Transition

Moving from Primary School to High School can be a stressful time for even the most confident of children which is why the transition process is robust and thorough. There are various familiarisation activities which help transition for pupils joining our school from feeder primary schools through community events such as the annual Advent carol service as well as opportunities to join our summer charity day and invites to our Whole School show and pantomime. One of our feeder primaries also have their music lessons at Our Lady’s.

Many Year 4, 5 and 6 pupils take the opportunity to visit us on our October Open evening and our Senior Leadership team visit the Year 6 pupils taking with them a couple of past pupils for a question and answer session around this time.

Transition starts in earnest after the pupils places are announced at the start of the Summer Term. From this point onwards the Learning Manager for Year 7 visits each of the primary schools and meets with the Year 6 teacher collating valuable information so we have a clear picture of the child and their needs. The Year 7 Learning Manager also takes this opportunity to meet with the pupils and give out useful information.

In early July there is a taster day for all pupils where they join us and sample ‘a day in the life at Our Lady’s. On this day they spend time in their form groups, have a tour of the school, enjoy lunch in the restaurant and take part in a variety of lessons.

There is also a New Parents evening around this time when parents are invited into school to receive a welcome from the Headteacher and have an introduction to some of procedures and systems. This is also an opportunity for them to talk to key members of staff about their child.

Individual and bespoke visits are arranged for children with Special Educational Needs. Often children will have several short visits with their parents or their current Teaching Assistant, building their confidence and reducing anxieties.

During the summer holidays we operate a week long Summer School to help those who need extra input to adjust including children who are the only child joining us from their current primary school and those in receipt of pupil premium funding.

Transition continues in September and beyond with the first day starting with a welcome assembly and the whole day dedicated to having only Year 7 in the school. For the first two weeks each form has prefects to help during form time and this time is focused on helping pupils get into good routines with their timetables and finding their way around school.

There is a further information evening in October for parents to provide more curriculum information. Around this time pupils also take part in form based welcome days which are full of activities to help them get to know each other. The days are also designed to help the pupils think about their own God given gifts and talents. The art work produced during these days is then displayed in the Year 7 Welcome Mass to which parents are invited.

All of our curriculum areas are acutely aware of the National Curriculum coverage at KS2 and use this to establish and assess KS3 starting points.