Transitions

Transitions describe the changes that occur as children move from one context to another.  Transitions may involve changes of activity and/or changes in the physical, social or emotional environment. Transitions include not just moving on from one setting to another in a ‘linear’ or ‘vertical’ way, such as from nursery to Reception class.  Children also experience many ‘horizontal’ transitions such as moving from one room to another within the same setting, moving to a more structured part of the day such as lunchtime, or moving from home to childminder, to nursery and back again all in the course of the same day. 

 

Every transition should be seen as a process not a one-off event and tailored to meet the needs of each unique child.  When transitions in the early years are managed sensitively it lays the foundations for positive feelings towards the many other transitions children will face through life.

 

High quality transitions prioritise emotional well-being and ensure that children feel ‘known’ before they are expected to ‘do’. Children may have many out-of-home experiences, through childcare, toddler groups, family daycare and more than one nursery, and they may appear to straddle change with ease. But while transitions may occur with great frequency, not all children navigate these comfortably or happily. Moving from a place or situation in which children feel known into one in which they feel unknown can be worrying.

 

It is the responsibility of everyone in the setting to ensure that children feel welcomed, gain a sense of belonging and are helped to settle happily. Practitioners support children to feel a sense of belonging in a nurturing pedagogical environment which is calm and unrushed and where practitioners tune into children’s needs and interests. When practitioners are open to seeing children as already competent learners with existing funds of knowledge and experience, children feel understood and can make sense of their environment. 

 

 

Some children are particularly vulnerable at times of transition. While some children and families have the resilience to cope with change, others are more vulnerable to uncertainty. Children who lack confidence or have low self-esteem, those who are summer-born or born prematurely, babies separated from parents for the first time, some children with disabilities or complex health needs, those for whom English is not their first language and those who have simply had to cope with too much change or loss in their young lives may be particularly vulnerable at times of transition. For children who have experienced Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), a vertical transition may not be just a new start but can reactivate past trauma.

 

Some children become particularly anxious about making new relationships, whether those are with other children or with the adults with whom they will spend their time. The support of their friends and friendship groups can help protect children from the potentially negative impact of transitions.

 

Transition for children who are more vulnerable is effectively supported when their emotional development and wellbeing is prioritised and they are given additional time and opportunities to make the necessary readjustments to the changes ahead. Practitioners help with warm responses, recognising that challenging behaviour communicates feelings.

 

 

Transitions are opportunities for learning and development for both children and adults.  Transitions provide opportunities for children to learn about themselves and their feelings. Acknowledging that different transitions can feel differently to every child is important – for example, a child who manages the transition between home, childminder and school may find the transition from classroom to dinner hall more problematic, or a child who has to stop playing with something or someone they are fond of may struggle if not supported.

 

 

Key to a high-quality experience for all children in the early years is ensuring continuity between home, key people and all the settings that make up children’s individual learning journeys. At points of setting transition it is valuable to gather the perspectives of the child’s parents as well as all those who have worked with the child such as other practitioners, speech therapists, health visitors, bilingual teaching assistants and educational psychologists. These perspectives enable all those involved with the child to plan for their individual needs more effectively.

 

 

Conversations between teachers in Reception classes and Key Stage 1 are particularly valuable in order for the environment, the pedagogy and the practices in Year 1 not to be developmentally different from those in Reception. This does not mean that what they learn will be the same, but how they learn should be very similar and familiar.

 

 

The key person makes essential connections. When children enter their new setting, start a new activity or even move area within a room, the task of providing continuity is made easier by responsive practitioners. A child’s key person is the essential link between home and the new setting, and is vital in providing reassurance and creating close, supportive, ongoing relationships with families.

 

 

The key person should consult both children and their parents on how they feel about any forthcoming transition and whether they need support. Parents often have different social, cultural or family perspectives on their child than the key person which should be respected and can help enrich a setting or school’s understanding of the child. In turn, parents and carers can learn much from the setting or school to support their child’s development at home.

 

Effective transition is always a process rather than an event. When children are moving to a different setting, practitioners demonstrate this process by enabling children and their families to become as familiar as possible with where children are going and with whom they will be building relationships before any move actually takes place.

 

Children’s expectations are formed largely by what their families say and how they act, so practitioners need to work in partnership with children, families and communities in a planned and proactive way to make transitions as smooth and seamless as possible.

 

Practitioners can first visit children in the setting in which they are known, confident and comfortable.  Ideally, this would be the home as the place where children feel most secure and where children can see their parents and practitioners developing warm and positive relationships. Practitioners can also visit the setting that children are currently attending so children meet new adults in a familiar place. During these times practitioners can learn about the child from the parents as well as give information.

 

Children can then visit the new setting with a parent and/or key person so their first experience of any new setting is with a familiar and trusted adult. For all children and parents, repeated opportunities for relaxed contact and visits to the new setting over a sustained period of time can support a positive move. Transition processes that are tailored to meet the needs of each unique child are more effective than a ‘one-size-fits-all’ process.

 

High quality pedagogy matters for all children at every transition. Children whose lives are flowing through horizontal and vertical transitions are also rapidly changing physically, socially, emotionally and cognitively. The best early years transition pedagogy therefore rests on a deep understanding of child development and close observation of each unique child.