As outlined in Realising the Ambition, transition is defined as an adjustment over time to new contexts outside the family, where babies, children, and young people experience changes to their social environment, routines, expectations, and relationships in new situations. Transition presents a critical time of change for children, young people, and their families.

Children and young people experience transitions at key points in their learning journey, and they need to be effectively supported both pastorally and cognitively to ensure smooth progression and continuity across all stages of their development and learning. Arrangements for transitions need to be flexible and take account of the individual needs of all learners and their families, in line with the Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) approach, which emphasises wellbeing, child-centred planning, and inter-agency collaboration.

At Wallacewell Primary, we believe that transitions are not a single point in time but a continuous process that is regularly reviewed to respond to changing needs. Key features which ensure a successful transition at Wallacewell are communication, consistency, and collaboration. We are committed to ensuring that transitions are effective. We want our children to experience a smooth transition throughout their learning journey. We achieve this by:

• Communicating clearly and sharing proportionally
• Being learner-centred, aligned with the principles of Curriculum for Excellence (CfE), which promotes continuity and progression across all stages
• Involving learners and parents/carers throughout the process, supporting partnership working as outlined in Education (Scotland) Act 2016
• Being anticipatory and timely
• Ensuring arrangements are proportionate to the level of need and inter-agency involvement, in accordance with the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 (as amended 2009)

Below you will find our three key transition objectives:

1. To support all learners to successfully meet the challenge of moving from one setting or stage to another, including children and young people with additional support needs, in line with statutory duties under the Additional Support for Learning legislation.
2. To provide an inclusive curriculum that supports and challenges all children in their development and learning, reflecting Curriculum for Excellence principles of breadth, depth, challenge, and enjoyment.
3. To ensure all relevant information for individual children and young people is forwarded and shared at the time of transition, supporting the planning of next steps and continuity in learning as recommended by Education Scotland guidance on transitions.

A nurturing approach encourages us to think of transitions in the widest context, for example: home to early years centre, early years centre to starting school, moving from one stage to the next, moving from one school to another, or leaving school. At Wallacewell Primary, we are committed to making key points of transition both smooth and beneficial. We have designed bespoke approaches to both Early Years Centres to Primary and Primary to Secondary, in alignment with national policy and statutory guidance.

Click on the links below to view Pre Entrant and P7 to Secondary transition news for this session.

Pre Entrant News

P7 to Secondary News