Transitions
Supporting transitions - Advice for Parents/Carers
◦ Change is a normal part of life and whilst many children and young people adapt to change well, some need a little bit of extra support. Here are 8 things you can do to support your child with a transition.
◦ The Covid-19 public health situation means that we might have to think a little bit differently about how we support transition planning for our children and young people, but the basic principles around supporting transitions remain relevant.
◦ All children are facing a transition, whether it is a transition to a new school, to school for the first time, or back to the same school after a very long time at home. Any thing you do to encourage your child to talk openly about this, will help them feel supported and ease any worries they may have.
1 - NORMALISE
Encourage your child to view the move as a natural and positive part of life. You can also talk to your child about your own experiences of transition (try to keep these positive) to help normalise the feelings a child might be experiencing. You could talk about things like changing jobs, moving house, changing exercise classes or starting a new group etc.
2 - TALK TO THEM
It’s important to have ongoing discussions with your child about what they are looking forward to or things that they might have questions or worries about. It is natural for an upcoming transition to be on your child’s mind and it is important for parents and carers to give them opportunities to openly discuss this. We have activity ideas to support these discussions further down the page.
3 - LISTEN TO THEM
It is important to listen carefully and empathise with your child. Make sure they feel able to share their thoughts without being judged or feeling silly. Even if a worry seems silly to you, try not to dismiss your child’s concerns. Tell them you understand why that might be on their mind and problem solve together how to answer any questions they have or address any concerns.
4 - BE POSITIVE
Often children can be less worried about the upcoming change than adults, and by being positive you can avoid them picking up on your concerns. If you model a positive attitude about the upcoming change, this will help your child feel positive too. Children who know that their parents are proud of them and think they are going to do well, are much more likely to cope well with transitions.
5 - STAY INFORMED
Ensure that you are aware of up-to-date and accurate information by keeping in touch with school staff and looking out for any communication they send. You can also check school websites and social media platforms such as Facebook to keep an eye out for updates.
6 - SUPPORT AND BUILD CONNECTIONS WITH FRIENDS
Supporting your child to keep in touch with other children may be more difficult under current circumstances but it is still important. Here are some suggestions:
· You could try videos calls with other children – younger children may struggle more with conversations, but you could support them to share activities or show each other things they have made/done.
· Support your child to connect with classmates through google classroom.
· Some schools have set up virtual playgrounds with safety rules!
· Could your child write a letter or draw a picture to post or email to a friend?
· Video or telephone contact with other people, such as cousins, family friends or grandparents, will also support your child’s social development and communication.
· If your child is moving to a new setting, find out how that setting are supporting transitions digitally. Do they have online methods of supporting pupils to take part in well-being activities?
7 - SUPPORT STAFF CONNECTIONS
It is important for your child to build up positive relationships with key staff. This might be more difficult during Covid-19 but there are still things you can do to help:
· Some schools are creating staff videos to help introduce pupils to key staff and get to know them digitally! Keep up to date with your provision by checking their website or social media pages. Children might get the chance to meet their new teacher via google classroom sessions.
· Many keyworkers in early years settings are keeping in contact with pupils through digital means such as video sessions. Support your child to access these and talk about staff with them.
· Lots of settings use social media to stay connected with families. You could encourage your child to share some photos of what they have been up to with their school or school staff via Facebook or Twitter. Or they could be supported to write a letter or email to their setting or a key staff member.
8 - ASK FOR SUPPORT
If you are worried about your child’s transition, or have questions, remember you can get in touch with school at any point. Although many schools are closed, staff are still working and will be available to answer any queries you may have or provide support over the phone. Reach out to any other involved professionals such as health visitor, social work, educational psychology for support or advice.
NHS Grampian Parent/Carer Resource
NHS Grampian have produced this booklet for parents and carers to support their child with the return to school. Topics covered include worries, preparation activities, communication tips and sensory strategies.
Considerations for children with additional support needs:
Online meetings can be busy and overwhelming for some children and smaller, less busy meetings with key staff or peers may be better than a whole class meet.
Most schools will be able to create a social story/picture book to support pupils with coming back or starting a new setting. This might be more appropriate than a video for some children as the language can be kept simple with supporting visuals. A video may be overwhelming or create unrealistic expectations for some children if classrooms and communal areas are empty.
Transition planning meetings can still take place digitally. This ensures good communication, information sharing and planning takes place for your child. It also gives you the opportunity to raise any concerns or queries you may have.
You could look at maps of the schools building together to share key information and important school areas with your child e.g. school office, library, dining hall.
Consider if it may help to walk past the school to familiarise your child with the location and the route to school.
Emotion Coaching
Step 1 – it’s important to try and tune into your child’s feelings and your own. Recognise and acknowledge any anxieties you may have first – parents/carers who understand their own emotions are better able to relate to their child’s feelings. Recognise some of the feelings your child is experiencing in relation to their transition and encourage them to talk about this. Try to put yourself in your child’s shoes and let them know that you understand how they are feeling.
Step 2 – supporting your child to name their feelings helps soothe their brain and makes them feel calmer. Naming emotions also helps children build their emotional vocabulary and opens the door for having further discussions about emotions. Let your child know that it is okay to feel that way and consider sharing examples of others feeling this way; yourself, siblings, characters in a story. This helps to let children know that all of their big feelings are normal and can be dealt with. Some children will find it hard to name the way they are feeling and you can name the emotions you think they may be experiencing, checking in with them if this sounds right.
Step 3 – this step is only required if a child is displaying a negative behaviour, such as shouting or lashing out. You can let them know that it is okay to be scared or worried, but that you need them to speak in an inside voice or redirect them from the negative behaviour, before moving onto step 4.
Step 4 – the final step of your emotion coaching discussion is about exploring solutions along with your child. Once you have been able to have some discussion about how they might be feeling or things they might be worried about, you can problem solve ways forward together. Think about ways you can find out more information if they have questions, or ways to help them with their feelings or worries.
Please see our separate page on Emotion Coaching for more information.
One Page Profile
Complete this one-page profile and consider sharing it with your child's new teacher.
By @tweets_by_beth
Transition Activity Ideas
We have collated some activity and discussion ideas to complete with your child at home to encourage positive conversations regarding transitions. They were collated for P7s but could be adapted for other age groups.
Transition activities.pdfTransition Support for P1s
The Pacey website has a great section on getting ready for school. It includes a free downloadable book to prepare your child for starting school with advice around independence and organisational skills.
Staying Positive
Elsa-support.co.uk have created a free story about going back to school to support children to be positive about the return to school. Where the story makes reference to the English school system, replace this with your child's year group!
Social Stories
The Stars website has lots of useful resources including these social stories to support young children or children with additional support needs around going back to school.
Going back to school - simple Social Story.pdfBack to School Social Story Primary.pdf
This is a free downloadable resource for class teachers, written to support young children's emotional well-being as schools start re-opening.
Another story and accompanying video about going back to school in a 'bubble'.
ACC Parent Hub
Aberdeen City Council's separate digital hub for parents and carers can be found here and it has lots of information to support with routines at home.