Helping Southampton children feel safe & ready for School Transition

I had the privilege this week of joining our Schools team leader Ellie at Abbotswood Junior School in Totton where we were delivering a Transition Day to 160 Year 6 pupils.

At the end of this term, the children will be leaving the familiar territory of their junior school environment and moving to various senior schools in the city.  

The programme for the day was aimed at reassuring the children that although the transition to a senior school in September might feel a little daunting, with good preparation and planning all would be well and that they would settle in quickly to their new environments.  

We covered many practical aspects of transition for the children and discussed issues such as how they would travel to school, how to ensure that they arrived on time and even how to tie a tie!  

From their feedback, after getting involved in some practical activities, it was clear that many of the children were anxious about Day 1 at their new school.  How would they know where to find their first lesson?  What if they got lost? What happens if I fall behind with my homework?

We stressed the importance of maintaining a close friendship group and speaking with their new teachers if they had any concerns.  No-one expected them to know everything on their first day!  We also talked about the opportunities that their new senior school would bring including specialist science subjects, a variety of new sports and new arts and drama experiences.

Our interaction with the children was amazing, and Ellie did a great job talking them through their various concerns.  The day was interspersed with stories from the bible which highlighted individuals such as Joseph, Daniel and Peter each of whom trusted in God and overcame their fears.  

It was such a good day at Abbotswood School, the staff were so supportive and the children eager to listen and learn. For me, it was just so lovely to see these enthusiastic young children taking in many key lessons that would make their transition to the next educational level a little easier.  At the end of the day we prayed with 160 children and that was a privilege in itself!  My thanks to Ellie, the Abbotswood School staff and pupils

Steve