Bridging the Gap: Helping Year 6 Students Thrive as They Move to Secondary School

The transition between year 6 and year 7 is often one of the most significant changes experienced by young people. While transitions into prep and primary school are significant, moving into high school is a major step into independence. As such, this is a time where young people can face unfamiliar social, emotional, and developmental challenges with less structure and supports than they’ve ever had before.

Developmentally, the move into teenage years – which often aligns with transitioning into high school – comes with quite significant change, with numerous social, biological, emotional, cognitive developments occurring. Puberty’s physical changes are speeding up, social relationships are getting more complex, and structures and supports that assist young people in primary school are radically altered or removed. This is alongside a newfound search for identity and discovering their place in the world. These changes are different for every young person, every family, every school, and every community, and it can be hard to predict how a student may experience their move into secondary school. What a parent can do, however, is expect ups and downs, and understand that each child will experience a different adjustment period.

Nonetheless, when it comes to preparing for secondary school, there are some actionable steps you can take to provide the best opportunity for your young person to thrive in this transition. Firstly, opening up conversations about the change, any practical concerns, or any emotional difficulties they are experiencing, and actively listening to their perspective, can both help a child feel supported and understood, but also can help the entire family understand practical concerns that may not first be apparent from an outside perspective. For some families, this might mean setting aside a specific time to prompt your young person to share their thoughts and feelings, and for other families it may be prioritising active listening when their young person initiates the conversation themselves. As independence grows, your young person may not be as forthcoming about their feelings as they have been in the past. This clash between seeking independence and dealing with complex emotions that they may not understand might mean you have to initiate these conversations more than you have in the past. It is unlikely that your young person has no concerns about high school, as worries about transitions are developmentally appropriate and uniquely human! Reminding your young person that worries are natural can also assist them to feel confident in their transition. After listening to their concerns, and providing solutions where possible, you can try to discuss some of the positives about high school – whether this be new subjects they are excited to try, old friends that are joining them, or an opportunity to have a fresh start. Make sure to acknowledge and validate their concerns, as possible benefits don’t eliminate their fears, but fears and worries can tint one’s perspective, and providing relevant upsides to high school can help them have a more balanced or optimistic perspective. Building resilience at this time or reminding young people of the resilience they have shown in past experiences can help them to feel more confident in taking a step into this unfamiliar situation. When preparing for high school, this search for identity can also be fostered by involving your young person in the decision-making process. While not all families are provided with decision making opportunities for one reason or another, allowing a young person to express their desires when it comes to possible schooling or transport options might help them feel more in control of their transition.

As mentioned before, some of the structures and supports that young people have been provided change when going into high school. When it comes to neurodivergent young people, this may mean that new challenges arise, or old challenges become more prevalent. Advocating for your young person and communicating with wellbeing professionals at their new school, can be instrumental in their transition to a new school. For both neurodivergent and neurotypical children, learning what adjustments have helped them in primary school by discussing with their current teachers can help. Additionally, speaking with professionals such as educational psychologists to complete assessments and provide recommendations may help those with differing learning styles and needs. Understanding your young person, and inviting your young person to learn about themselves, can help for not only this transition, but future transitions and difficult times that they may face.

Transitioning from year 6 to year 7 is a major change and with change comes new worries, new challenges, and new opportunities. Every child will overcome these new experiences in different ways and being aware, communicative, and curious about your child’s worries, excitement, and development can help them through this. As always, your young person is the expert of their own experiences and listening to them and supporting them to face this transition with independence and shared problem solving, will help give them the motivation and confidence they need to thrive in year 7 and high school as a whole.