Coping with change

When we talk about periods of significant change in a child or young person's life such as moving to a new school/key stage, or the process of becoming an adult, we often refer to the preparation involved as 'transition.'

Transition periods can be a daunting time for children, young people and their parents/carers and it is important that these are positive experiences for them. This can be done by planning and preparing in good time before the changes take place, so that the process is as smooth as possible.

Examples of transitional periods could be:

• Getting from the home environment to an educational environment
• Moving from one class to another class
• Moving to a new year group
• Moving from a mainstream setting to alternative provision, specialist provision or home learning
• Moving from an early years setting to infant or primary school
• Moving from infants to junior school
• Junior or primary school to secondary school
• Secondary to post-16 educational settings
• Post-16 to higher education or work
• Higher education to adult life

We have compiled a list of resources below to help you support your child or young person in times of change and transition.