Primary transition activities and ideas for year 6s
We collated ideas from a #PrimaryRocks chat about primary to secondary transition. Find out the best tips and where they came from.
When the dust from SATs has settled, what primary to secondary transition activities and ideas can support those bright-eyed, bushy-tailed year 6s? In three short months, they will be feeling the ‘small fish, very big pond’ worry as they approach one of the biggest changes to their lives as a child.
8 primary to secondary transition activities and ideas for primary teachers
@PrimaryRocks1, a popular teacher chat via Twitter, raised the subject of transition and asked its large community of teachers to share their best ideas for prepping year 6s for the difficult times ahead.
Here is a collection of some of the best responses and the Twitter handles of the teachers that made the suggestion.
1. Secondary week
In this week, primary schools recreate the difficult and sometimes confusing logistics often experienced in the first few weeks of secondary school. Children move around the school to different classrooms, with different teachers teaching different subjects throughout the day.
2. Inter-school sports competitions
Set up sports competitions with other feeder primaries in the area. Pupils will start to get to know their peers as well as share their common interests before starting in September.
3. Secondary teachers at parents' evening
Secondary school teachers attending feeder parents’ evening is not only a great way to build relationships with students and parents before September, it is also a fantastic way to build relationships with feeder primary schools and ultimately make the transition a lot smoother for all year 7 pupils.
4. Transition packages
Building individualised transition packages for different pupils’ needs is a great way to cater for students who are vulnerable or have special educational needs.
5. Bus practice
Lots of pupils will be getting public transport every day for the first time come September, and it can be a real source of anxiety to many. Have a ‘bus practice’ day at your school to take away some of that concern.
6. Year 7 pen pals
Linking up year 6 pupils with young people who went through what they are about to go through is a great way for year 6 pupils to ask their peers their burning questions. It also means that when September arrives, the new year 7s will already know pupils in year 8 who can help them when they get lost or confused.
7. Worry boxes
Worry boxes can have many uses and for those that don’t use them throughout the academic year, they can be a great addition to the classroom in the final half term. Pupils can write their worries and questions anonymously and post them in the worry box, to be addressed by you later the same day or the following day.
8. Secondary school visits
One of the most commonly suggested ways to help pupils with secondary transition was school visits. Some suggested one visit, others suggested a day a week for the whole of the final half term. However many your school can organise, pupils are sure to benefit from seeing and experiencing the school they are going to attend as part of a proper school day, before September arrives.
Bonus entry - Learning by Questions
Learning by Questions is a great resource to use for primary to secondary transition. You can use the Ready to Progress resources to check for learning gaps and use to inform secondary teachers.
You can also try out some of the secondary resources we have, to show children that secondary content isn't the 'big scary thing' they have in their heads.