Transition services

Transition refers to a period of change for a child or young person. Change could relate to a change in provision, education setting, or a personal change such as moving house. Our transition services look at the individual holistically to identify needs and provide specialist input.

What types of transition packages do we provide?

We provide both a preventative and a reactive transition service, including various assessments. A preventative perspective takes place before a transition. A reactive perspective takes place following a transition which may not have gone to plan.

We provide a range of transition services including:

Some common reasons a child or young person would benefit from our transition services include individuals who:

• Have a special educational need and / or disability (SEND) and are moving from early years to primary
• Have a SEND and are moving from primary to secondary
• Have a SEND and are moving from secondary to post-16
• Have a SEND and are moving from post-16 to university or employment
• Have a SEND and are moving from mainstream to a specialist school
• Are moving from mainstream to a pupil referral unit
• Are moving from a pupil referral unit to mainstream
• Are new to the area
• Are new to the school
• Are moving house
• Have found a change of teacher difficult to handle
• Have found a change in learning environment difficult to handle
• Are going through changes in personal circumstances

Assessments within our transition services are a good way to understand the child or young person’s individual needs during a time of change in their life. An assessment could lead to interventions and recommendations in order to support the child or young person with their upcoming transition. An assessment can also take place following a transition to assess how the child or young person is coping with the change and what more could be done to support them.

What happens before a transition?

Ideally we would be starting our work before a transition. Before a transition we would gather background information about the child or young person in order to have a holistic understanding of their situation. Background information allows us to select the most appropriate service (assessment, intervention, group work) for the child or young person. If an assessment is carried out then we would interpret the results and incorporate the background information we acquired to support you in forming a plan to support the upcoming transition. Any recommended interventions and strategies would be put in place before the transition to reduce the psychological impact of the change.

What happens during a transition?

When our transition services are commissioned during a transition then we may facilitate the communication and co-operation of settings and individuals, including parents or carers, to work together to reduce any negative impacts of a transition.

If an assessment did not take place before a transition and our team are coming into the process at the time of change then we would gather background information along with changes and behaviours identified during the transition process to choose an appropriate service. It may be that an assessment to measure resiliency, or aspects related to social, emotional and mental health is our first step. By assessing a specific aspect of an individual our specialists can begin to incorporate their psychological knowledge with assessment results to come up with strategies to assist during the transition process.

During our initial discussion we will discuss the child or young person in question and decide whether an assessment will be appropriate. Assessments within our transition services could include a mixture of specific assessments related to the psychological areas affected during transitions.

What are the benefits of our transition services?

There are many benefits of our transition services, such as:

• Ensuring that change is managed in a positive way
• Supporting underlying needs
• Reducing negative future impact
• Learning psychological strategies to cope with change
• Increasing understanding in others of how to support during transitions
• Developing resilience in the child or young person
• Providing a space for children and young persons to explore practical implications of upcoming change

Transition services carried out by our specialist child and young person psychological team provide information which is useful to support the child or young person before, during or after a transition.

Transitions occur in many areas of life and it is important that they are handled well by people who understand the implications of a disruptive transition. Our specialist psychologists use their psychological knowledge to support a child or young person before, during and after a transition.

To help to support effective transitions please contact us to talk to a member of our team.