The first day at a new school typically involves ‘getting to know you' activities, helping students and teachers learn names and become more familiar with each other. But with 190 teaching days in the academic year, new year 7 students’ transition journey has only just begun. Day one should be the first of many days focusing on community building and creating strong, collaborative relationships in your classroom.
Evidence-based research suggests that during transition, secondary schools should make every effort to create a sense of ‘community belonging’ (Anderson et al, 2000) and to pay attention to children’s social and emotional needs, as well as their pedagogical needs.
A four-year study by UCL (2015) also identified the key elements of a successful transition: students need to be academically and behaviourally involved and feel a sense of belonging to school. The EEF’s school transition tool (2021) also recommended establishing healthy peer networks as part of a trio of effective transition strategies.
Of course, building a sense of community and belonging is much more than ensuring students feel welcome on the first day; they need to feel a connection to others and feel they are valued. Given that young people spend a significant amount of time each week in school, we have the opportunity to help students to make the most of that time together by developing supportive communities of learners. Icebreakers and ‘getting to know you’ activities are fantastic ways to begin, but it shouldn't end there. Transition should be a journey, and not an event.
Being part of a learning community has many benefits for students, from being more confident to take academic risks to feeling ownership of their environment and learning. First week activities such as role playing and discussion tasks can help students to get a sense of how respect looks, feels and sounds in their new school. Use students’ names frequently and model collaborative decision-making when you have the chance, such as by mutually agreeing classroom rules, expectations and responsibilities. Experiment with classroom jobs — a simple but powerful way to let your students know that the space also belongs to them. Create informal ‘shout out’ boards with sticky notes to encourage students to celebrate each other’s successes.
Taking academic risks
When students’ basic needs are met, such as feeling safe and valued, they are more likely to reach outside their comfort zone to take academic risks. Whether that’s by volunteering to lead their group in an activity or simply by raising their hand to respond to a question, students who feel safe in their classroom environment will be able to develop their learning skills and become more resilient.
Modelling inclusive approaches
When we take the time to get to know our students on a personal level, and are culturally responsive, we let them know that we genuinely care about them. This communicates our belief that our students have something valuable to offer, which in turn allows them to believe it, too. Once they feel a sense of belonging, it’s more likely that they will invest in their learning rather than be passive recipients of information.
Downloadable transition resources to help:
- 20 ideas for transition
- Closing the word gap: KS2-3 transition support
- Dear form tutor: year 7 transition letter
References:
Anderson, L. W. et al ‘School transitions: Beginning of the end or a new beginning?’ International Journal of Educational Research (2000), 33, 325–339.
EEF, ‘Supporting pupils through transitions: a trio of challenges’ (2021. https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/news/eef-blog-supporting-pupils-through-transitions-a-trio-of-challenges
UCL, ‘Predicting successful and difficult transitions to secondary school’ (STARS) (2015). https://www.ucl.ac.uk/pals/sites/pals/files/stars_report.pdf
University of Bristol, ‘Supporting learning in the transition to secondary school’ (2010). https://www.bristol.ac.uk/media-library/sites/cmpo/documents/transition.pdf
This article was first published as a newsletter in September 2022.
