Supporting transitions for pupils with Additional Educational Needs (AEN)

All children are likely to bring with them anxieties about how they will cope in a new setting, whether this is the young child concerned at being away from their parent for so long or the Year 7 pupil worrying about getting on the right bus home. Some of these anxieties can be dispelled by proper, accurate information, others require the implementation of supportive structures and processes that span both the leaving of the previous setting and induction into the new one. For the child with AEN the general worries are likely to be compounded by others which might, depending on the type of need, include concerns over the type of support they will receive, access to specialist equipment, not being able to do the work, accessibility of buildings and rooms as well as social concerns about how their need, disability or impairment will be perceived and accepted by other children. In order to support the child with additional educational needs, the current school and the receiving school need to liaise closely, not only to ensure that the support in place is continued, replaced with a suitable alternative, phased out or removed in a planned way but also to support the child pastorally prior to, during and following the transition.

A timely transfer of information that involves collaboration by the present and the receiving school or setting, the parents, the child and any other professionals involved such as LEA support services and external agencies, is likely to lead to a more successful transition. Information transferred should focus on what the child can do, not just on areas of weakness. The information should include detail on strategies and approaches used and the outcomes. In terms of the provisions a school needs to make, it is important to bear in mind that some children with AEN will also have a disability under the Special Educational Needs Act 2001.