Moving to Secondary School

Book excerpt: Transfer from primary to secondary school is one of the most significant and difficult steps in a child?s life. This educational transition coincides with physical and emotional changes, as well as significant ?rewiring? within the brain. Evidence suggests that this time is one of both profound anxiety and optimistic expectation.Such strong feelings and daunting changes inevitably affect children?s emotional well-being and sense of self. Successful transition is crucial to a child?s secondary school career. Pupils who fail to settle are more likely to become alienated and disruptive and suffer the well-known academic ?dip?.Moving to Secondary School helps teachers to understand and ease children?s anxieties and to focus on the positive. The book tackles worries about organizational aspects of secondary school life, such as school size, timetable and workload, and personal concerns about making friends, being bullied and getting on with teachers. It also considers how teaching differs between primary and secondary, and how special programmes can offer continuity in students? learning, while allowing for the discontinuity that signals children becoming more grown up.Working from careful background research and case studies, the book suggests short activities and longer-term programmes including:otaster day and fun day visits to secondary schoolsoteacher exchanges between primary and secondary schoolsospecial parents? eveningsosummer holiday projects and induction activitiesoutilizing peer mentorsocreative writing, role play, discussion and gamesotransition passports and diariesolearning style and multiple intelligence profilesothinking skills activities for inductionoexercises to promote self-confidence and improve social skills.