Last summer the Anna Freud Centre co-produced Moving Up! - an animation and accompanying toolkit of lesson and assembly materials with young people, teachers and clinicians. They spent time talking to young people in their final year of primary school, and first couple of years into secondary about their worries, challenges, and also positive experiences and developed an animation featuring characters who embodied the feedback we heard from them.
The animation aims to support pupils to:
- Identify potential worries associated with starting secondary school;
- Know they're not alone if they are feeling worried;
- Talk to a trusted adult or friend if they have any concerns;
- Identify solutions and strategies for looking after their mental health, including self-care.
The animation and materials are designed for pupils who are preparing to transition to secondary school later this year but can also be used with new secondary school students once they have started.
Supporting children's transition to secondary school is an evidence-based guidance for parents and carers,
written with input from clinicians at the Centre and teachers. This short guide provides tips about how children preparing
for, or going through, the transition to secondary school can best be supported by their parents and carers. It includes guidance which explains why the transition can be difficult for some children, and practical advice such as talking and connecting with the new school, as well as suggested resources that children and parents and carers may find useful.