Starting Well, Moving Well: Improving Transitions in Education

We know that moving between stages of education – early years to school, primary to secondary, and into post-16 – can be exciting but also challenging for children, young people and families.

As part of our FED National Education Futures Projects on Inclusion, we’re holding this conversation to hear directly from parents, carers, practitioners and the learners themselves about what really helps, and what gets in the way, when children move from one stage of education to another.

We’re particularly keen to hear from people whose voices aren’t always heard in education consultations. There are no right or wrong answers – we want to understand real experiences and ideas for making transitions smoother, more welcoming and more supportive for every child and family.

We’re interested in what happens in real life, in practice as well as in policy. What makes a difference day to day? Where do things work well? And where do systems, processes or expectations make transitions harder than they need to be?

Your experiences and insights will help shape The FED’s practical and policy recommendations about how transitions between stages of education could work better for children, families and those who support them.

Key Questions:

1. Thinking about a time when a child moved from one stage of education to another (for example nursery to school, primary to secondary, or into college), what helped that transition go well – and what made it harder?
2. What do schools or services often not understand about children and families during transitions?
3. If you could change one thing to make transitions between stages of education easier and more supportive for children and families, what would it be?

Chair: FED Practitioner Council Co-chair – Dr Kate Bridge

Special guests:

1. Rochelle Wong, FED Learners’ Council Member
2. Sian Lewis, Head of Parent Participation Parentkind