Moving school guide for parents and carers of a child with an EHCP

It’s never too early to start talking about transition. Annual review meetings are a good opportunity to have transition discussions, even if your child isn’t in a ‘transition year.’

Think about what is working well for your child and how this might continue when they move. Also, think about any different support that will be needed to allow a successful transition. Arrange to visit schools in the year before your child is due to transition if you can. This will make choosing a school much easier when the time comes. It will help build links with staff in the new school at an early stage.

We all have our own way of coping with change and this is no different for children and young people with EHCPs. The focus of transition planning should be on emotional health and wellbeing. Feelings of safety and security in their new environment will need to be developed. Take opportunities to normalise feelings of worry about the transition.

Talking about times that you have experienced a big change might help your child to feel more confident. Encourage your child to identify their own feelings related to transition. Help them to think about strategies they could use to manage these.

Your child’s school might be able to provide resources to help with this. They might also be able to give details of organisations that can support your child’s mental health and wellbeing.

As parents and carers, you will also have your own anxieties about your child’s transition. It is important that you recognise these. Be mindful of your own stress responses and try to keep things as positive as possible for your child.

We all need to feel some form of connection to others, so it’s important to help your child begin to build positive links with people in their new setting. They should also be thinking about ways that they can keep in touch with their friends and key staff after they have moved.

Ask staff at the new setting how your child will be able to get to know the key adults who will be working with them. Also, find out whether there will be opportunities for your child to meet their new classmates before they transition.

Remember that relationships will be new. It might be less easy for your child to share their feelings and to offload in the way that they would have in their previous school. This could mean they show their feelings at home more, while they are still settling in.

Be prepared to share information about your child and your family with the new school. Help to develop a good shared knowledge of your child. This is so staff can plan how best to support them when they transition. This might be during meetings or when chatting with staff in the new setting. This should include things like:

• your child’s recent history
• things they find helpful or unhelpful
• your family’s wider support network
• professionals working with your child. (This could be social care, medical professionals, and therapy services)

Children and young people will have their own ideas about what will work best for their transition. It is important to give them plenty of opportunities to share their thoughts about:

• what they want and need
• what they think will help
• how they’re feeling about it

Your child’s school might be able to provide resources or personalised activities to help them do this, for example:

• talking mats
• ‘The Incredible 5 Point Scale’
• comic strip conversations

They might even want to attend some meetings. Provide opportunities for the child to ask questions about their new setting. You can help them to carry out their own research to find out the answers.

Ask the new setting whether they can offer your child any extra visits to get to know the environment and meet key staff. You might want to make a list of questions for you or your child to ask during these visits. This could also be a good time to encourage your child to think about the different expectations of the new setting, in a personalised way. This could be with:

• their uniform
• the equipment they will need
• how to move around the building

The setting’s website might have useful resources such as virtual tours, maps and photographs. You can look at these with your child to prepare them for their transition. You can use this as an opportunity to ask your child about what they are looking forward to. You can also find out what they might be anxious about.

Watch the 'Find your feet' parent webinar from the Young Minds website.

You can fill in a booklet with your child about their transition to a new school.

Contact the Dorset Special Educational Needs and Disability Information, Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS).