HOLY CROSS CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL
Overview At Holy Cross we believe that the transition process for pupils from Year 6 into Year 7 is a crucial time as they move from the familiarity of primary school into what, for some, is the daunting territory of secondary school. Of course, most pupils take this in their stride, but for some, this process is much more difficult and complex for a variety of different reasons. We therefore like to start the process of transition early and ensure that the more anxious pupils spend plenty of time working with the staff and pupils of Holy Cross, visiting the school, and generally feeling more comfortable there before they join us in the September. Purpose As a school we want to ensure that the pupils are already familiar with the staff they will be working closely with, the pupils in their tutor groups and the site. We find that many Year 6 pupils are particularly anxious about getting lost in such a large building, especially when moving to different classrooms between lessons. We therefore offer pupils the opportunity to engage with Holy Cross in order to minimize the number of new challenges they will face in September. We start to actively strengthen relationships from May (having started to build them during transition days and activities in Years 4 and 5) which results in the pupils feeling much more comfortable when they start in Year 7.
What we did The transition process at Holy Cross starts in May so as not to cause any disruption to SATs preparation. The Head of Year (HOY) 7, Pastoral Assistant Headteacher and SENCO visit all of our feeder primary schools. During these visits, the Assistant Headteacher stays with the Year 6 class and talks to the pupils about life at Holy Cross. The pupils are able to ask as many questions as they want about attending a secondary school. Meanwhile, the HOY and SENCO take the opportunity to spend time with the Year 6 class teacher in order to find out as much information as possible about each pupil transferring to us. This includes teacher assessment levels, any attendance, behavioural, family or medical issues together with information about their hobbies and interests so that we have a holistic view of each individual child. At the end of June/early July parents and pupils are invited to attend the New Intake Evening. During this event, pupils go to their tutor bases and meet their tutor for September and the other pupils in their tutor group. Parents stay in the hall for a presentation from members of SLT and the HOY regarding the school’s expectations and the three way partnership between pupil, parent and the school. Subsequently pupils are invited to spend a day in school when they attend lessons, use the canteen, participate in PE and generally experience a typical day at Holy Cross. Any pupils identified as likely to find the transition process particularly difficult, are also invited to spend one evening per week, between 4 and 5pm during the final half term, at Holy Cross. They are collected from their primary school and transported to us in our minibus and are then offered different activities/classes with the subject specialist for that week’s activity. The visits give the pupils further opportunities to familiarise themselves with the building, meet some of the staff and other new intake pupils. These pupils are also invited to attend the Summer School. The Summer School takes place during the penultimate week of the summer holiday and consists of a variety of activities in school, as well as several visits out of school, to give the pupils the opportunity to build friendships and develop their confidence before the start of the new academic year the following week.