Five-session mentoring course

Moving up: primary-to-secondary and other school transitions

Who it's for

Consider this course for a pupil showing:

Visible anxiety, tearfulness, or repeated worried questions about an upcoming school move
Increased clinginess to parents, carers, or current friends as a transition point approaches
Reluctance to discuss or plan for the change, even when prompted gently
Regression in behaviour (younger habits, increased tantrums or meltdowns) close to a transition
Sleep disruption or physical symptoms (stomach aches) linked to transition dates

What it works towards

Build familiarity and confidence with the new environment ahead of the move
Develop coping strategies for managing uncertainty and change
Practise practical social strategies for making friends in a new setting
Support practical organisation, routes, timetables, and equipment, to reduce day-one stress
Create a personalised transition plan the pupil feels confident about

The five sessions

Session 1 What is changing Pupil can name the specific transition this course is supporting, at least two specific worries, and two things the pupil is looking forward to about it.
Session 2 Finding my way Pupil can describe the practical layout, routine or route for the pupil's new setting.
Session 3 Making friends Pupil can rehearse at least one practical way to start a conversation or join a group in a new setting.
Session 4 Coping with the unknown Pupil can name and try at least one coping strategy for moments of uncertainty during the move.
Session 5 My transition plan Pupil has a personalised transition plan and knows who to go to in the new setting if things feel hard.

A sixth session follows, without the pupil: the mentor writes the support plan and agrees next steps.

The approach, and where it comes from

This course is written primarily for the Year 6 to Year 7 move from primary to secondary school, the single most common and best-evidenced transition pupils face, and the one the research below is grounded in. The same five-week structure also works for a mid-year move to a different school, or for moving up to the next key stage within the same school; in either case, agree with the pupil in Week 1 which specific move this course is supporting, then treat every mention of 'the new setting' as shorthand for that move. Transition is one of the few pressure points a school can see coming, which makes it one of the few worth preparing for in advance; the effect is often more pronounced for neurodivergent and otherwise vulnerable pupils. It supports Ofsted's expectation that schools actively prepare pupils for key transition points as part of Personal Development, an area DfE and the Department of Health and Social Care have noted remains underdeveloped in policy and practice.

Try it with a small group

Three weeks free, no card, up to three staff and ten pupils. Everything recorded during the trial carries over if you continue.

Start the free pilot