In the UK, approximately 750,000 young people started secondary school in 2019. To support those who are making the move up from primary, schools undertake myriad transition activities. One of our research centre’s recent studies shows just how much goes on to prepare children for secondary.

Primary teachers, for example, talk to children about what to expect, give them opportunities to talk about what they are looking forward to and their concerns, and even visit secondary school with their pupils. We hear about secondary students coming back to their old primary to speak with P7s, secondary staff visiting children in their primary and the sharing of academic and social-emotional information between primaries and secondaries. Primary teachers also meet parents and - especially in the cases of children with additional support needs - other professionals.

However, there is concern that, owing to the Covid-19 school closures, children have missed out on these important transition activities. Let’s not forget how innovative children, teachers and families can be - but, even where children and young people go back to the same school as before lockdown, it will not be the same, given the physical distancing requirements and changes to class sizes and the school week.

How effective are transition preparation activities?

A lot of thought and planning go into these activities. But do you know whether they have been successful? Before the coronavirus struck, we asked children what worked for them. Their views on the effectiveness of the transition activities changed over time - as did their response to the question of whether schools had prepared them well.

When in P7, nearly 90 per cent of those asked said that transition preparation by both the primary and secondary school had been effective. However, three months after starting secondary, this went down to 66 per cent saying that primary schools’ transition practice had been effective, and 77 per cent saying the same for secondary schools.

So, why the change? Well, a significant number of new S1 students felt that the transition activities and preparation that they were given were not applicable when they actually got to secondary school. Indeed, a small number commented that their primary teachers had increased their concerns about secondary, when trying to prepare them for the high level of work and secondary teachers’ expectations.

Familiarisation with the demands of secondary school, according to the children, started much earlier than P7. They said that their primary had helped them to get to know their future school in P6 through use of its gym and swimming pool, and that they were given more responsibility and academically harder work when they started P7.

Primary teachers had taught them skills that would be important during the transition, such as cooperation, respect and strategies for dealing with various issues. As teachers, then, we must consider the full gamut of transition and weigh up whether our perception of successful transition is as comprehensive as it should be.

Most of the children were positive about induction and transition days, residential trips, visits from secondary staff and academic preparation by their primary and secondary schools. At the end of S2, however, some children made suggestions for improving primary-secondary transitions - as well as for what could help the move from S1 to S2 - such as longer induction periods, privacy to discuss problems, advice on making and maintaining friendships, and more information on what to expect.

Different approaches worked for different children - the takeaway message here is to give them a range of options. It is also important to close the feedback loop; that is, for primary teachers to find out what worked for their former pupils.

Surprisingly, though, teachers seem to be asked to provide effective transition practices without receiving any training to do so.

How can transition activities be done differently?

Familiarisation activities are particularly important as schools contend with Covid-19 and physical distancing. Familiarisation with the physical space can be achieved through virtual tours of the school. In terms of the social environment, schools could collate videos of staff introducing themselves, and organise exciting problem-solving activities in which small groups of children can get to know their peers from different primary schools. For example, you could host a “whodunnit” that involves the solving of a mystery, which, if necessary, could be done within a mix of virtual and physical spaces.

Lockdown reduced opportunities for children to interact with their new teachers in advance. Sadly, pupils also left school without the usual formal events to mark such milestones. Some schools did organise virtual leavers’ events - providing this sort of closure is important for them to move on, as it is for their teachers and families.

Who can children talk to about transitions?

Who do you think children most often discussed transitions with? Most pupils mentioned their parents or grandparents, and this did not change from P7 to S2. Next were classmates, siblings or cousins, and friends who were not classmates, which again didn’t change much over time.

The professionals only came after that, notably primary teachers and, in secondary school, guidance teachers. One child said that although there is a guidance base in their secondary school, they would prefer to get support from family and friends. That child did not think that guidance teachers could solve their problems, and could do nothing more than just “be there” for students - while acknowledging that this might be all some children need.

Teachers should not be disheartened - this might simply reflect the fact that there are times, such as in the summer, when teachers are not around. Nevertheless, it does point to the importance of effective transition partnerships with families. Children recounted having conversations with their families about how their day at school had been and their feelings, and talked of parents discussing their own experiences of secondary school and homework. In the context of Covid-19 school closures, this finding is, in fact, quite positive: children and young people, in the main, have been with people whom they see as their most important support network during transitions.

Such support is even more important after the multiple transitions that children have experienced owing to Covid-19. I cannot emphasise enough the significance of the child’s voice and agency, which might have been curtailed by lockdown, with negative impact on their wellbeing.

Children should feel in control of their life, including their school life.

What is a transition?

When we talk of transitions, are we all talking about the same thing? We recently undertook a systematic literature review - covering 96 papers from 2008 to 2018 - to see how authors of primary-secondary transition research papers had conceptualised transitions. Most had conceptualised the apparently commonsense interpretation of the term: that transition is about change. Several authors used a negative discourse and emphasised the disruption that it led to.

To me, transition is an ongoing process of psychological, social and educational adaptation over time due to the changes in context, relationships and identity. This can be exciting and worrying for the same child, and feelings fluctuate over time. Children, then, need ongoing support, not only when moving from one school to another but also through the same school.

Transitions are complex, not straightforward and linear. Every child will experience multiple transitions in different domains and contexts at the same time; the child will then also trigger transitions for family, peers and professionals, and, in turn, will be affected by these people’s transitions. I have captured this in my theory of “multiple and multi-dimensional transitions”.

For example, a primary school teacher is expected to form good relationships (a key factor in transitions) with nearly 30 sets of children and families. When those children move on, teachers can experience a sense of loss and must prepare to form relationships with another set of children and families. And children can experience transitions - whether educationally or in relationships - as a result of their teacher’s transitions; for example, when a teacher goes part-time or job-shares.

If you see transition exclusively as the move between primary and secondary, it is likely that you will put support just before and after the move. If you see it as ongoing, you will likely provide support over a longer period of time. For example, at the end of S1 one child told us that they had anxiety before moving to secondary, which carried on into S1. The anxiety resulted in them not wanting to be in school. But they persevered and continued to interact with peers, and made friends. By the end of S1 their anxiety had disappeared. This is why ongoing support is required.

If you see the process as multi-dimensional - that is, the experience of children triggering transitions for others - you’re likely to consider supporting children in different ways, while also being mindful of their families’ transitions and your own, too.

This, however, is the most important point: it seems that, even within the same primary and secondary clusters, there are variations in the conceptualisation of transitions. To better support our children, we need a common understanding - among children, parents and professionals - of what transition is. Otherwise, we risk not meeting the transition support needs of each child.

What is a successful transition?

But, even if we know what transition is, how do we know what successful transition is? You will be familiar with the idea of “dips in attainment” when children start secondary school - from this perspective, successful transition is when there is no such dip.

However, some researchers have focused on wellbeing and argue that successful transition is when the child has the same level of connectedness with secondary school as they had in primary. I believe that we should focus on wellbeing outcomes, as they can have an impact on educational outcomes.

We can consider transition in a very different way: starting secondary school is symbolic of progression, so should be seen as inherently positive. Moving into S1, after all, can open up all sorts of new social networks and opportunities for learning. Rather than starting by listing problems, perhaps we should begin by seeing what children have to gain. Successful transitions should be about flourishing in secondary school, socially, psychologically and educationally.

However, this is not possible until teachers and parents understand their own, interrelated transitions, and are supported to flourish in them. In order to help children get the most out of transition, teachers and parents must get support for their own transitions.

Professor Divya Jindal-Snape is director of the Transformative Change: Educational and Life Transitions (TCELT) Research Centre at the University of Dundee and leads on the International Network of Transitions Researchers

This article originally appeared in the 11 September 2020 issue under the headline “Lost in transition”