Starting Nursery and Primary 1

Transfer from Nursery to Primary School

We have strong links with all the Nurseries in the local area.  The majority of our Primary 1 pupils attend our own nursery, although some pupils also attend other nurseries in the surrounding area.  The Primary 1 teachers liaise closely with Nursery staff before the children start Primary School. There are workshops provided where the children can experience the types of learning activities they will undertake in Primary 1.  The children are also given the opportunity to visit their new school and spend some time in their new learning environment with their new teacher. Finally, the Primary 7 children provide pastoral care for the new Primary 1s in the form of playground pals and buddies. In addition to these arrangements we also attempt to involve the nursery pupils in every day running of the school in the following ways:

Children from our nursery class attend school assemblies weekly.
Children in our nursery class have PE in the school gym hall.
The HT and DHT visits the nursery class regularly to get to know the children.
P1 teachers have regular visits to the nursery class in the last school term to build good relationships with the children.
Nursery and P1 teachers meet to discuss pupil profiles and transition records.
School taster sessions for children and information sessions for parents are hosted by the school.

Starting Secondary School

Transfer from Primary School to Secondary School

Pupils normally transfer to Bellshill Academy between the ages of 11 and a half and 12 and a half, so that they have the opportunity to complete at least 4 years of secondary education. We have an excellent relationship with Bellshill Academy and work normally begins in Primary 6 to prepare our children for the transition to secondary school with an initial visit.

Staff from the Support for Learning Department visit Primary 7 pupils on an on-going basis to get to know all the pupils and Pupil Support Staff also have frequent contact with us to ensure that the exchange of information is maintained.

Regular visits to Bellshill Academy take place throughout Primary 7 for our children to experience a taste of life at ‘high school’ with CSI Science always a highlight of the year, along with the art department photography and t-shirt printing, PE event and maths challenge. Primary 7 pupils will normally complete a 2/3-day independent visit towards the end of the year, allowing them to follow a sample timetable and a chance to meet their peers from the other feeder primary schools, teachers and staff.

We understand that the move to secondary school can be extremely daunting for a lot of our children and therefore we are proud of the relationship we maintain with Bellshill Academy in being able to provide such an extensive transitioning programme to alleviate any misconceptions and ensure that our pupils know some of the staff at the school and many make new friends prior to the summer holiday.

Primary 7 teachers will be discussing the transition to secondary school throughout the year, but we also appreciate that the best people to advise are those who have done it, therefore we normally invite back our previous pupils from S1 to give our P7 children the chance to ask any questions they might not want to ask their teacher and to clarify once and for all the age-old myth that their head will not be flushed down the toilet.

There are also many opportunities for the parents of our P7 children to visit Bellshill Academy – normally with an open evening taking place in the first term and an information evening prior to the visits on the last term.

If you wish to discuss arrangements for your child’s transition then please do not hesitate to make an appointment at the school office to discuss with the classroom teacher or relevant Senior Management Team member.