Sue Allingham - Transitions in the Early Years

Title page

Transitions in the Early Years

A practical guide to supporting transitions between early years settings and into Key Stage One

by Sue Allingham

Copyright page

Originally published by Practical Pre-School Books, A Division of MA Education Ltd, St Judes Church, Dulwich Road, Herne Hill, London, SE24 0PB.

Tel: 020 7738 5454

www.practicalpreschoolbooks.com

MA Education Ltd 2011

2012 digital version by Andrews UK Limited

www.andrewsuk.com

All images MA Education Ltd., other than the images listed below.

Front cover images (clockwise from top left): iStockphoto.com/microgen, iStockphoto.com/Steve Debenport, iStockphoto.com/Claudia Dewald, iStockphoto.com/Rosemarie Gearhart, iStockphoto.com/Brittney McChristy, iStockphoto.com/Miroslav Ferkuniak.

All photos other than the above taken by Ben Suri.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopied or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Understanding transitions

Supporting and understanding transitions

Everyone feels comfortable

This book is for everybody who works with children. Early transitions affect not just those working in the early years from birth to five but also those working beyond that and into primary school. A list of the adults involved in transitions in the early years must include:

• Teachers (see the broad definition in the glossary at the end of this chapter)
• Administration staff
• Visiting adults, such as photographers, and specialists who teach music, dance, French etc.
• Adults from other agencies. For example, health visitors, school nurses, early years advisory teams, speech therapists, and physiotherapists
• Assessors visiting adults who are training in early years work
• Students
• Kitchen staff
• Parent helpers and volunteers

Defining a transition: key messages

The key messages in this book are aimed at supporting children and adults to cope with transitions both between and within settings these practical ideas will be valuable to all who work with children and families in whatever capacity or setting, and at whatever stage of development.

In this book I define transition as any kind of change that may alter the routines that the children, and sometimes the adults, are used to. This does not just mean moving from room to room or between settings. The change can also be something as simple as the introduction of a new staff member, a staff member leaving, an unexpected visitor to the group, or someone different bringing the child to, or collecting them from, the setting.

These key messages are not dependent upon a particular curriculum or national education system as, wherever you are based, there is a need to have an understanding of how children, and adults, can be supported in coping with the potential issues around transition. This is particularly important to be aware of at a time when policies and guidance are under review. The messages in this book have their roots in respected research and good practice.

Different curricula

Being aware of, and managing appropriately, the effect that transition events may have on the feelings of the children in our settings is central to supporting them. It is important to note that, whatever curriculum you are working from, the documents that you have will be in agreement with, and support, the thinking that this book will encourage. This is because each curriculum document recognises the need for consistency across each stage of learning. The section below illustrates the focus that each of the early years curricula from the four governments in the United Kingdom places on transitions.

Key supporting points from The Early Years Foundation Stage

This document is an amalgam of previous documents with the purpose of promoting continuity from birth to five and supporting childrens learning and development and welfare (DCSF, 2008, page 5). The EYFS clearly identifies that children will be educated in a variety of settings:

Many children will receive education and care under the EYFS framework in more than one setting. Some may attend part-time, while others may attend full-time and also use extended services, such as breakfast or after-school clubs. These patterns of attendance will be a key factor in planning. For children who attend more than one setting, practitioners must ensure effective continuity and progression by sharing relevant information with each other and parents. (EYFS (2008) Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage , DCSF, page 6)

The suggestions made here, such as continuity and sharing information with parents, will be discussed in subsequent chapters in this book.

Key supporting points from the Welsh curriculum

The Welsh Government revised their national curriculum to develop more consistency between the different phases of early education:

The Foundation Phase is based on the principle that early years provision should offer a sound foundation for future learning through a developmentally appropriate curriculum. It will bring more consistency and continuity to childrens education at such an all-important period in their development. (http://wales.gov.uk/topics/educationandskills/earlyyearshome/foundation_phase/?lang=en)

The Welsh Foundation Phase runs from the ages of three to seven. In this way the stage incorporates what teachers in England would see as Key Stage One, and thus a more formal curriculum. The underpinning ethos is that:

Practitioners should acknowledge prior learning and attainment, offer choices, challenge children with care and sensitivity, encourage them and move their learning along. Through careful observation and interaction with children, practitioners should focus on their achievements and development along a learning continuum. Observation is an integral part of the planning process. Future planning is based on their prior attainment and current achievements.

Observation and assessment enables practitioners to:

• know the individual child and highlight the childs strengths, interests and needs to identify the plan for the childs progress
• highlight the childs strengths and abilities across all areas of development and intelligences
• provide a graduated response and specific help to children whose progress is not adequate and who may be on the continuum of special educational needs (Welsh Assembly Government, Special Educational Needs Code of Practice for Wales, 2004)
• inform children, staff, parents/carers of childrens achievements and the next steps in their learning
• identify, monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the curriculum provided
• inform transition/transfer during the Foundation Phase, as well as between the Foundation Phase and Key Stage 2 (Welsh Assembly Government (2009) Foundation Phase Child Development Profile Guidance, Department for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills, page 2).

Key supporting points from the Scottish curriculum

The Scottish Curriculum for Excellence includes a guidance document called Pre-school into Primary Transitions which states that It has always been recognised that the transition from pre-school to primary school is a critical time of change for children, parents and practitioners which is full of opportunity and potential (Learning and Teaching Scotland, 2010, page 5). There is recognition that, [t]he impact of transitions in the early years can strongly influence a childs future progress and development (Learning and Teaching Scotland, 2010, page 6).