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Transition Programme
R - resilience
A - aspiration
I - independence
S - success
E - engagement
We understand that the transition to secondary school is more challenging for some children than for others. For that reason, we offer a Transition Programme that operates a much smaller class size of around 15 to 18 students throughout Year 7 for a selected group of students. The programme is available to all Year 7 learners who we deem appropriate, not just those with special educational needs. In Transition, the students study exactly the same curriculum as the rest of Year 7, just in a more calm, consistent and nurturing environment. Core subjects (Maths, English, RE, Geography and History) are taught by one teacher in the same classroom, with the rest of their school timetable (including pastoral events such as form time and clubs) mirroring the rest of Year 7.
We select students for Transition based on their KS2 data, discussions with their primary school teacher, the primary SENCO (if relevant) as well as further assessments that we conduct on the Year 6 into 7 day in June. Students will be placed in the programme from the very start of September and parents will be notified once the children are settled into the programme:
The aim of the programme is to ensure that all students thrive and are ready to access the full curriculum independently in Year 8. Some students will spend the whole year in Transition, others will move out and into wider population sooner; when and how this works is tailored to an individual student's needs and is managed by our Head of Transition, Mr S Rowan.
Now in our fourth year of running the programme, we have consistently seen that the programme significantly reduces the initial stresses of multiple teachers and environments, whilst also setting students up for sustained success throughout year 7 and beyond. We provide an environment where the ultimate goal is to help less-confident students develop the skills and attitudes necessary, to become resilient, independent learners who, confidently take ownership of and access their learning to the best of their ability.