Talking about School Transition (TaST) 5-7

‍ ‍#TaST 5-7 is a 21-week universal, skills-based transition curriculum, which is delivered by teachers in schools. #TaST 5-7 takes an early-intervention approach, through developmentally sequenced lessons delivered across the last two years of primary school (Year 5 and 6) and first year of secondary school (Year 7), to gradually develop children’s awareness, knowledge and ability to cope with the multiple changes they will experience over primary-secondary school transition, through scaffolding a repertoire of socio-emotional skills. In doing so #TaST 5-7 aims to improve children’s primary-secondary school transition appraisals and coping efficacy, to ultimately improve their emotional wellbeing, and reduce mental health difficulties.

‍This gradual, cross-phase progression approach embodies the principles of adaptability, scaffolding children’s exposure and engagement with primary-secondary school transition changes incrementally to support preparedness while minimising feelings of overwhelm. This aligns with evidence that transition provision is most effective when exposure to secondary school is gradual and scaffolded in line with children’s ‘window of tolerance’, providing honest insight into what to expect and how to navigate differing expectations, while maintaining a degree of consistency, as too much, too soon can lead to feelings of overwhelm and anxiety (Bagnall et al., 2020). 

Recognising this, in Year 5, the curriculum begins with scaffolding transferable skills, such as asking for help, and making decisions, which children are likely to have experienced in situations of novelty and uncertainty in their day-to-day life. This foundation lays the groundwork for the more explicit primary–secondary school transition content explored in Year 6, where attention shifts to exploring similarities and differences between primary and secondary school to understand upcoming changes, before incrementally contextualising learnt skills in relation to typical primary-secondary school transition scenarios through Forum Theatre. In Year 7 children apply learnt skills in navigating unfamiliar people, places and routines, by practising in class, through activities such as reading school maps, rehearsing conversations with new teachers, and building peer connections, to develop adaptive strategies and confidence. 

‍Contact details:

For further information on primary-secondary school transition, please do not hesitate to contact:

‍Dr Charlotte Bagnall: charlotte.bagnall@manchester.ac.uk

Liz Stevenson: liz.lseducation@gmail.com

‍ We are incredibly passionate about how we can best support primary-secondary school transition and would be happy to answer any questions you may have, provide further information and resources, and in particular would also be very keen to hear about how #TaST 5-7 worked within your educational setting. This is valuable first-hand insight that will help to further improve primary-secondary school transition support provision within practice.

In particular, if you would be interested in evaluating the efficacy of #TaST 5-7 within your educational setting, please do not hesitate to contact Charlotte. She will be able to provide some straightforward, easy to administer scales, including #P-S WELLS, and will be delighted to assist with your evaluation work.