Transition Support

Support Taken from 

Healthy Schools and Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) Strategy Teams’ Newsletter

Transition
Here are our Top Tips for supporting children and families through transitions between settings:

▪ Instil Hope - Transitions are a stressful time. Children and their families are likely to be pushed outside their window of tolerance. We can help them to expand their window of tolerance through the support we offer throughout transitions.
▪ Be Compassionate and Kind – when sharing information about the child with their new school, keep it simple and involve the child / their family. Include what you have learnt about meeting the child’s needs and how they are likely to adapt to new expectations, environments and change. Focus on their wellbeing and personality rather than behaviour.
▪ Promote Connection and Belonging – with new peers and new adults. Provide confidence about
who they will see on a daily or weekly basis, and who they can seek out for specific reasons. Remember also to value the existing relationships in the school/setting they are leaving with hopeful endings and compassionate goodbyes.
▪ Provide Familiarity - Videos and photographs are a great way of building familiarity without having to arrange lots of trips and visits. These can be looked at as much as required at the current school/setting and at home. Include the most important places which meet their basic needs, such as the toilets, lunch hall, and the route from the gate to their meeting place on the first day.
▪ Think Family - Reassure parents/carers and provide information about who can they contact, how and when. Consider opportunities for parent/carer networking and signpost to support: 

http://www.essexlocaloffer.org.uk/transition-hints-and-tips/