This is a great book which I would have no hesitation
in recommending to others. It is an excellent resource for anyone working
with children and young people making the move to secondary school.
It draws on techniques and skills that are grounded in both theory and
practice, offering practical resources and activities for use with children
and young people.
It is 180 pages long and is designed like a workbook.
It is spiral bound and contains lots of illustrations and activities,
as well as photocopiable resources.
The book is aimed at those involved in working with
children during the transition from primary to secondary school. This
includes teachers, support staff, and a range of project workers. The
book has been put together in consultation with teachers, researchers
and other practitioners working in the field, so is therefore firmly
rooted in practice.
It focuses equally on the two key aspects of transitions
support:
- Social and emotional aspects of transition
- Learning and curriculum continuity across the transition
Within 5 key sections there are a number of activities,
tips, suggestions and photocopiable resources on many topics including
making friends, bullying, homework worries and learning styles. The
views and experiences of children and young people are featured throughout
the book through the use of quotes and case studies. Numerous examples
of good practice from other countries as well as local UK based projects
are provided.
As well as being deeply rooted in practice, it refers
to theory and draws on current international research literature. This
focuses on topics such as the ‘dip’ in children’s
results, learning environments, curriculum continuity and the range
of different learning styles. The reader is therefore provided with
highly relevant information in this important area of children’s
lives.
There are chapters on supporting disengaged students,
managing feelings, school organisation and teachers, the curriculum,
friends and bullying and primary and secondary liaison. There is also
a chapter on helping parents with transitions, which gives suggestions
for Year 6 parents’ evenings.
In general this book is written in an accessible,
user-friendly style, however, on occasions is unnecessarily complex,
for example, using phrases such as concentric circles and acrostic poems.
Having said this, I think this is an incredibly
valuable resource for anyone working with children and young people
during their transition to secondary school, including teachers, support
staff, youth workers and project workers. I would have no hesitation
in recommending this brilliant book.
