Year 6 Transition to Secondary School: Getting Prepared and the Assessment That Schools do not Tell You About
The transition from Year 6 to secondary school is daunting for every child, their parents, and even teachers! Under normal circumstances, children would have been preparing for their KS2 SATs tests. These have been cancelled for 2021 and will be replaced by moderated teacher assessments.
However, regardless of the Department for Education’s (DfE) decision to cancel all primary school SATs tests, when your child is in Year 6 you should be making full preparations for their transition to secondary school later in the year.
Think Academy UK has consulted with Miss Boyle, a Year 6 primary school teacher from Essex. With her advice, we have covered everything parents should know to fully support their child with the transition to Key Stage 3.
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Getting started: The Year 6 transition to secondary school
In July, Year 6 children will say goodbye to primary school, marking the end of an era in their educational journey. This will likely be the most significant change in your child’s life so far. Therefore, it is important not to underestimate the effect it will have on them. They might be excited or experience some anxiety. Every child reacts differently, but together with their Year 6 teacher, you can help to ensure they are fully prepared.
Year 6 children are usually confident, they feel grown-up as the oldest students in primary school. Most will be at a stage where they have accomplished a scaled score of 100-120 in mathematics, English, spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
In addition to these core subjects, they will have also studied a wider curriculum that includes subjects such as science, computing, design and technology, history, geography, art, PE, and in some cases modern foreign languages and religious studies.
Come September, they will transition into Year 7. Your child will continue to study the same subjects. Some topics will be at the same level as Year 6 to serve as a refresher, others are designed to be more challenging. Nevertheless, when the time comes, they will have all the support they need to make a successful transition.
What most parents want to know is, what happens throughout each stage of the process leading up to this?
Starting the Year 6 transition, when should you apply for secondary school?
Your primary school will provide you with guidance on this, but the Good Schools Guide suggests no later than the end of October. To find out when applications open, you should visit the website of your local authority. This is also where you will find the application form for each school.
It is important that you remember that not all schools accept admissions applications at the same time. This is most often the case with grammar schools. They will require applications to be submitted when you register your child for the 11+ entrance exam towards the end of Year 5.
It is always a good idea to keep a record of key dates, as missing the deadline could mean that you need to apply elsewhere. If this should happen, do contact the school directly to see if they can make an exception for your child.
Starting the Year 6 transition, how to choose the right secondary school for your child?
For many parents this is a simple decision, for example, your child may be attending the same school as their siblings. If it is the first time you are choosing a secondary school, it can be overwhelming. To help you get started you may wish to refer to the Good Schools Guide and use their ‘Find the best school for your child’ tool.
This is a great tool enabling you to view all the schools in your local area. Simply type in your postcode or town name for a full list of schools. Choose to narrow your search by age range, school type and other variables to make the search personalised to you.
View any of the schools in the list to learn more about them. You can see their Ofsted ratings and reports, the size of the school, entry requirements, and their contact details.
Update: January 15th, 2021 – a statement from Gov.uk:
The Government has announced that it will not publish any school or college level educational performance data based on tests, assessments, or exams for 2020, and has outlined accountability arrangements for 2020/21. Further information on what this means for the way school and college accountability will operate for 2019/20 and for 2020/21 can be found here.
You can use the contact details to visit their website or give them a call to learn more about their open days or evenings. Download the prospectus for a comprehensive overview of the school.
Consider more than one secondary school!
Remember that it is always a good idea to select more than one school, so do not hesitate to broaden your search. Sometimes schools are particularly selective, especially grammar or independent schools.
For example, if you have selected a grammar school then it is sensible to have a second choice in the event your child’s 11+ exam results are not as expected. Hopefully, your child will have achieved the grades that you had hoped for, but if they do not then you will have identified schools with a Grammar Stream. In a nutshell, this is where a mainstream secondary school educates its highest performing students following a grammar school-based curriculum.
Understanding the different types of secondary school before making the Year 6 transition to Year 7
There are several types of secondary school parents need to be aware of before making the choice of where to send their child. No doubt you have heard of mainstream, grammar, faith, and special. However, there are many more.
Year 6 transition to fee-paying schools
Public schools
Do not be confused by the name, as these are not state schools. Public schools are the UK’s most elite schools. These are fee-paying schools and are highly selective, with top-level facilities and a high educational standard. The top ten include:
Independent schools
Commonly referred to as private schools, these are also fee-paying schools. They differ from mainstream state schools in that they follow their own curriculum and receive no funding from the government. While these schools are inspected regularly, it is not always carried out by Ofsted. Parents should also know that entry requirements differ between each school, with some referring to entrance exam results.
Year 6 transition to non-fee-paying schools
Grammar schools
These are non-fee-paying state schools that are particularly selective in terms of student admissions. Grammar schools seek England’s highest academic performers. This why students must sit the 11+ entry exam, a series of tests including English, maths, verbal, and non-verbal reasoning, to apply.
Some grammar schools will also assess other attributes, for example, an aptitude for sport, music, or specialist subjects such as modern languages. Parents should be aware that some schools are more selective than others.
Due to the talent of their students, grammar schools are better performing at GCSE and A-Level. Moreover, grammar schools often have connections to prestigious universities. This can increase your child’s likelihood of attending one of Britain’s top universities.
State schools
These are free schools funded by the government for children aged 11-16. These schools follow the national curriculum (England), the curriculum for Wales (Wales), the Northern Ireland curriculum (NI), and the curriculum for excellence (Scotland).
Faith schools
Faith schools are affiliated with a particular religion and often receive additional funding. They will follow the national curriculum unless they hold academy status. They accept admissions from students of all backgrounds; however, priority is given to children who share the same faith of the school.
Community schools
Controlled by the local authority, community schools must follow the national curriculum and are subject to regular Ofsted inspections.
Academy schools
State schools that are run by an independent trust that has greater influence over how each school is run and what the curriculum should include. However, they are still funded by the government and subject to Ofsted inspections. Academies enjoy flexibility over school holidays.
Entry requirements: Understanding how your child’s academic ability can affect the Year 6 transition to secondary school
Understanding the entry requirements for secondary school can be confusing for parents. Entry requirements can significantly differ depending on the type of school you are applying to on behalf of your child. Therefore, in addition to the advice below, you must always contact each school directly.
Regardless of the type of school you are applying to, it is advisable to always consider the catchment area. This is the geographic area around the school for which students are eligible to apply. There is sometimes an exception for private schools, but all state schools consider catchment areas, and many parents make the choice to relocate to live within a school’s catchment area.
11 Plus exam
If you plan on sending your child to a grammar school, then you will need to apply for them to sit the 11+ Plus exam. Parents make their application to sit the exam in Year 5, and the exam is usually taken at the very beginning of Year 6. Grammar schools will consider the overall result of the exam before offering admission; however, this can change each year. Generally, the pass mark is around 80%.
Some grammar schools will accept a lower pass mark, while others expect higher. Super-selective grammar schools can set the pass rate as high as 98%. Additionally, some grammar schools hold interviews with prospective students.
All of this is in addition to other criteria such as catchment area and reports from your child’s primary school regarding their performance.
As part of an independent school’s entry assessment process, children must sit a common entrance exam. Set by the Independent Schools Examination Board (ISEB), the 11+ common entrance exam is taken in Year 6. However, the 13+ is taken in Year 8. You can find more information about these exams here.
Secondary school open evenings and their importance to the Year 6 transition in 2021
Under normal circumstances, primary school parents are invited to visit several secondary schools for a tour. Known as open evenings, parents attend a formal talk with the school’s headteacher, who will provide more information about the school and what your child can expect when making the Year 6 transition to Year 7.
This is a good opportunity for you and your child to visit the school, learning more about the school’s subject departments, and a wonderful chance to meet teachers and current pupils. This can prove valuable in helping you better understand if the school is a good ‘fit’ for your child.
This year, it is likely that this will be impossible due to coronavirus restrictions. In 2020, many schools held virtual tours for prospective pupils and their parents.
Waiting for the Year 6 transition to secondary school and what to do once you have made your choice?
Usually, you can make up to three or four applications, but some local authorities will allow you to make up to six. Applications need to be made by the end of October to receive an offer by March the following year. Most local authorities will accept late applications, but this could mean that you will receive an offer from the secondary school later.
Once the offer has been accepted, your child can expect to move on to the chosen secondary school the following September. Schools will often invite your child to an open day, normally before the end of the current school year. This day serves as a taster-day for your child, they will get to experience a normal day at the school as a way of breaking them in and relieving anxiety over the summer holidays. Your primary school will liaise with the secondary school to facilitate this.
The Year 6 transition: who is the Year 7 liaison officer?
Once you have accepted an offer from a secondary school, you may mistakenly believe it is simply a waiting game for you and your child. Under normal circumstances, all that would be left is the KS2 SATs, but apart from that, you may only think about secondary school transportation and uniforms.
However, more is happening behind the scenes. Your child’s primary school and future secondary school will be in communication with one another.
Your child’s Year 6 teacher will likely receive a visit from the Year 7 liaison officer. Schools have different names for this role, but the purpose of the role is the same. The Year 7 liaison officer will collect information prepared by your child’s primary school and the Year 6 teacher.
This information covers your child’s entire history at the school. Records on their academic performance, school attendance, behaviour and social issues are just some of the areas examined. Students are none the wiser, nor are their parents.
Secondary schools will use the information on your child’s academic record to check for consistency. For example, if your child were to perform well in their 11+ exam but not in their SATs or teacher moderated assessment, this can impact the SET (class ability level) that they are placed in once they begin secondary school. With that in mind, it is a good idea to strive for academic consistency across all areas of your child’s studies.
How to prepare your child for the Year 6 transition to secondary school over the summer holidays?
Many parents choose to let their child relax and enjoy themselves after a particularly challenging year of education. In comparison to other countries that enjoy longer summer holidays, children in the UK only have six weeks of ‘down-time’ before beginning secondary school in September.
Some parents view this as a useful time to prepare their child for the challenges of secondary school, especially if they are transitioning to a grammar school where the workload and difficulty of study is higher than that of mainstream state schools. At Think Academy UK, our intensive Year 6 online maths course is designed to prepare students for the challenges of secondary school, using a fun and intuitive online learning platform. Easy-to-use, your child will learn alongside like-minded peers and highly educated tutors, providing a boost to their maths proficiency.
Our Years 4 and 5 advanced online maths courses are teacher-approved, specifically designed to challenge pupils by helping to prepare them for the 11+ and common entrance exams.
Additional online learning resources to support your child with the Year 6 transition to secondary school
We appreciate that it can often be challenging to find quality online learning resources. Our expert team have prepared comprehensive online study packs to support primary school students of all levels.
We provide this for free, to support families with the difficulties of learning at home, empowering children to boost their proficiency in maths and ensuring that they do not fall behind. You can discover our unique home learning study packs below.
To learn more about the 11 Plus exam, please see the following articles written by schoolteacher Kristina Murkett:
11 Plus Exam Preparation: A Guide to Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning Tests
11+ Maths Exam: Helping Your Child to Prepare and Pass in 2021
Do I Need a Tutor to Help my Child Pass the 11+ Exam? Meet the Online Tutors Delivering Results
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