Year 6 – Year 7 Transition

The transition from primary to secondary school can be an exhilarating time for many children. The opportunity to experience new subjects, new activities and make new friends at a bigger school is often met with great excitement. At Sackville School, we understand that whilst most students feel this way, some may experience nervousness at the thought of starting at a new, larger school. Sackville strives to ensure all students feel supported in their transition process and that it goes as smoothly as possible.

Sackville has a team of experienced staff who are here to help you and your child. We have a designated Transition Coordinator whose job it is (alongside The Year Leader for Year 7 and Year Assistant) to ensure that, at every step of the way, your child is made to feel welcome and secure.

We will begin to get to know your child as soon as his/her place is confirmed.  An information pack will be sent out to you during May, which will also include an Admissions Meeting date, where parents and students will have an opportunity to meet a member of the Senior Staff. We will also have the uniform shop open during your visit so you can see and try on the uniform before ordering.

Our team of staff visits the Primary schools during May/June; this is a great opportunity to meet the children in their own environment and a chance to field lots of questions they may have about starting Sackville. Alongside the Transition Coordinator and the Year Leader, our Learning Mentor will also be available to discuss with the teachers any individuals who may be seen as needing extra support during transition.

We also have a three-day induction period in July for students to experience lessons, meet the teachers, sample the canteen and, of course, get to know their way around Sackville. This three-day process has proved extremely beneficial for the students in settling them in and also allows the teachers to get to know the students. During this period, your child will meet their form tutor and form group. With few exceptions, students remain in the same form throughout their time at Sackville School.

Tutors play a key role in our relationship with you and your child, so we hold a ‘New Parent evening’, so you can also get to know your child’s tutor. As we understand that queries or concerns may surface at any time, you will be provided with the tutor’s direct email address.

We have had fantastic feedback from parents and students and believe this gives them a solid grounding in ensuring they are as comfortable and confident as possible as they embark on this new phase of their education. We are extremely proud of how well our new year 7s settle into Sackville School’s community. A confident and happy student is more likely to achieve their full potential, which is our aim as much as yours.
Please see the Transition Calendar for key dates.

Transition Information Document

All families who are joining us in September will be receiving this document. In the meantime we ask that you make sure you have accepted your place and completed your application form sent to you via email from the 12 March 2024. This will be sent via our software company Applicaa. Please do let us know if you have any questions.

Additional Support

For students identified as needing extra support, our SENDCO Stephanie Hunt contacts each Primary school early on in the process and will arrange meetings with students and relevant teams. This ensures that we have relevant knowledge of all students’ additional needs before engaging with them on visits and preparing our provision for their arrival in September. We take a very personalised approach to plan our provision for SEND students and want each student to feel fully supported in their needs through the transition process and once they start Sackville.

Our Safeguarding and Welfare officers, Amy Steer and Dani Flude, will also provide follow-up with schools for children who may need extra support and will continue to provide this support as they start at Sackville in September.

Please let us know if you have any further questions about this process to help support children and parents as they join us at Sackville.

Key Contacts

Paul Street – Deputy Head – pstreet@sackvilleschool.org.uk
Karen Brown – Transition Coordinator – kbrown@sackvilleschool.org.uk
Jake Endersby – Year 7 Leader – jendersby@sackvilleschool.org.uk
Stephanie Hunt – SENDCo – shunt@sackvilleschool.org.uk
Amy Steer – Safeguarding and Welfare Officer – asteer@sackvilleschool.org.uk
Dani Flude – Welfare Officer – dflude@sackvilleschool.org.uk