Like all schools, we have seen a growing number of students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) joining our school, and we know the change from Year 6 to Year 7 can feel huge for these students.
That’s why, last year, we set out to transform our September transition programme to ensure that every student feels supported, empowered and ready to thrive from the very start of their secondary school journey.
At the heart of our approach was the integration of SEN support into every aspect of the transition plan, with our SEND team actively contributing to each stage.
Supporting students with SEND
This meant we could think about the small but impactful ways we could ease the transition for students with SEND, from classroom location planning and creating flexible school tours to organising additional induction days tailored to individual needs.
We have seen huge benefits in this approach for our incoming students, helping them feel confident and capable from day one. This is backed up by increases in attendance rates for our students with an education, health and care plan reaching 96.7 per cent.
This is how we’ve done it:
Create wider conversations about the change
We have found that students really benefit from an open and transparent conversation explaining why their primary and secondary experiences aren’t the same, why that’s OK and how we can help them manage it. Starting these conversations from the first induction day means students feel confident in speaking to us and ready to try new things.
Put inclusivity at the heart of planning
Inclusive support needs to be a golden thread throughout the transition process. We’ve reconsidered the way we plan our incoming Year 7, for example, our students’ tutor groups are in a classroom near a Sendco office and all Year 7s have two tutors in case they need a one-to-one check-in.
Create opportunities for students to meet different support staff
While we always ensure students meet their teachers, we’ve also scheduled meetings for them to meet other key members of the school, such as our librarian or the food tech team. This helps them to understand the different processes within the school and ask any questions away from their peers.
Understand the importance of primary school visits
We visit each of our students’ schools and meet with their staff so we can understand areas they excel in, where they might struggle and what planning support they may need from the start. We then adapt our provision accordingly.
Go in with high expectations for all
We never want our students to feel restricted, and so even if it’s not something they have done before, we always create inclusive opportunities for them to try it out, with support in place. For example, all students take our entrance Cognitive Ability Test at the same level and in the same place, so we can find out what they can do and tailor support accordingly.
Understand what is important to them
On the first day, all our students evaluate what their strengths and weaknesses are, as well as what they are passionate about or where their interests lie, such as football or science. We share this information with all their teachers to create familiarity and the opportunity for reassuring conversations from day one.
Consider an additional introduction day
We’ve found it beneficial to introduce a separate day for our students with SEND to meet each other, have a school tour and meet their teachers in a calmer environment. It also means that our incoming families can meet each other, something we found is often missed in the secondary transition.
Bring families along
Parents and carers can feel nervous about the transition, so we try and start those relationships positively. We’ve found that being there to speak to parents at drop-off helps raise our profile with them, and we follow up with detailed emails or phone calls to provide reassurance.
Effective transition process
We are really proud to see our incoming Year 7 students continue to grow their confidence and self-assurance as they navigate such a significant change, and it has been amazing to learn from them to continually develop our transition process to be as smooth and effective as possible.
Charlotte Maginnis is Sendco and Olivia Morley is deputy Sendco at The Compton School, part of Middlesex Learning Trust
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