Transition 5-7

Transition 5-7 is a nine-week universal, class-based, transition intervention, delivered from the Spring term of Year 5 to the Summer term of Year 6. Transition 5-7 aims to develop children’s awareness and ability to cope with the multiple changes children experience over primary-secondary school transitions, through a drama skills-based curriculum. The content and structure of Transition 5-7 was informed by Bagnall’s (2020) Talking about School Transition (TaST) intervention and designed by Liz Stevenson, who was working as the Transition Manager for Sandwell Council at the time and drew on her 18 years first-hand experience supporting primary-secondary school transition.

The programme was evaluated from 2020-2022, utilising an integrated mixed methods design, combining both qualitative process and quantitative outcome evaluation. For the outcome evaluation, intervention and comparison group children completed a questionnaire in Year 5 (n= 185), Year 6 (n=217) and Year 7 (n=162), which assessed their self-reported perceptions of Transition Worries, Transition Excitement, Emotional Wellbeing, Parental Support, and Coping Efficacy. To understand the implementation of Transition 5-7, three focus groups were conducted with Year 6 children, 3 interviews with teachers, and one interview with the Transition Manager of the local government education authority at the time of the project, who developed Transition 5-7.

The outcome evaluation found that children participating in the intervention showed a decrease in Transition Worries and an increase in Transition Excitement and Coping Efficacy compared to the comparison group, resulting in a lowered impact on Emotional Wellbeing, over time. The need for a more systemic approach to primary-secondary school support provision, which is gradual, has a distinct delivery, and follows a skills-based curriculum, was discussed in the process evaluation. Meta-inferences drawn demonstrate the importance of gradual emotional centred transition provision embedded within Year 5, 6 and 7.

For further information pertaining to the evaluation of Transition 5-7 see: Bagnall, C.L., Stevenson, E., Cookson., D., Jones, F., & Garnett. (under review Frontiers in Educational Psychology). A mixed-methods evaluation of a longitudinal primary-secondary school transition support intervention

Figure 1: Transition 5-7 logo

Figure 3: Student Workbook