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Transition support

Transitions are typically hard times for children with an ASD and their families. Changing or starting school can be a tricky time but there are lots of resources available to help you prepare your child for this move. Please look below and see what you think might support your child….

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    Transition to Primary School

    Transtion to Primary School 

    Preparing your child for the move to a new school or new class can be helped a lot by using visual resources such as home-made books and stories to talk about the move ahead of time

     

    Home-made books

    There are templates which you can use to get your child familiarised with the changes of staff, children and the environment. It can be a really nice activity to take photos with your child when they visit their new school/ class and put them into the template story. 

    Here are some example templates 

    After the school holidays...Editable 'School Holidays'

    Hints and tips….

    • Take photos and stick on the pages -if some pages are irrelevant to your child leave them out, if you don’t have or know the names till the last minute write them on
    • Some schools have photos on the websites -use these
    • Countdown calendar week or so before – keep it simple 

    Books you can buy to talk about school changes

    • See You Later, Mum – Jennifer Northway
    • The First Day of School – Toby Forward
    • Going to School – Usborne First Experience
    • Maisy Goes to Nursery – Lucy Cousins
    • Come to School Too, Blue Kangaroo! – Emma Chichester Chalk
    • Starting School – Janet and Allan Ahlberg
    • Lulu Loves Nursery – Camilla Reid
    • I Am Too Absolutely Small for School – Lauren Child
    • Billy and Lulu Loves Nursery – Camilla Reid
    • I Am Too Absolutely Small for School – Lauren Child
    • Billy and the Big New School – Catherine and Laurence Anholt
    • My First Day at Nursery School – Becky Edwards
    • Splat the cat-Rob Scotton

    Other resources that might be helpful

        Transition support helpline (autism.org.uk)

      Preparing for a trip on an airplane - social story.

    I'm Going To School - Transition Workbook: (available on Amazon.co.uk)

     

      National Literacy Trust - 'Words for Life' - Getting ready to start school 

    Royal borough of Greenwich guidance and support

    Information on primary schools in Greenwich and contact details.

      Search the directory     Apply for a primary school place

       

      Transfer process between or into specialist provisions/schools

      All schools have information in their Local Offer/SEND information report which outlines the specific processes for transition in and out of their schools, including at secondary transfer. Special schools and DSP’s have specific processes, typically including:

      • Supported transition visits
      • Exchange visits between schools
      • Transition books to support individual students as needed
      • Transition passports/profiles

      Early Years transitions

      ​Transitions are the moves children make from home to an early learning and childcare setting and from there to primary school. Transitions and changes are part of everyone's life. The vast majority of children look forward to moving on.

      However, transitions can be challenging and support from parents and staff, particularly the sharing of information can help transitions go more smoothly. The following documents have been developed to support this.

      Useful questions for parents 

      Support for transition to Primary School

      Early Years Transition checklist

      Early Years Transfer Form Guidcance

      Transition to Secondary School

      Transition to Secondary School

      The Royal Borough of Greenwich provides information for parents applying for a secondary school place for their child. An interactive version of the ‘Secondary Schools in Royal Greenwich’ booklet is available on our website. Reference hard copies are available in Royal Greenwich primary schools and libraries. Our Families Information Service organises sessions to support parents in making informed and realistic preferences, and provide help in completing the relevant forms.

      There are TWO separate systems for applying to secondary school, dependent on whether your child has a statement of SEN/EHC Plan or if they are receiving interventions at the school based stage of SEND support.

      Applying for a school if your child has a statement of SEN/EHC Plan:

      • Parents will be supported to state their preference for a secondary school at   the Annual Review in Year 5 of their statement of SEN/EHC Plan
      • Between the review and September of year 6, if your child has a Statements of SEN it will be converted to an EHC Plan
      • You will be involved in this conversion and will receive a copy of the proposed EHC Plan
      • In October of year 6 the Local Authority will consult with the schools of your preference
      • In December the schools will respond to the consultation and you will be informed of the outcome, If necessary, further schools will be consulted
      • In January final decisions about school placement are made
      • In mid-February the final EHC Plan will be sent out
      • Induction days are typically organised by secondary schools at the beginning of July, prior to secondary transfer, to give students a “taster” day of being at secondary school. Some outreach services provide additional supported sessions to aid the transition process.

      Applying for a school if your child does NOT have a statement of SEN/EHC Plan:

      • You need to complete the Common Application Form, stating your preference schools, by 31st October in Year 6. Details on how to apply are available on our website.
      • It is important that you consider each school’s admission arrangements and previous years’ application rates before deciding on your preference schools.
      • You will receive the outcome of your application on National Offer Day in early March of Year 6.
      • Induction days are typically organised by secondary schools at the beginning of July, prior to secondary transfer, to give students a “taster” day of being at secondary school. Some outreach services provide additional supported sessions to aid the transition process.

      Transition support for students with ASD:

      Transition pack                What will secondary school be like?

      Going to my new class         Transition Workbook

      Transport to school

      Detailed information is available in the Local Authority transport policy but, parents can request home to school transport by completing a Travel Assistance form
      Transport is usually only agreed in exceptional circumstances:
      If the educational setting (special schools, designated special provision or to a school that is the only one that can meet need, and:

      • The pupil lives more than 3 miles from the school (over the age of 8)
      • The pupil lives more than 2 miles from the school (under the age of 7)
      • The pupil is too vulnerable to use public transport even with support

      Pupils may be transported to their nearest mainstream school if:

      • They have significant mobility difficulties or they are too vulnerable to use public transport even with support (Medical Transport)
      • For pupils who have medical needs that mean that they cannot use public transport: medical transport requests will be sent to the Senior Medical Officer (SMO) for their confirmation that the pupil requires transport provision. Parents are expected to provide treating medical professional’s details and outline of medical difficulty. One agreed, this arrangement will be reviewed AS ADVISED by the SMO annually

      General transport provision will be reviewed each year at annual review. Schools should look to encourage independent travel and where possible provide travel training for age appropriate students were possible.

      Further information on transport is available here

      Events

      Two events are held on an annual basis to support vulnerable students to make a successful transition to their chosen secondary school placement. Both events are organised to enable the transfer of detailed student based information between primary and secondary schools to support transitions to be as successful as possible. Secondary and Primary SENCO’s are invited to attend on an annual basis in the first half of the summer term, once their school placement has been decided. The primary focus of both these events is on the transfer of students without a statement/EHC plan, as this group of students will not have an annual review to plan for this transition.

      • A day event for “vulnerable” children transferring to secondary school, including:
        Children with SEND with a focus on those at SEND support
        Children with a Statement/EHC plan
        Looked after children (LAC)
        Children who have had behaviour support while at primary school
        Children known to the attendance advisory service
        Children with English as an additional language

      • A half day event covering the same issues specifically for students with an ASD

      Transfer process between or into specialist provisions/schools

      All schools have information in their Local Offer/SEND information report which outlines the specific processes for transition in and out of their schools, including at secondary transfer. Special schools and DSP’s have specific processes, typically including:

      • Supported transition visits
      • Exchange visits between schools
      • Transition books to support individual students as needed
      • Transition passports/profiles

      Forms used to transfer information between primary and secondary schools

      The Local Authority (in collaboration with Greenwich schools) has devised an information sharing template, to support the transfer of information between primary and secondary schools. This form is designed to support the discussion between primary and secondary SENCO’s and to be used as a written record of this contact between the schools.
      At the point of transfer all students with an ASD will also have a communication profile/passport, which will be circulated to all the adults that will be involved in supporting the student in their secondary school, which gives an immediate profile of the young person. This is developed in collaboration with parents, the student and their primary school.
      As above, special schools and DSP’s have their own school specific systems to serve the same purpose.

      Description of different transition projects available to support students moving to mainstream secondary school in Greenwich

      There are many different transition projects that students can access in Greenwich to support their transition to secondary school. Many schools now run their own schemes for specific groups of children, and details can be obtained from the individual schools. Special schools may have an extended programme of visits to familiarise students with the new setting, and again details can be got from the individual schools.

      Schemes run centrally to support students transferring to mainstream secondary schools are:

      Please also refer to the revised version of