Transition

The first step – before the children join in September

When we know which children are going to be admitted, Holy Trinity staff take the time to go to Beddington Infants to meet the children during the summer term. This enables the teachers to get to know the children, see how they respond to their routines, how they interact etc. They also meet the Year 2 teachers and learn as much as they can about the children in advance of their arrival at Holy Trinity.

The second step – the Year 2 children becoming familiar with their new environment at Holy Trinity

In the summer term before the Year 2 children join, we make sure that we take every opportunity for them to come to Holy Trinity in order to become familiar with the school so that they are comfortable in September, knowing where they are going to.

This means that the children come over to watch the Year 6 production and have buddy mornings where they spend a morning with a Year 3 child in their new classroom, with their new teacher.  They also meet with their buddies for a picnic on our school field.

In July we hold an open evening, which starts with all of the year 3 children coming in to school at 6pm and spending half an hour in their classroom with their  new teacher whilst their parents have an introductory talk in the hall. At that talk, the head teacher gives parents the information they need for the first few weeks of term, such as when the gates open, medial arrangement, lunch arrangements, end of day arrangements etc. The idea for this is that if the parents feel confident about what is going to happen this will help the children to feel confident about the transition.

During this evening, the children are given a new Holy Trinity book bag, so they feel they belong, and great quality second hand uniform is on sale at very reasonable prices!

The rest of the same evening is an open evening for the whole school, with the rest of the school coming in with their parents and teachers in their classroom with exhibitions of the children’s work on display. There are free samples of the school dinners to be enjoyed. Parents and children can walk around the whole school and become more familiar with the new surroundings. They are able to talk to any staff and some governors and ask any questions they may have.

The third step – the day of admission and first few weeks

All of the children enter the school in the morning via Gate 1 (we have 3 gates). Usually the children just say goodbye to parents at the gate and go down the path to the playground by themselves. However, for the first few days if children would like their parents to go with them to the playground then that is absolutely fine. Whatever make the children feel comfortable. The Year 3 children have their own area to line up in and they will have been shown this by the Year 3 teachers. The teachers come out to the lines just before 8.55a.m. and the classes go in.

In order to support the transition process, the year three teachers carefully plan the first two weeks teaching and learning to be similar in style to Beddington Infants.  Teachers lead whole class inputs, after which children work in small groups to consolidate the learning within the classroom environment.  During this time the year three teachers gradually introduce the high expectations of Holy Trinity.  Some children arrive at Holy Trinity with a misconception that they are not allowed to go to the toilet!  The year three team also quickly dispel this myth and after a few weeks the children are settled, enjoying the curriculum and are engaged in their learning.  In the second week of being at Holy Trinity, the year two teachers visit the children in their new classes to finalise the transition.

The New Curriculum assessment systems are different between KS1 and KS2,  In order for the teachers to have the very best understanding of children’s starting points the teachers assess an unaided piece of writing and gather standardised scores for the cohort in reading and maths.

New children must bring their contact forms and medical forms on the first day.

At play and lunch time the Year 3 have their own area to play in and the teaching assistants will go out with the children for the first few play times  to ensure they know when it is their t turn to use the big play equipment and where the other play equipment is. They will also show them where to buy fruit etc.  and how to get a building pass if they need to go indoors for the toilet. The will also ensure that the children know what to do if first aid is needed. Before any of the Year 3 children use the large play equipment their class teacher will have taken them outside to the playground to tell them how to use the equipment and so they can practice safely and learn the rules.

At lunch time for the first month or half term (however long it takes), Year 3 will go in to lunch first and be collected from their class by the midday supervisors so they know the lunchtime routine. Children line up and collect their own lunch and they also clear up their own plates when they have finished.

The fourth step – the information evening for parents of Year 3 in September.

This is a really important information evening for the parents. It is held in the second or third week of term. The Year 3 teachers explain more about what the children are being taught, especially with reading, writing and Math. They give lots of ideas about how to support the children at home and they explain how we assess and group the children in the first few weeks. It is a great opportunity for parents to ask anything that might be unclear since the children have started the term.

The fifth step – the first parents’ evening

One to one  meetings with the teacher happen in the week before half term in October.

Teachers will discuss how the children have settled in, how they are learning, socialising etc. Parents can discuss how they feel their child is responding from the comments they have at home. We hope that by then the children will be coming in to school confidently and independently and are reporting that they are really enjoying Year 3 and Holy Trinity!

Where children transfer from a school other than Beddington Infants, we ask that parents provide us with the child’s most recent school report preferably before the child is admitted with us. We are keen to help new children settle in to their new school as easily as possible.  If we can put children in to the correct groups straight away, this helps the process considerably.