At this time of year, if you're a Reception teacher, you'll be thinking about induction mornings or home visits and remembering what it's like to go back to basics once more.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the school, SATs are over, spirits are high and secondary school is calling. For some (staff included!), it can't come soon enough, but others may be feeling a little overwhelmed at the idea of leaving the comfort of primary school and being the smallest fish once more.
Resources for Reception and year 6
For Reception staff, meeting new parents can often be harder than meeting new charges, whether you're trying to allay parental anxieties or get parents on board. These handouts, 10 easy ways to support your Reception child and Supporting your child in mathematics, may be useful. And why not send these lovely Getting to know you cards home for children to complete with their parents or carers to help you and other staff find out more about them?
If you're trying to get ahead for September, our illustrated Classroom certificates and labels collection is bright and appealing and includes a choice of matching tray labels and cloakroom labels. There is also a set of stationery labels to help children identify equipment and keep your classroom tidy and organised. Subscribers can download these and our popular teaching pack, A flying start to phonics, for free. They are also available for free members to purchase.
Check out our Starting school collection for more resources for those all-important first few weeks.
Teaching year 6? If you can find time between play rehearsals, residential trips and leavers' events, this year 7 transition letter, Dear Form Tutor is a great activity. Children are prompted to include an introduction with brief information about themselves, a paragraph reflecting on their time at primary school and their hopes and fears about secondary school.
A blast from the past for some of us, This is your life is a great activity based on the long-running TV show. Children work in groups to research and then present their material in the style of the show. The perfect transition resource to celebrate differences and promote collaborative learning at the end of year 6!
For an appealing maths investigation, try Smarties maths, which practises all sorts of skills, including fractions and percentages. Groups will need a packet of Smarties, the resource sheet and some graph paper.
For those children who may be feeling anxious, this PowerPoint resource, Managing change, will help start a discussion about their feelings and strategies for managing times of change. They are also asked what advice they would give to a friend.
For more extended writing tasks, maths investigations and other engaging transition activities, browse our transition collection.
This article was first published as Editor's pick on 10 June 2022.
