Smooth Beginnings: Tips on how to support young children in the transition to early years settings

Moving from home or a childcare setting to school can be a daunting and exciting experience for all involved. When supporting educational transitions, it’s important to establish a positive focus from the outset.  This will equip individuals with the skills and confidence to manage future transitions.  When designing and planning for transitions it’s important to see them as a journey rather than a one-off event.

There are two types of educational transitions:

• Vertical: moving from one level of education to another (e.g., home to nursery, nursery to reception). This represents major change to everyday routine.
• Horizontal: moving between and within childcare arrangements (e.g., home-childminder – early years setting – grandparents-home)

The 5 bridges analogy

Transition to school depends on the social and cultural context of the children and families involved and the relationships between people within them.  We can understand this by looking at transitions as 5 bridges:

• Administrative – which is process-driven​
• Social and Personal – encouraging positive relationships, connections and familiarity between schools and settings​
• Curriculum – creating a shared understanding of progression to build on prior learning across and between schools and settings​
• Pedagogical – continuity in learning and teaching practices across and between schools and settings​
• Autonomy and Managing Learning -processes in place that support learners to be active participants of transition process

By preparing for transition using the 5-bridge analogy we can ensure that key aspects of the transition process have been considered.

The impact of transitions

Children should be at the centre of the transition process, and the impact of transition must be considered from their perspective and their parents/caregivers.

Children who are prepared for transitions will:

• have good social skills,
• cope emotionally with being separated from parents,
• be quite independent in their own personal care,
• be curious about the world around them
• be eager to learn.   

Parents need to feel that they are supported in this journey, so that they can help their children.

Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory (1979) can help to better understand the effect transitions have on children and those around them. There are five key systems of relationships and structures that surround the individual and influence their development.

• Microsystem – the individual’s relationship with others, interpersonal interactions and immediate environment. 
• Meso-system – the interaction of elements of the micro-system with each other, e.g. between family and practitioners.
• Exo-system – elements of the micro-system that do not directly affect the individual, such as the parents’ workplace.
• Macro system – the cultural and societal beliefs that influence an individual’s development
• Chrono system – the interaction of the four identified systems with each other.

Jindal-Snape’s theory (2023) suggests that certain things such as beliefs, experiences, relationships, and support systems can help people when they are making big changes in their lives. She has grouped these into 12 pillars and says that individuals experience multiple transitions which can trigger transitions for significant others.

For example, when a child starts school, their experiences of transition will impact their parents.  Parents may feel empowerment, release or be upset and feel a sense of loss.

These interactions between individuals and others create a ripple effect.  Think of a Rubik’s cube. Imagine that each individual and their interactions with others are represented by one colour. Twist the Rubik’s cube slightly, the changes don’t happen just for one colour, it leads to changes for the other colours too.

When planning for transitions consider:

• Discussions about forthcoming transition

• Opportunities to visit the new setting
• Visits by practitioners/pupils from the new setting
• Attending events held at the new setting, e.g. school shows, assemblies
• Involving parents
• Compiling books with key information/photos about the new setting for children to discuss with parents
• Individual transition support for those who need it, e.g. SEND

It is also important to remember that transitions should not be seen as a one-off event and every child is individual.  Settings need to continually review and adapt their transition plans and planning to accommodate different needs.

Effective transitions are facilitated through collaboration between parents, caregivers, and educators. This can facilitate a successful transition which is crucial as it can influence a child’s future emotional well-being, social skills, and attitudes towards learning.

 

About the authors

Dr Amanda Thomas is a senior lecturer in early years education at USW delivering on a range of education modules. She has taught in both Primary and Further Education before taking up her role in higher Education in 2011. Amanda’s doctorate explored children’s schemas in the Foundation Phase, and she has published in this area, including a Welsh Government schema training package. Amanda has worked alongside colleagues conducting research on educational transitions and has several publications including a book. She has presented her research at a number of conferences, both nationally and internationally.

Dr Rhiannon Packer is Senior Lecturer in Additional Learning Needs (ALN) at Cardiff Metropolitan University. She has worked in HE since 2004 and prior to that was a secondary school teacher teaching Welsh as a second language. Amongst Rhiannon’s research interests is the exploration of educational transition experiences of learners in a range of settings. Rhiannon and Amanda have worked together on several publications exploring educational transitions from Early Years settings to Further Education, with a particular focus on Wales.

 

References

Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The Ecology of Human Development: experiments by nature and design. Boston, MA: Harvard University Press.

Jindal-Snape, D. (2023). Multiple and multi-dimensional educational and life transitions: conceptualization, theorization and XII pillars of transitions. In R. J. Tierney, F. Rizvi, & K. Erkican (Eds.), International Encyclopedia of Education (Fourth Edition) (4 ed., pp. 530-543).