Once your son/daughter has accepted a place at Queen Elizabeth’s Academy, we will work will families and their current academy/school to ensure a smooth transition from year 6 into year 7. In the summer term, we hold a new intake day for all prospective students as part of the academy’s transition week. This is a chance for students to get to know their fellow new starters, meet staff and older students who will support them once they join, try out a variety of activities in subject areas, and familiarise themselves with the academy site.
A member of our senior leadership team will also visit primary schools to liaise with head teachers and classroom teachers in order to ensure that all relevant information is available to the academy. For students who require additional support, our SEN coordinator will ensure that all SEND information is appropriately transferred from a student’s feeder school, and will attend any year 6 annual reviews for statemented students.
Transition arrangements
All students who have been offered a year 7 place at Queen Elizabeth’s will be invited into the academy for a week in July (transition week) to meet their new tutor and experience a typical day. Some vulnerable students will visit Queen Elizabeth’s on more occasions to allow them to become familiar with key staff.
During the first half-term all year 7 parents/guardians will be invited to attend a welcome evening to discuss their child’s progress with tutors, and to ensure they have settled well at Queen Elizabeth’s Academy.
There will be additional support for students who are likely to struggle with the move to the secondary environment. This may also include students who are coming alone or with very few other students from their academy/school. These students will be identified by their primary, and members of Queen Elizabeth’s staff will liaise with each academy and school to fully understand the needs of these individuals.
Why do we have a transition programme?
Our transition programme is designed to ensure that our new students:
- will be extremely enthusiastic about starting and feel ‘special’
- are eager to ask questions
- are able to air their worries and discuss fears with like-minded children
- enjoy meeting and getting to know academy staff
- meet students at Queen Elizabeth’s who have been through the transition process before
- form friendships within their tutor groups
- mix with students from different primaries
- feel a huge confidence boost, especially from frequent visits to the academy
- understand the academy site and environment