Theme 1: The Complexity of Transitions - From ECE to Secondary School

Transition from ECE: Reflecting on the module reading.

What helps to make a transition successful? (Education Matters to Me - Transitions, 2018)

• Belonging

• Familiarity

• Buddy systems

• Getting to know staff

Children starting school: Research-based advice for teachers (McChesney and Ritchie 2018)

The Māngere Bridge project made four fundamental suggestions for effective transition from ECE into school:

• Using children’s learning story portfolios as a tool to support transition from ECE to school;

• Using shared projects, language, routines, and practices that span across the ECE and school settings;

• Establishing tuakana/teina (older sibling/younger sibling) relationships for children transitioning to school; and

• Building strong professional relationships between kaiako (teachers) across ECE and school settings, with a focus on recognising the continuity of children’s learning journeys.

Reflection: From my experience working for several years as a Playcentre parent (within my RTLB Cluster of schools) and in my role as School Transitions, I believe the Mangere Bridge suggestions are perfect. I did find as time went on, that I developed the Learning Story portfolio into a succinct digital document that could be readily shared during a school visit by either the tamariki or their whānau. It was essential for the school teacher to see the child'd strengths and core interests and ways of play. These are referred to as the schema's within the ECE context- or repeated patterns in their play. All children have dispositions that are repeated in their approach to play and often reflect their inert strengths and interests. The transition portfolio become a treasured document for our many whānau and represented a summary of the aroha associated with the child (as a taonga) in their journey of learning.

The 'graduation' or leaving ceremony was a much celebrated and valued part of our PlayCentre school transition - as much for the whānau as for the child. It was a celebration of collaborative learning experiences and a celebration that the child was ready for the next part of their journey. For my boy, who was very reluctant to leave his beloved ECE behind, it was a valuable shared display of encouragement that the path ahead was waiting and that he would be safe and nurtured along the way.

Supporting Transitions from Primary to Intermediate