Transitions: Class to Class, Year to Year, P7-S1

Class to class
 

It is extremely important that all teachers and support staff working with children who have additional support needs are aware of the child support needs and profile. This also includes supply staff. 

Information must be made available to the all of the child’s teachers through the school’s confidential information sharing system, and they must access it.

Year to year
 

Parents regularly express concern and frustration that each year they feel that they have to repeat the process of sharing information to new class teachers about their child’s support needs and how much valuable pertinent learning and teaching time is lost for their child due to this delay.  Records should be kept up to date and shared when possible between teachers. If that is not possible due to staff changes in the new academic session, information must be made available to the new teacher through the school’s confidential information sharing system.

Primary 7 – Secondary school (S1)
 

The transition from primary school to secondary school can be daunting for children with dyslexia. Primary and secondary schools must work together to support the transition process for all children and for those who have additional support needs, planning is required to support the needs of the child.  Effective communication between all those highlighted below should be in place prior to the new academic year starting in August to ensure that secondary school class teachers have up-to-date relevant information to support their class and curriculum planning.

In cases where dyslexia is a significant additional support need the transition planning must begin no later than 12 months before they enter S1 and it often the case that transition begins in P6, or sometimes earlier as highlighted in the 2010 Code of Practice.