Moving to a new school can feel overwhelming to a young person, especially if they do not feel supported or their feelings acknowledged.
Transition means a gradual change. Transition means the ending of something to make way for something new. There are things we can do as adults to support children and young people in making the transition to a new school as smooth as possible in addition to things a child or young person can do to help themselves. Everyone at some point in their life can experience times of feeling overwhelmed with life. Our feelings can be divided into three zones:
Comfort Zone – This is the zone we all like to be in. It’s time spent with people we know and enjoy their company in places we feel we can relax and be ourselves. Our tummy feels calm and relaxed. This is how many children have grown to feel at their current school. It is familiar, they know the staff, they know their way around the site and they know what to expect.
Stretch Zone –Spending time in this zone is a mini challenge. It may be going somewhere new, trying a new activity or spending time with people that you don’t know. This is the zone children and young people are entering when they transition to a new school. It can feel a bit uncomfortable but with the right support the child/young person can be ‘comfortable in the uncomfortableness`. This zone is where the magic happens and individuals can start to learn more about themselves
Panic Zone – Too stressful, things have got too much or gone too far. When in the ‘Panic Zone`, children/young people may expereince some BIG feelings, their mind may be thinking BIG negative thoughts which can make the situation feel much worse. The emotional part of their brain won’t let the rational thinking come through.
Ten tips for ‘Supporting the stretch zone’ to help make school transitions more comfortable for children/young people.
- Visit the new school’s website. Shorter visits to the site are recommended so it doesn’t become information overload! Each time you visit the site with your child you can plan what you want to find out, for example, names of teachers, after school club information.
- Practice the route to school a few times. This makes something new become more familiar.
- Visit the school. If you cannot attend a transition event, a visit to the school on a weekend will help you and the young person see the premises from the gates so it becomes something tangible, a real place.
- Create a memory book/box of keepsakes from the previous school, for example, old school work, certificates, photos. Creating something with the young person provides them with the opportunity to reflect and share their memories. It allows them time to realise how much they have grown and changed since year one.
- Talk to them about any concerns they have. As humans if we are unsure of something, not talking about it can make the small concern grow into something much bigger. As adults we can be guilty of saying “you must be so excited about starting your new school”, which if you are a young person who isn’t feeling excited but instead nervous, this can act as a barrier to them feeling they can talk to you. Instead they may think ‘everyone if excited, I should be excited but I am not, is something wrong with me?
- Discuss contingency scenarios with your child. If you forget your homework, what will you do? This exercise makes potential worries much smaller as the young person is armed with a ‘how to handle this situation’ and lets you support them in making independent choices.
- Share with them good memories of your school days, the good and the not so good. It helps to share with young people that you have had similar feelings or experiences but how you managed them.
- Help the young person create an ‘I win’ list. This will detail what they will gain from starting a new school. This list can be as long or short as the young person chooses but may include things such as shorter school day, better uniform, regular Art lessons.
- Do you know any pupils who already attend the school that can share their positive experiences with your child/young person?
- Talk to your child/young person’s current school to find out what they are doing to support the transition.
