This webinar will offer practical advice, ideas and strategies for how secondary schools can support students at two key transition points – as they enter the secondary phase in year 7, and as they move into key stage 4 in year 10.
It is well known that students’ academic performance can take a dip as they move from primary to secondary school (year 6 to 7).
An equally crucial transition point is from key stage 3 to key stage 4 as students begin their GCSE courses of study in year 10. And this year, this transition might be particularly challenging given that this cohort of students transitioned into their secondary education in year 7 at the height of the Covid pandemic.

In this webinar we will hear from three secondary schools about the work they do to support students during these two key transition points.
This will include lessons learned, quick-wins, ideas and advice, as well as longer-term processes and practices that can set students up for success.
When it comes to year 7, we will discuss how schools can ensure students hit the ground running, including by using baseline assessments, effective induction practices, high quality pastoral support, and focusing on identifying barriers and ensuring academic progress.
When it comes to year 10, we will discuss common barriers when students step-up to key stage 4 study, how schools can overcome these, as well as wider best practice and tried and tested ideas for supporting students moving into key stage 4.
We will also discuss the impact of Covid on those students who began their secondary education careers at the height of the pandemic.

ABOUT OUR WEBINAR PARTNER

GL Assessment, part of Renaissance, is a leading provider of formative assessments to schools and school groups in the UK and in more than 100 countries worldwide. It provides assessments that help to reveal students’ potential, track their progress, and identify any barriers to learning they might have. GL Assessment offers a number of assessments to support transition. These include:

CAT4 (Cognitive Abilities Test) Measures cognitive ability including verbal bias allowing schools to establish a baseline. The profile CAT4 produces includes reliable indicators for national tests and examinations including GCSEs, A levels and the Leaving Certificate.

NGRT (New Group Reading Test) Measures current attainment and progress in reading.

PASS (Pupil Attitudes to Self and School) Measures students’ attitudes to themselves and their learning experiences as well as how they feel about this new stage in their school journey.

Visit www.gl-assessment.co.uk/assessments/secondary/transition-from-primary

MEET OUR EXPERTS

The webinar will be hosted by Pete Henshaw, the editor of SecEd, and will feature insights from secondary schools as well as expertise from our partners at GL Assessment. Confirmed speakers include:

Ian Mooney is the strategic lead for assessment and partnerships at the Northern Schools Trust, a charitable organisation that works specifically in areas of social and economic deprivation to transform the lives of children and young people through education. Its schools include North Liverpool Academy and Liverpool Life Sciences UTC.

Kelly Johnston is assistant principal: key stage 3 at North Liverpool Academy. Kelly has worked at NLA since 2009 as a member and leader of the MFL department. She is now working as a Lower School senior leader and leads the NLA Scholars Programme. Kelly also focuses on the transition from primary to secondary as well as tracking the progress in key stage 3 in preparation for key stage 4.

Toby Barnard is vice-principal of St Peter's Collegiate Academy, a large secondary Church of England academy within the Three Spires Trust. With a career spanning 20 years and three schools, Toby has held a number of roles including head of department, head of faculty, staff governor, and assistant principal. He has been a senior leader for eight years with responsibility for areas such as sixth form management and raising standards. Currently, Toby oversees the quality of education, where he manages curriculum development, teaching and learning, assessment, and staff professional growth.

Sophie Dawes is education specialist for SLCN and base-lining at GL Assessment. With more than 20 years of experience teaching modern foreign languages and maths in the UK, New Zealand, and France, Sophie has a wealth of knowledge in language learning. As a former assistant director of studies responsible for assessment and student performance tracking, Sophie has a passion for using reliable data to inform evidence-based decisions to support children's development.

THIS WEBINAR WILL ANSWER KEY QUESTIONS

Primary to secondary transition (year 7)
• Why can student attainment and progress sometimes take a hit during year 6 to 7 transition?
• What can secondary schools do right now to address this issue?
• What kind of pastoral support is required?
• What kind of academic support is required?
• What information do we need to gather about new students in order to protect their learning and progress?
• How can we assess the learning level of year 7 students arriving in our school?
• How can we quickly identify specific challenges or issues for students, especially those more vulnerable young people?

Key stage 3 to 4 transition (year 10)
• What specific challenges does the transition from key stage 3 to key stage 4 present? What can go wrong for students during this transition?
• How much of a step-up academically is key stage 4 study? How can schools support students in this regard?
• This year’s year 10 cohort arrived at secondary school (in year 7) at the height of Covid – what implications does this have for the support we must offer?

Question & answer from the audience
• We will leave time for questions at the end of the webinar