What do parents and carers, students and teachers need?
Parents and carers
Transition is about multiple practicalities: where their child will attend school, what costs will be involved, and what parent and carer responsibilities entail. In addition, there are affective considerations, like monitoring how their child is coping with change and taking action as needed to support them. Therefore, any resources that can help parents and carers in being aware of their responsibilities, and help them complete them in a timely manner, will be of great assistance.
Students
We know that some students will sail through transition, while others will be anxious. Many students will have questions; some will have misconceptions and will have heard myths about the secondary school experience. What all students will need is a sense of being prepared for whatever ‘change’ will come their way.
Teachers
Teachers are critically positioned within the transition experience. They are embedded in school systems, providing them with a unique insight into the workings of a primary, secondary, or combined school environment. They work closely with both students and parents and carers in the lead-up to and post transition. Therefore, teachers also need to know, based upon current research, how to best support the students (and parents and carers!) in their care, in their transition from primary to secondary.
The Life Ed suite of resources is designed to help with all these challenges. By now, you may have read through the research overview and gained a more-complex understanding of why transition processes need to be carefully planned and actioned. The checklist activity in this section is designed to help you assess what your school already does, and provide ideas of what else might help with transitions in your school context.