School Transitions
Is your child starting at primary school or moving to secondary school or moving Key Stage?
Then this page is for you.
Check out out Transition Mission
Explore why in-school transitions can feel tricky. See below.
Starting Reception
There are key skills that schools expect children to be learning before their first day. Practising these will make your child’s journey to Reception as positive as possible.
If your child is already at nursery, in pre-school, or with a childminder, those professionals will work with you and your child to help get them ready.
There’s lots you can do at home to build your child’s confidence and independence, helping them feel emotionally and practically prepared to start school.
The Starting Reception website and booklet are a great resource to help you help your child to get the best possible start when they start in their new schools
5 top tips for starting primary school
For more tips to help prepare for starting school visit: Starting primary school - Cornwall Council
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Talk about school
Want to prepare your little one for primary school but not sure where to begin?
Start by talking to your child about school. Is there anything they are excited about or anything that is making them worried? Reading stories about starting school can help children to understand what school might be like.
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Explore school together
Familiarising your child with their new school can help to boost their confidence on their first day.
- Your child’s school may arrange taster sessions before they start.
- Walk past the school together and see if you can see their classroom.
- Look at the school website together, talk about the photographs, can they spot their class teacher?
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Foster independence
Encourage your child to develop independence skills to help them to feel happy and confident about starting primary school.
- Getting dressed. Make it fun and exciting to have a school uniform! Let your child practise putting on their uniform before starting school and fastening and unfastening buttons, zips and Velcro independently.
- Going to the toilet. Being able to use the toilet independently is an important skill that will help your child with the transition to primary school.
- Feeding themselves. Practise using a knife and fork and carrying a plate or tray. If your child will be taking a lunchbox, practise opening it as well as any containers and packets inside.
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Practise social skills together
Making friends is a great way to help children adapt to starting school. Teach your child some useful phrases which they can use to ask someone to play, such as “can I join in?” or “do you want to share?” Play turn taking and sharing games to practise sharing and social skills at home.
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Establish a routine
Starting primary school can be exciting but may also daunting for your little one. Help ease the transition by establishing a consistent routine, so your child gets used to getting up, going to bed, and having meals and snacks at the times they will on school days.
Useful links
Place2Be - Starting Primary School Advice for Parents and Carers
Cornwall Council Together for Families - Starting primary school
Starting Secondary School
Young Mind Parents' Blog The Move to Secondary School
Supporting Children and Young People's Transition to Secondary School - A guide for parents and carers (pdf) - Anna Freud Centre for Mental Health April 2025
Back to School Anxiety Helping you to help your child Simple, actionable ideas for parents, carers and other supporting adults - by Dr Pooky Knightsmith (great for any time a YP is struggling with the start of a new school year)
Resources for Children and Young People
Transition MIssion created by young people in Cornwall for young people in Cornwall
Stepping into Secondary School (pdf) - Barnardos
Nurturing New Beginnings - FREE sessions about transitions
FREE sessions from Together for Families focused on school transitions:
- Step In to Primary School
- Step Up to Secondary School
There are sessions in all areas of Cornwall taking place in Family Hubs
(Click on an image to download pdf )
Step into primary
East
Mid
West
Stepping up to secondary
East
Mid
West
Useful links
Transitions between classes / key stages
Entering a new situation (e.g. a new school, classroom and a new teacher) can be a stressful time, and some points of transition e.g. around key stages.
There are things the school and you can do to help to help your child
Is changing class / year group really a big deal?
Some changes can be exciting. But others can be stressful, worrying and upsetting.
Change can be more difficult when a young person:
- does not want it to happen
- does not feel ready for it
- feels worried about what is happening next, because it is new or unknown
- needs time to let go of something that has ended
- feels like what is happening to them is out of their control
The key is talk to your child - what are they going to miss from their old class, what are they looking forward in their new one? Do they have any worries (big or small)? Can you help them to identify if they are practical worries they can do something about or pesky 'what if...?' worries that they can't control.
Check out the worry tree.
Is there anything your child wants to make the teacher know about them before they start in their new class? Perhaps they could write a letter / postcard for the teacher to tell them?