Transition Resources

Transition at Catshill First School and Nursery 

Transition Resources that may help your Children can be found below produced by The Speech & Language Therapy Service

  • My School Clothes – a task to help children who are new to the school to know what they will be wearing
  • My Lunchbox – an activity that will help your child plan with you what their packed lunch might include
  • My New School Hunt –  for children who are new to our school here is a set of things to look out for in school
  • Transition Questions – These may be some of the questions your children might wonder about prior to their return.
  • Who? Where? When? What? questions to help prepare your child for transition into school in September

Catshill First School and Nursery to Middle School Transition Offer 2023-2024

The transition process in Bromsgrove between first and middle school has been used as a model of outstanding practice for other three tier systems across the country.

Aims:

For all year 4 pupils to settle quickly into their nominated Bromsgrove middle school.  For pupils to feel safe and happy; for parents to feel informed and part of the transition process.

Offer:

All middle schools, in collaboration with the first schools, offer the following to help fulfil the aim of first to middle school transition in Bromsgrove.

  1. Admissions: A section on the middle school websites will be dedicated to prospective parents guiding them to useful information when choosing a school for their child. This includes admission information.  This will be updated by each school in Autumn 1.
  2. Open Mornings: A chance for parents to book onto a tour of a school in Autumn 2.  This allows parents to see a working middle school, find out relevant information and ask questions.  Open mornings allow greater control over the safeguarding of all pupils, parents and staff. Middle and first schools will coordinate on dates in the Summer term.  To minimise disruption to first schools, where possible, middle schools will plan open mornings for the same day and within a shorter time frame. A programme will be sent out in advance.
  3. Communication between Schools: SLT representatives from each school to meet/liaise at least yearly.  Town co-ordinators for transition from all first and middle schools within Bromsgrove will meet together once a year to discuss transition.  The aim is for this meeting to be face-to-face.
  4. Pyramid Events: All middle schools will host two events throughout the year to give year 4 pupils ‘an experience of middle school’. A music event will take place in the Autumn term and a sports event in the Summer term. Where there is first school with large numbers going to 2 middle schools,middle schools will liaise to invite different schools to the two events to allow children to see more than one school.

Pyramids:

Alvechurch: Crown Meadow, Blackwell, St. Andrews, Beoley

Aston Fields: Finstall, Charford, Hanbury, Stoke Prior

Catshill: Catshill First, Lickey End, Fairfield

Parkside: Meadows, The Orchards, Dodford

St. John’s: Millfields, St. Peters, Charford

  1. Data Exchange: When schools have been allocated, all first schools will receive a copy of the Bromsgrove middle school transition spreadsheet. First schools will be asked to complete the key information about their cohorts.  This spreadsheet is consistent across the town to decrease the workload of first school staff using a 1-6 grading system.
  2. Information Exchange: Middle school staff will visit first schools in the Summer term to exchange more detailed pastoral information where needed about each pupil. Where a face-to-face visit cannot be made a phone call or virtual meeting will be used.  In some cases where there is a very small cohort of pupils and no additional information is needed, the spreadsheet will be enough.
  3. SEND: Middle school SENDCos will make contact with SENDCos in the first schools to exchange additional information on SEND pupils.
  4. Safeguarding: DSLs between the first and middle school will make contact to share information on relevant pupils including CLA.
  5. Visits: All pupils in main feeder first schools and larger cohorts will receive a visit/meet middle school staff and have the opportunity to join in a middle school learning experience. This may take place in their first school, or they may visit the middle school.  This will be dependent on individual middle school staffing and logistics. Parents are responsible for transport to these events.
  6. Small Cohort Transition: All middle schools to invite pupils from first schools in very small cohorts on the 26th June 2024.
  7. Question and Answer session: All pupils in main feeder schools will receive a live or virtual Q and A session with a member of staff from the middle school.  For smaller cohorts, a FAQ is available on the middle school websites.
  8. Vulnerable Pupils: these pupils will be offered additional transition by the middle schools to support their needs. (Vulnerable pupils: anxiety, trauma, SEND, CLA)
  9. Moving On Booklet: All year 4 pupils will be asked to complete the first part of the ‘Moving On’ booklet at their first school.  This booklet is consistent for all pupils to allow year 4 teachers to manage the activity when they have pupils going to different middle schools. These booklets are to be simplified to only include a piece of work the pupils are proud of, therefore decreasing the workload for first schools.
  10. Moderation: Year 4 and 5 staff will meet to moderate English and Maths books against agreed criteria as part of the transition process. This meeting will take place in the Summer term for the whole town at Parkside/ Meadows.  The agreed

criteria was created using the National Curriculum and English/Maths working party made up of staff from first and middle schools across the town.  Maths: 10th June 2024 @ 1.30pm. English writing 10th June 2024 @1.30pm. Teachers to bring one cusp ARE and one secure GD.

  1. Website: From Easter middle schools will gradually add extra information to support the transition process. This is particularly useful for parents to look at with their children, so they feel part of the process and for those pupils coming from smaller cohorts.  This includes a school tour, information video from the HOY/transition

co-ordinator, frequently asked questions and meet the teacher videos.

  1. New Parents’ Induction Event/Evening: All parents will be given the opportunity to attend an induction evening at their child’s new middle school in Summer 2.
  2. Year 5 Classes: Pupils and parents will be informed of their child’s year 5 class in Summer 2 or September dependant on the school.
  3. Induction Day: All pupils will have a chance to induct into their new middle school as the only year group in the building. This is very important, due to the size of some of the Bromsgrove middle schools (600 pupils +).  This allows them to feel safe, happy and settle and acclimatise quickly to their new environment.  It also allows parents to drop their children off and watch them into the school, something that is not easily possible when all pupils are in attendance. This will take place at the beginning of the Autumn Term for the September 2023 cohort.
  4. Middle schools ensure that all pupils attending their school have had the chance to visit, meet the Yr5 teachers and tour the school before September. This should be on one of the above events (point 4, 9,10 or 12)

 *Please note that how the different middle schools achieve the transition offer may vary slightly due to logistics and intake numbers from each first school.  Some middle schools have up to 20 feeder schools in some years.*