your child by arranging extra transition days before the new term begins, and having time to explore the school site when it is less busy. This way, your child can comfortably familiarise themselves with the classrooms, lunch hall, toilets, library and outside spaces in order to feel more confident when they begin their new school.
- You could take some photos and videos on your way around the new school to look at and talk about at home. Some parents have said this has proved useful in supporting their child during the transition to a new educational setting.
- Look into requesting a ‘phased entry’ start, where your child begins by attending their new school for a limited number of hours to start with, building up to whole days over time, might also feel appropriate for your child.
- Asking the new school if they have a buddy system in place, and a safe sensory space your child can go to when they need some peace and calm during a busy school day.
Asking in advance about these things, and anything else that you feel would benefit your child in their new school, can set you and your child up for the most successful start.
Top Tips from other parent carers
Other strategies parents have said made a great deal of difference for their children include:
- Practising getting dressed and wearing new school uniform and PE kit at home in the weeks before secondary school begins.
- Practising setting out uniform, packing school bag, lunch box and PE kit the night before to see how long it takes.
- Creating a visual timetable at home that is checked the night before
- Roleplaying certain scenarios to develop social skills and new behaviours that are more appropriate in a secondary school setting.
- Getting together with peers to practise social skills, and developing positive strategies to help when they feel anxious or frustrated.
- Developing effective communication strategies and practising them at home so they are able to express their needs and preferences clearly, both to staff and peers, when necessary.
These will all help to develop your child’s confidence, independence, and self-advocacy skills in preparation for their time at secondary school.
Although the thought of this transition may evoke some different emotions, anxiety and worry being some of them. It is also an opportunity to use lessons learned from previous experiences of change you and your child may have had to overcome and remembering that what had once been unknown and potentially fearful turned out to be positive in so many ways.
You might see this time in your lives as an opportunity to remember how far your child has come, and a chance now to celebrate each small win along the way as they learn a new skill or overcome an obstacle and their transition to secondary school will be a journey unique to them. They are embarking on a new phase of expressing who they are in the world, and with your support and the understanding of their new school, this milestone can be a truly positive experience for everyone.