Supporting children to successfully transition from primary to secondary or senior school is vitally important. It's a big life change, which can leave both parents and children feeling excited and nervous in equal measure. At Tooled Up, we often use the analogy of a journey for the transitional experience. In fact, anyone who has attended or watched a talk with our founder, Dr Kathy Weston, is likely to have heard her say that we'd all want our children to be well prepared for any journey they go on, and that, as loving parents and carers, we wouldn't dream of sending them off on any journey without the right equipment, mindset and strategies to reach their destination safely and securely. Transition to a new school is no different.

Research shows that there are numerous holistic protective factors that can help to ease transition. Conversely, it's also the case that problems with successfully transitioning to secondary school and subsequent lower levels of school connectedness are associated with lower education outcomes, school drop-out, higher levels of depression and anxiety, and increased involvement in criminal, violent and antisocial behaviour. Research also shows that these difficulties may not be equal across different socio-demographic variables, with children from underserved communities (including those from minority ethnic backgrounds and lower socio-economic status) and children with behavioural difficulties facing greater challenges during the transition to secondary school. It's therefore important for all parents and educators to consider how to make this transition as seamless as possible.

Along with her co-authors, our Researcher of the Month, Dr Aurelie Lange, has published a new paper which evaluates the efficacy of a new UK-based online intervention called Level Up. In it, Dr Lange seeks to explore families' experiences of facilitators and barriers to engagement and change.

Summary

Level Up, a psychoeducational and therapy-based intervention which was developed by the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, consisted of five online group sessions for families taking place over the summer holidays between Year 6 and Year 7. The intervention was aimed at children identified by their teachers as being at risk of developing a range of behavioural and emotional problems during the school transition.

Despite the important position that parents and carers hold during the transitional period, previous research has shown that less than half of the interventions supporting school-to-school transitions involve parents. The Level Up sessions worked with both children and their parents/carers, and aimed to help them identify the potential strengths and risks of school transition, and consider how to manage some of the feelings that it might give rise to. The sessions also sought to identify struggles that children may face in terms of academic achievement and behaviour in school, and to build children's resilience. Some of the activities focused on helping children to consider the available support and resources within their community, and what they could do to make it even better. The final session reviewed the children’s move to secondary school and reflected on possible changes that had occurred since then.

In analysing the programme's efficacy, the research team interviewed 14 children and 17 parents/carers who took part in Level Up. The participants described various facilitators and barriers to effective engagement with the intervention. They found that the safe, supportive, non-judgemental and fun space offered by the programme helped them to engage and learn, as did the sense of connection forged in the group sessions (though some participants highlighted problematic group dynamics). Inviting both children and parents to the programme also provided a valuable opportunity for parents and children to talk about the upcoming transition and spend time together.

Whilst a small number of participants felt the progamme had limited positive impact, for most, it helped ease the transition to secondary school. Children reported feeling more confident and less worried about their school change after completing the programme and parents also felt that their anxieties lessened. Participants also felt that Level Up helped with forming friendships and developed greater social confidence which benefited children once they started secondary school. Parents also reported feeling more confident in their parenting role.

There are no current plans to launch Level Up as a large scale intervention. However, the trial provides valuable learnings for both educators and families.

Implications

"To achieve a smooth transition, it seems crucial to create a safe, supporting, and fun space where parents and carers and children can connect."

Implications for schools

Provide a bridge. The paper notes that there is a need for interventions which provide an actual bridge between primary and secondary school. When planning your transition provision, think about what might best facilitate this kind of support.

Remember the power of parents. Empowering parents with the skills to help their children through school transition is vital. Encouraging parents to think about their own feelings about the upcoming change, and providing holistic, evidence-based advice about the best way to support children's wellbeing during this period is likely to be effective. It's worth considering what opportunities you might be able to offer which encourage parents and children to think through the upcoming change together. This is likely to be particularly beneficial for pupils identified as at-risk of struggling with transition.

Implications for parents

Assess your own mindset. Do you feel anxious about your child’s next steps? If the answer is yes, it’s optimal to try to approach this constructively. Jotting down the things that are worrying you, or talking them through with a partner, friend, or your child’s new school, might help to alleviate them. We don’t want to unwittingly pass on our own concerns to our children.

Talk about change in positive terms. Try to exude a sense of excitement about the new school start and confidence in your child’s ability to settle in well. Where possible, strive to model confidence around change, an acceptance that we can’t control absolutely everything, and show your children that you have a strong sense of belief in their skills and capacity to both cope and thrive.

Think about changes that have opened up opportunities in the past. What seemed scary at the time, but led to new friendships or valuable experiences? Remind children that change might not always feel welcome, and it’s natural to feel some anticipatory anxiety, but it can also lead to exciting outcomes. For Tooled Up members, our activity might help.

If your child does seem anxious, these tried and tested strategies might offer some support through starting school nerves. They might find it helpful to draw things that they are worried about, add worries to a family wobble jar, or visualise their first few days at school and work out together what things they can control and influence.

Role play. Nearer the start of the school term, together with your child, you might practise openers for conversations with new people or think about ways to initiate interactions at break times.

Lean in. Ask your child how they are doing. Find out what they are looking forward to and what they aren’t. These kinds of conversations shouldn’t be one offs. You have the time to dip in at natural and appropriate opportunities over the summer holiday.

Tooled Up members can access a huge range of resources designed to support school transition for different ages and stages. Check them out here.