Transition

Guidance to support a successful transition.

Transition support aims to provide guidance and tools to promote a successful transition for all learners in Oxfordshire, including vulnerable learners and children with special educational needs who may need an enhanced transition.

How transitions are managed is central to development and emotional well-being.

Principles for good transitions

A child or young person will experience many transitions during their education journey. These changes may occur daily between their home and setting or between class and break. 

Other transitions, such as a school or year group change, occur less frequently.

How transitions are managed is central to the child or young person's development and emotional well-being and will significantly impact the child's or young person's capacity to cope with change in the short and long term.

Guidance on Information sharing 

Information sharing is essential for effective safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. It is a key factor identified in many Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews (SPRs), where poor information sharing has resulted in missed opportunities to take action that keeps children and young people safe. 

If you have any safeguarding records or concerns regarding a child who has attended your school or setting these must be passed on to the receiving school or setting. 

For guidance on information sharing please refer to DfE non statutory information sharing advice for practitioners providing safeguarding services for children, young people, parents and carers  which includes the seven golden rules for information sharing.

1. Early Years transitions to new settings

These materials have been designed to provide guidance to promote a successful transition for all Early Years learners in Oxfordshire, including learners experiencing vulnerability or special educational needs who may need an enhanced transition. The materials aim to provide a supportive structure to the transition process and include a range of tools that have been developed in partnership with Childminders, Early Years settings, parents and representatives from health and education services.

Key Early Years transition support documents

Moving to Primary school - Transition timeline (pdf format, 921 KB) – provides a visual overview of the transition process including when each tool should be used during the transition process. 

Early Years Screening tool for Transition (xlsm format, 161 KB) – supports Early Years practitioners to identify children who need an enhanced transition.

Transition: Thinking ahead (pdf format, 283 KB) – supports thinking about transition for vulnerable learners in Early Years settings and what support is needed prior to transition to primary school. 

All About Me (pdf format, 790 KB) – gather and record child and parent carer views and aspirations so these can be kept central to all planning.

Transition Summary Form (pdf format, 641 KB) - for completion by Early Years Settings for all children starting in Reception.

Enhanced Transition Action Plan (pdf format, 538 KB) – captures the information shared by Early Years settings and joint planning discussions that take place e.g. at transition meetings between the family, the school, the early years setting and relevant professionals prior to starting at the new school for vulnerable learners.

Moving onto Primary School – parent/carer questionnaire – parent/carer post transition questionnaire to be shared annually by schools to find out about parent/carer experiences of transition for children who are now in Reception. Responses will help us understand what works well and what could be improved. We’ll use what parent/carers tell us to support Early Years settings and schools in making the transition smoother for all children. All responses will be anonymous. We’ll share the findings with all early years providers and use them to update the early years transition materials.

Frequently Asked Questions (docx format, 36 KB) –responses to the questions most often posed by Early Years settings and schools regarding supporting transitions for Early Years children starting in a new setting. 

Helpful resources to support transitions to new setting in the Early Years

Early Years Training on supporting transitions to a new setting or school

Transitions to a new setting or school for Early Years children with SEND Online training to jointly consider, review and share best practice for supporting transitions in the Early Years for children with SEND starting new settings in Oxfordshire.

2. Transition between primary and secondary school

Primary to Secondary Transition support documents 

The transition support documents are part of the OCC SEND transition Guidance and provide guidance and tools to promote a successful primary to secondary transition for all learners in Oxfordshire, including vulnerable learners who may need an enhanced transition.