Transitions+Between+Key+Stages

Catherine Walkear
 * Transitions Between Key Stages**

__**Notes from KS1 and KS2 discussion**__

__Transition between Year 6 and 7__


 * Ideas and current practice occurring in our schools:**


 * Senior school students will give tours
 * Head of Year 7 comes in to chat
 * Year 7’s allocated a buddy in Year 6
 * Letters written by Year 7s for the Year 6s
 * Year 7s led talks for Year 6s (Year 6s come up with questions)
 * Use a counselor for a big Q & A session
 * Year 7s present a piece of academic work to Year 6 (and vice versa)
 * (Icon day – hotseated)
 * Transition day (Science explosions, DT equipment etc)
 * Joint team building morning in houses between Year 6 and Year 7 (joint project)
 * ‘A day in the life of’ video made by Year 7 and shown to Year 6
 * Teachers meeting to discuss children and handover information.
 * Moderation of work (English) particularly in regards to the ‘dip’ in levels.
 * Looking at the support given academically (teaching styles) and how and when to make the transition to secondary styles of teaching.
 * Good link with the Maths dept. challenges set and KS2 children can go for the KS3 tasks/elements.
 * Transition Units (Island idea – children created a nation **TTS**) Linked directly to the next period of work in the next year group. This could be extended to be used with KS2 – planets for example?
 * CAS students being involved.


 * Action Points/To consider**


 * WWW/ebi – need to conduct interviews and assess this feedback. (children, staff and parents)
 * Both children and teachers need to understand this process and the difficulties associated (perhaps invite secondary teachers to view classrooms/observation)
 * Children receiving LS find this very difficult.
 * Transition Units
 * Important to guide the parents with using the grading system in preparation for the format of the KS3 reports (depending on schools and the way they level/grade in written reports.)
 * Better that levels are given at the end of each Key stage and that parents are aware of the changes/similarities in systems.


 * Key Stage 1/Key Stage 2**

Head comes over to meet the children coming up and very early, the Head will meet with all the teachers and they will build on the similarities and build on these.

Head of houses will also participate in this process. House Captains organised a teddy bears picnic (as a way to introduce themselves) Younger children attending assemblies. Learner Profiles/Attributes link into the opportunities and activities offered. KS1 children coming over to the Science Lab for example. Science Lab/Team building tasks extravaganza – Year 1 to Year 6 (mixed groups for a ‘Science’ Day) House days (working across the Key stages) Reading partners – all year round (poetry sharing etc) Buddy system (favourite things/flag building/handprints/friendship bracelets) Friendship Days Small visits Storybooks created for the younger pupils ‘My Teacher’ book (based on lists of ten favourite things) A guide for the year. New teachers create a power point about themselves. Writing a letter ‘these are the tips … how to deal with your new teacher …) Flip books School Council produced an information booklet (PPT format and emailed out) Whole school newsletters Monthly publications


 * 1) Newsletter idea . ‘this week you should have received ….’

__**Notes from KS3 Discussion**__ - DCShanghai - parental demand for Sept/Oct transition for Yr 6 – 7 – to give notice to stay on or move in Shanghai - Coming up to 3rd event with Yr 6 - Growing need for parental transition – eg 1:1 laptop policy (introduced for Year 7 after half term) – nervousness amongst parents - Parent Information/forums re laptops – discussion re parental control of use. Parents prefer school to set controls, but school can’t do this as they access home networks. Talk through scenarios – on the playstation for 5 hours, what would you do – etc School will deal with the student coming to school without a problem. - organization issues. - Transition Day – mid-way through Year 6. Series of days with new students coming in. - Involving current Year 7’s going down to talk with Year 6. Possibility. “Transition Team” to talk before the Year 6’s come up - DCBeijing: “Night of the Notables” – Year 7’s research a notable person, give the presentation in character. Year 6 are their audience (Feb) so Year 6’s see what to do – then go back to Year 7 form rooms and talk with the Year 7’s. - Harrow Beijing : Transition days to secondary campus, sample lessons, some integration into after school activities, effective KS3 manual – written in “user-friendly” language, with pictures – could use student input. - Dudley Challenge – online – projects and tasks to do – eg put Year 6’s together into Year 7’s – 2 days to do it (eg design a school – layout, crest, uniform). Do it in the school they are going to so they know where the toilets are, the lunch hour, teachers etc.
 * Year 6 – 7: **

-Transition Week – 3 days of timetable (Paul Guiness – “Have A Go – What do you want to know?”) Ask Yr 6’s to present what they know; and Year 7’s/teachers can correct or add to.

- treasure hunt around the school - Year 6 and Year 7 tutors can exchange to add depth of knowledge - Year 7 joined Year 6 residential week, joined games New families – all through the school – parents come in on the day the students do for induction games/talking/connection

- settled generally, but issues with girls - try:
 * Year 8**

Harrow Beijing: **Circle Time** – works at all levels - right to speak, not to speak, what is said in the Circle stays in the Circle, need one hour, no one comes in /out, follows a set format – game (often inclusion)/initial activity/main activity/finishes with a game - can have an “object of power” to limit - train staff – very worthwhile. Best training is to run a Circle Time. - friendship/homework/ any issue - Good thing for Head of Year to do too – and tutor can observe too


 * Sporcle:** website for activities/quizzes
 * Free Rice** website


 * DC Shanghai**: Peer mediation – not just the two people, but they bring one person each; or can invite neutral party(parties)

Caps on specific national groups?
 * BSB;** large Korean communities in schools – separate them?? Inclusive to speak English, impossible to stamp out. Korean companies reducing.

Specific language days?

International Display Boards – sometimes difficult with small numbers.

ICT can shut down screen and be off network for a week. Other schools? Case by case … email parents, encourage them to be a “friend” on their student’s “facebook” and/or monitor it
 * Use of Facebook/Skype etc** - after school

Parents set up a class facebook and excluded the students – what is the role of the school?

Mainly happening out of school.

“Digital fingerprint” – tracing back –

Harnassing responsible parents – encouraging responsible independence

Cyber-bullying – add to bullying, treat as per any other

- once choices made how do they stay motivated? Choices made late Feb. - any schools start GCSSE courses early? Some start in last 3 weeks of term – introductory. Students do forget over holidays. Difficult internationally as new students start at the start of the new year. - Rewards – competitions between forms, trying a ladder system. Different things each day – uniform, punctuality, answering questions in class etc. But Year 9 do start to not always respond so positively to rewards (not “cool”) - Yr 9 Graduations? - Ethos of working/report grades important if moving to other countries/schools
 * Y**e**ar 9’s motivated before GCSE’s??**

- “Taster Week” for Year 9’s before subject choices. Resulted in increasing numbers in some of the subjects.

- DC Shanghai – cannot do both Business Studies and Econmoics at IGCSE – not broad enough. (Garden – also Accounting – can do 2 of the 3)

-options – “pushy parents” – do better if they do what they choose. Interview students why they chose subjects – if feel a subject has been selected by parent and student doesn’t want it, contact parents and discuss - University Careers Guidance Counsellor talks to parents/student – hard-hitting (eg nothing below an A for Oxbridge)

-IGCSE/IB and beyond – **all** parents invited

- tutors meet – Yr 6 to 7? - Heads of Year 6 and Year 7 meet and discuss, put on central database - Varies depending on how much the form teahcer documents/records - Student Progress reports Yr 7 – 9 on central database so teachers can add, confidential notes go only to Senior management - SIMS – set up behavioural management – can get weekly report/monitor – recurrent academic
 * Passing of records from keystage to keystage **