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CONTRIBUTORS
Supporting transitions is key when moving to a new environment
This month, in our ongoing collaboration with Edge Hill University curated by ALICIA BLANCO-BAYO, Early Years Lecturer and WTEY Programme Leader at the University’s Faculty of Education, we’re delighted to hear from CORINNE ROGANSKY, a Y3 student on the BA (Hons) Working and Teaching in the Early Years who is passionate about supporting children's emotional development. In the piece Corinne discusses how young children starting their school lives can be helped through those often difficult, and sometimes neglected, transitions which occur as they move from home to Early Years to Year 1 and beyond.
Transitions in themselves can be stressful, whether we transition into a new job or a new home. When young children start in an Early Years setting after having been at home with parents or relatives, they are eased into the process, through carefully planned procedures and policies. Early Years settings deliver taster sessions to help children gain familiarity within the new environments while their main caregiver can accompany them. It is crucial to support young children with the change and providing the safety and security required for them to flourish in their new surroundings. During these visits, children can foster good relationships with staff and meet their key person, creating strong secondary attachments which help children feel safe and secure. The aim of these sessions, as Holmes (2014) suggests, is to identify children’s needs and ensure any concerns can be addressed early on. Personal, social and Emotional development, as one of the three Prime Areas of the EYFS (DfE, 2021) is an area practitioners should focus on in order to build the foundations for all successful learning and development, as Aubrey and Ward (2013) mention.
Managing the transition to Year 1 However, during my research of transitions, I have found that transition management for a child moving from the secure environment in their Early Years setting into Year 1 where often there is no play and learning becomes more formal, does not seem as important under the National Curriculum (DfE, 2013). It can be quite a daunting time for children. Therefore, supporting a child during this transition will, without a doubt benefit their overall wellbeing. As argued by Alves et al (2020), even though the EYFS (DfE, 2021) identifies how important it is to prepare children to become ‘school ready’, this is not always a smooth process where children are offered support to become independent, confident so that they can gradually adapt to formal schooling. This sudden change in practice once children start Key Stage 1, does not mentally or emotionally prepare children for the upheaval that occurs once formal schooling begins (Huser, Dockett and Perry, 2016).
Supporting wellbeing and care The government’s agenda of ‘school readiness’ places great emphasis on preparing a child for the pursuit of academic attainment, failing to emphasise the importance of supporting good wellbeing and care (Day, 2020). The National Curriculum (DfE, 2013) fails to provide adequate support so that children can cope with the sudden change in pedagogical philosophy, resulting in discontinuity that can affect a child’s emotional wellbeing. Added anxieties from lack of emotional support whilst
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www.education-today.co.uk June 2022
experiencing change can cause children to regress and withdraw. Thus, leading to poor emotional and social wellbeing, negatively impacting children’s cognitive thinking, especially occurring during sensitive periods of learning (Horner, 2015). During the global Covid-19 pandemic, many children were forced to stay at home with very few social interactions, if any. Some children left their Reception class and only returned to school to join Year 1, missing vital learning which would have had an impact on their overall development. However, they were expected to ‘bounce back’ from these fluctuations and ‘perform’ as policy dictates they should (Chambers et al, 2021).
Fostering a sense of belonging Children need to be continuously supported throughout a transition period to maintain their emotional resilience, build relationships and balance their overall wellbeing in order to foster a sense of belonging. Rather than setting sights on children’s academic attainment and performance within the classroom, we need to focus on supporting emotional and mental wellbeing as this is paramount for children’s future success, especially when there is a change of pedagogical approach. Whether that is from home to a Nursery setting or from the Reception setting to Year 1, if a child does not experience a smooth transition, which can sometimes be difficult, their overall emotional wellbeing can be negatively impacted. This can as a result, cause a range of issues that will, without any doubt, affect learning and development. We need to ensure supporting all types of transitions becomes a priority for us as practitioners.
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