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Original poster

School not having induction days at secondary?!

102 replies

WaitroseAldi · 20/06/2021 07:45

Apparently the head teachers of a few of the local primary are saying they are not comfortable with sending year 6 upto secondary for two induction days. Is this what it has became?! The poor kids will have absolutely no idea what to expect come September, most of them haven’t even stepped foot into the school to look around.

It’s so sad and my Ds (autism) has not stopped worrying about it since his teacher told his class last week!

OP posts:
Christmasfairy2020 · 20/06/2021 09:31

My dd has 3 days booked. Then again we also attended a big meeting and a walk around the school last year.
Thing is adults 18 up are now eligible for vaccination. Most vulnerable are vaccinated. Kids are not even often poorly with it so why the hysteria

WhenSheWasBad · 20/06/2021 09:31

Ds is going but they’re complying with rules

They must be sending the other Year groups home. You can’t have Year 6 in for a transition to show them around a school, without the kids moving around the school.

This would pop every year group bubble at our school. I guess we could get Year 6s into the sports hall for an induction. But what’s the point of showing them the inside of a sports hall?

We can’t really afford to send our other Year groups home. They’ve missed out on too much this year anyway.

grafittiartist · 20/06/2021 09:32

It's not cancelled lightly.
Madness to get hundreds of kids from different primaries to mix together.
It's a shame- but can't be done. There will be virtual things that aren't the same, but might help.

WhenSheWasBad · 20/06/2021 09:32

Kids are not even often poorly with it so why the hysteria

Please don’t mistake Headteachers following DfE guidance for “hysteria”

MarshaBradyo · 20/06/2021 09:34

He won’t go inside so maybe not what some want it mean (I’ve not had these for any child or me)

But he will at least speak to class mates and see the school.

Maxineputyourredshoeson · 20/06/2021 09:37

DD1 is still having a visit to her new school. All feeder schools have been split up and divided into bubbles. The bubbles have been allocated a 2hrs time slot. Parents have to take and collect their own child. We also have an online chat the day after both induction days have taken place. They will also start 2 days before the rest of the school return. The head of year has been going into schools to speak to all of the children about transitioning to YR7. I must admit I’m really happy with how our schools have coped.

blissfulllife · 20/06/2021 09:37

I understand the guidance and the risk of mixing many many kids from different primary schools but what do they think is going to happen in September!? They will all be in mixing anyway.

adhdorpnd · 20/06/2021 09:39

I arranged a transition visit myself for my sen child. The secondary were so kind and helpful. They're also still hoping to be able to do transition as previous years but knew they needed to get the vulnerable year 6's around so they could meet and get the know them

Contact the senco of the receiving secondary, explain your son's needs and ask what the transition programme will be for him.

LilacSorbet · 20/06/2021 09:41

Yes, but they won't all be taking it back to their respective primary schools in September. They'll be in a new bubble.

WhenSheWasBad · 20/06/2021 09:41

@blissfulllife

I understand the guidance and the risk of mixing many many kids from different primary schools but what do they think is going to happen in September!? They will all be in mixing anyway.
Our school will still be operating a bubble system (it is secondary).

In our school you can really show anyone around the school without crossing 4 different bubbles. We have had cases in school high levels of Covid locally.

Headteacher can’t see a way to safely have induction.

motherrunner · 20/06/2021 09:41

@blissfulllife

I understand the guidance and the risk of mixing many many kids from different primary schools but what do they think is going to happen in September!? They will all be in mixing anyway.
Schools are responsibly for track and trace of contacts. In Sept the Yr 6s will become part of the school, until then they are still primary children and the logistics of having to teach and trace pupils from multiple schools is difficult.
Mumdiva99 · 20/06/2021 09:42

My daughters was cancelled last week. I'm sad for her as she couldn't look around the school before we chose it. There have been no in year activities where she has visited and now transition is cancelled. But - it's not been a usual year. She will survive. They are having an extra day just y7 in September before the other kids come back. (They normally have one quiet day and are now having two.)

Streamingbannersofdawn · 20/06/2021 09:44

The DFE have advised against transition days...my pre schoolers are expected to go to school for the first time in September having never seen the school before or met their teachers.

I, as an Early years practitioner am expected to peel 2yr old children off their parents when they have never been away from them before and they don't know me from Adam to come into a nursery setting they have never even seen inside. (I ignore this...still zero Covid cases)

Because of COVID...it sucks...

Beannag · 20/06/2021 09:48

I agree with others to contact the school and see if something can be arranged. Sadly the government will happily cancel things like this due to covid without thinking of the consequences for some children, who have been seen off throughout this whole shitshow.

blissfulllife · 20/06/2021 09:57

@LilacSorbet

Yes, but they won't all be taking it back to their respective primary schools in September. They'll be in a new bubble.
Then put the induction day on the end of term? There's gotta be a way around it at least for children with additional needs like ASD where it's important for them to be prepared.

I wouldn't want any other child to go through what mine did last year

Howshouldibehave · 20/06/2021 10:02

Then put the induction day on the end of term?

I would imagine the secondary schools are already very busy on the last day of term and don’t have space to facilitate transition days-they are a large logistical operation.

There's gotta be a way around it at least for children with additional needs like ASD where it's important for them to be prepared

Yes-if those parents contact the senco, I’m sure they can arrange external 1:1 tours.

The schools around here are having the Y7s in a day early in September to get to know each other and the school-sounds a really good idea.

tigger1001 · 20/06/2021 10:06

I'm in Scotland and no transition for my youngest either.

They did visits last year - just a short tour done in groups in the holidays, but more than a year on and there is nothing this year.

Secondary schools here had two in service days so no pupils. They did think they could organise something in these days so at least they would have had a tour, but the local authority said no. They did do visits for kids with additional needs. They mixed with other primaries then came back to their own school.

Flowerlane · 20/06/2021 10:10

As it stands at the moment my child’s transition day is going ahead. We received a email on Thursday stating they are continuing their transition day as they personally don’t feel doing it virtually is fair on the children. We have our fingers crossed it doesn’t get cancelled by Friday.

All the other secondary schools in our area have cancelled theirs.

It’s really not fair on the children. They deserve so much better then what they are getting.

moynomore · 20/06/2021 10:14

All cancelled where I am. One online induction next week.

Throughabushbackwards · 20/06/2021 10:20

Ours have moved it to September. They have a full transition day the Friday before they start on the Monday. Seems a good solution.

Allgirlskidsanddogs · 20/06/2021 10:27

My DD got places at 2 schools.

Local comp doing no in person transition but meetings and lessons virtually.

Private school doing in person for pupils with activities planned outdoors, so they will get to know teachers’ faces and peers but not so much of the building. Presentation to parents has been postponed.

DrMadelineMaxwell · 20/06/2021 10:32

Are you sure it is the primary heads who have decided this? We are up for ours going, even suggested they took them in as one separate bubble, but got told no. The local director of education has said it cant happen due to the mixing of so many children from so many schools and the impact it may have, especially now with rising cases.

They've been in to talk to y6 and some are doing remote lessons instead.

MarshaBradyo · 20/06/2021 10:34

@Allgirlskidsanddogs

My DD got places at 2 schools.

Local comp doing no in person transition but meetings and lessons virtually.

Private school doing in person for pupils with activities planned outdoors, so they will get to know teachers’ faces and peers but not so much of the building. Presentation to parents has been postponed.

Which one is she going to attend? I’m assuming private but you just know re comp

I agree there is a difference sounds like here

MsAwesomeDragon · 20/06/2021 10:41

If your DS is worried about it, please contact the secondary school and ask if he could come and have a look around. My school would be very happy to accommodate that for a child with SEND, or even an anxious child without any diagnosed issues. It would probably need to be after school, but we would happily let him meet his firm tutor, head of year, have a tour, etc.

It's not that we don't want to have the year 6 children in, it's just that it's not logistically possible under the current restrictions. We have close to 30 feeder primaries, so 30 separate bubbles to accommodate, without mixing them. We don't have the space or the staff to make that possible. Individual visits once our pupils have left for the day are much easier to arrange (albeit not for all 200 new starters). The current year 7 have coped very well with a very disrupted start to their secondary schooling. Yes, there are issues for some of them, but tbh those issues have stemmed from long periods of lockdown rather than missing an induction day.

I do understand your worries. I have a year 6 dd, who has selective mutism. I've contacted the senco at her new school and we're going to look around after school next week. We'll meet the senco, the head of year 7 and her new form tutor. She's also arranged that dd will have her best friends in the same class with her, so that she has some familiar and comfortable faces around her. I would expect your ds's new school will be just as accommodating.

Eccle80 · 20/06/2021 10:45

Initially the middle and high transitions were said to be going ahead here at the start of the week, but they then had to send another letter at the end of the week saying they had new DfE guidance and would have to cancel as the guidance required them to keep bubbles intact and they couldn’t do that. There are only two middle schools going into the high school.