MOST of the 270 pupils who join Barking Abbey, east London, in September will already know their way around.
The sports college invites primary pupils to after-school clubs in football, dance, music and science.
The children will have met some of the Year 13 prefects and Year 7 pupils who visit primary schools to answer questions about “big school”. The teachers will also be prepared: Year 7 staff have been observing their primary colleagues to ensure a more consistent teaching style.
The secondary pays for teaching assistants to work with underachieving children in its two main feeder schools, Manor and Northbury juniors. The assistants report back to teachers at Barking Abbey enabling them to prepare literacy and numeracy lessons for these pupils. A new transition form will provide information on new pupils’ interests and behaviour as well as teacher assessments and test scores.
Pauline McBride, assistant head at Barking Abbey, said: “The form will give subject teachers a clearer picture of individual pupils. If pupils feel teachers know them and are interested in them, it helps.”
Funding for transition work has come from an education action zone project. From September, Barking Abbey will become a beacon school and will be funded to spread its good practice on transition.
