Transition
Once a place has at Hadlow Rural Community School has been confirmed, a ‘Welcome Pack’ will be sent to you providing a range of information and guidance designed to support the transition process for your child moving from Primary to Secondary school.
We are aware that for the majority of young people, the prospect of transitioning to Secondary school is exciting but also represents a huge step and a change that, for some, can cause trepidation. We therefore put a great deal of time into the transition process to ensure that every student feels supported and confident in their move to Year 7 in HRCS.
Head of Year 7
Our student support Structure provides a non-teaching fixed Head of Year 7 (Mrs Moore), who has amassed a wealth of experience in supporting Year 6 students in transitioning to Secondary school.
She will be the main coordinator for the Transition process, alongside Ms Roberts (Deputy Headteacher), Tutors and The Learning Support Team, who will support the various Transition meetings, days and presentations that take place over the summer term.
Transition Meetings
Although a very small school, we have a very large number of feeder schools (in excess of 40) and our aim is to visit or meet with every young person and their Primary school before joining HRCS in September.
These meetings usually take place at the Primary school and provides an opportunity for the Transition Team to talk to students, answer their questions and gather any key information from them and their teachers to aid the smooth progression to HRCS, such as friendship groups, areas of strength and development and any specific needs.
In some cases, and particularly for those students with additional needs, the Primary school will coordinate a visit to HRCS instead, which certainly helps in acclimatising to the school building and changes in expectation from Primary to Secondary.
Primary schools will also send the relevant data and student files in preparation for each student joining us in September
Transition Day
HRCS coordinates a Transition day along with other schools within the West Kent area (usually the 1st week in July). This allows students joining the school in September to spend a full day in school, experiencing a variety of activities and getting to know some of the Teachers, Support Staff; their Tutors and members of their Tutor Group. We find this certainly helps in building some positive relationships before the long summer break and helps when students return in September.
We coordinate the day to coincide with a number of year groups being off-site engaging with other activities and trips, meaning the new Year 7 cohort have the majority of the school to themselves during the day.
Transition Parents Evening
We hold a Parents Evening at the end of the Transition day for all new parents. This has usually taken the format of a picnic on the school field (weather dependent) followed by a short presentation in the sportshall; providing details on school expectations, arrangements for the first day back, meeting Tutors, Teachers, Student Support and Senior Leaders, as well as answering any questions that parents may have. A second hand uniform shop is usually also available during the afternoon/evening.
Tutor Groups and Teaching Classes
Tutor Groups will be coordinated using the information gathered during our visits to Primary schools and using the information provided in student files. We have a lot of students that arrive to HRCS as the only person from their Primary school, so we pay particular attention to supporting these students during the transition process to ensure they have established new, positive friendships as early as possible.
Teaching classes are generally set based upon the data provided through the admissions assessment, as well as the Key Stage 2 tests and other data provided by Primary Schools. These are regularly reviewed at Christmas, Easter and again in the Summer to ensure that students are working in the most appropriate set and continue to be stretched and challenged.
First Day in September
Although New Year 7 students will have lots of opportunities to make new friends and get to know some of the staff at HRCS, we appreciate that the first day at Secondary school can still be a little daunting as well as exciting. With this in mind, the first day back for Year 7 students will be a little different from those in other year groups.
Firstly, we ask that all parents drop their child(ren) off at school on the morning of the first day. This way we know that everyone has arrived safely and, importantly, it provides parents an opportunity to support their child and reassure them on this important occasion.
The students will then spend the morning with their Tutor and members of their form group, reacquainting themselves with each other, the staff in the school and the geography of the building and grounds. All without the other year groups in school until mid-morning.
Tutors will coordinate providing all the information students will require, such as: timetables, safeguarding and peer support details, break and lunch time arrangements as well as extra-curricular and enrichment options.
In the afternoon, students using the school public bus service will be ‘buddied’ with other students in the school who will make sure that they get onto the correct bus and get off at the right stop. They will also be available the next morning, to make sure the journey into school goes smoothly.
Those not using the school travel service may be picked up in the school grounds or, if walking, can make their own way home, keeping to the designated pathways.