Moving to secondary

Preparing Year 6 pupils for `big school’

Moving to a different school can be daunting for pupils. The “moving to secondary” section of the transition collection on TES Resources will help pupils come to terms with the new experiences ahead.

Starfish1954 has uploaded a colourful PowerPoint presentation on any worries or questions Year 6 pupils might have about moving up to secondary. It asks pupils to focus on issues such as how they will travel to school, what they will miss about primary school, and how they can make new friends. There is also a useful booklet and website, called “Sussing out your secondary school”, where pupils can fill in their memories of primary school and nominate teachers or support staff who made them feel happy there.

To make the lesson even more interactive, download one of the “postcards” in the collection - parents can send their child a postcard to support them in transition or Year 6 pupils can write postcards with questions on them and receive a response from a Year 7 pupil in their new school (both Harris School).

For secondary teachers, there is a useful lesson plan for visits to Year 6 classes, uploaded by sandtondoll. Year 7s can introduce the primary pupils to PowerPoint and award them with a certificate, promoting interaction and helping the Year 6s feel more “grown up”.

Leavers’ assemblies

Songs, poems and plays to send them off

One of the most touching aspects of being a primary teacher is watching pupils blossom and move on, and this collection of leavers’ assemblies and other activities will help to mark their departure.

ElaineBengston has supplied a Doctor Who-themed play that pupils and teachers could perform, where pupils go back in time to when they were in reception.

SueRussell has uploaded an “ode” that the whole class can take part in. There is also a play based on the TV programme Big Brother, where pupils perform “tasks” to secure passage into Year 7.

Odsbods has written some alternative lyrics to the song Don’t Stop Believing by Journey, where pupils can insert the name of their school to make it more personal, while Roofwood has posted a link to a goodbye song in French and English.

News

Cool for schools

Blackpool Pleasure Beach is hosting a series of school performances of its ice-skating show Hot Ice on 12, 14, 19 and 21 July. For details, call 0871 222 8787 or email educationacademy@bpbltd.com.

Indus exploring

BBC Schools has launched a series of primary resources exploring the ancient Indus civilisation. The resources look at life 5,000 years ago in the Indus Valley, modern-day Pakistan. http:tinyurl.com6bxvbkz.

Ideas with teeth

TerraCycle and Aquafresh have announced a partnership which will let children dispose of old toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes. To find out more or to register your school, go to www.terracycle.co.uk.

Special needs

Helping SEN pupils move up requires sensitivity

Tackling transition with pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) requires a great deal of tact and sensitivity.

This group of transition resources includes a presentation to help children with autistic spectrum disorders deal with the move to secondary school. It explains how there will be lots of different classrooms to move between and how the timetable will work (georgetimlin).

A Teachers TV video looks at Plashet School in east London, where all prospective pupils visit, providing staff with an opportunity to assess their needs. We meet future student Atiya, who has physical difficulties on one side of her body, to see how she will cope with moving around her new school.

There are a number of resources from the Down’s Syndrome Association, including ideas such as asking the secondary SEN co-ordinator to come and observe the pupil in their primary class, and ensuring there is somewhere safe the child can go if they have difficulties in starting secondary school.