School Transitions: Stability for Vulnerable Learners

School transitions are defining moments in a child’s educational journey whether this is in early years, mid-year or mid-term, year 7 transition. For most pupils, moving into a new class, phase or school brings predictable nerves: Will I like my teacher? Who will I sit with? What will the routines be like? But for some group, SEND learners, Looked After Children (LAC), and pupils facing socioeconomic disadvantage transitions carry significantly higher stakes. 

For these learners, uncertainty can trigger anxiety, dysregulation and withdrawal. Gaps in information can snowball into unmet needs. Inconsistent expectations between settings can undermine confidence and belonging. And when early support is delayed, vulnerable children often begin the year already at a disadvantage. 

At Pupil Pathways, using our school transition portals, we help schools design school transitions that frontload inclusion rather than hoping it emerges later. When schools have early insight, shared language and consistent expectations, vulnerable pupils experience the kind of stability that allows them not only to cope with change, but to thrive in it. 

This blog explores: 

• Common pitfalls that disproportionately affect SEND, LAC and disadvantaged learners 

• Continuity strategies that travel across phases and prevent support breakdowns 

• How to coordinate multiagency support early and effectively 

• First term inclusion KPIs that indicate whether support is landing in time 

Across all sections, the focus remains practical, relational and grounded in what schools tell us works. 

1. Common Pitfalls for SEND, LAC and Disadvantaged Learners During School Transitions

Even well-intentioned early years transition and year 7 transition processes can unintentionally reproduce inequity. Vulnerable learners often encounter challenges that other pupils can absorb more easily. Below are the patterns we see repeatedly when working with schools and trusts. 

1.1 Needs Identified Too Late – After School Transitions

Many receiving schools begin September without a complete picture of a child’s needs. When information arrives late or in inconsistent formats staff make assumptions, delay support or rely on reactive strategies. For a child who uses sensory tools, visual prompts or specific communication supports, even a short delay can make the first month destabilising. 

Late identification leads to: 

• Slow access to specialist support 

• Inappropriate classroom expectations 

• Anxiety spikes in the first weeks of term 

• Increased behaviour incidents due to unmet needs 

• Disenfranchised families who feel they must constantly explain their child 

For LAC, who often carry experiences of instability, unclear support can compound feelings of uncertainty. 

1.2 Strategies That Worked Don’t Travel with the Child 

One of the most common frustrations from families is that “what worked last year disappeared overnight.”
The receiving school may not know: 

• Which routines help a child regulate 

• Which adult responses build trust 

• How the child communicates discomfort 

• What sensory adjustments ensure calm participation 

When these proven strategies fall away, vulnerable learners interpret the change as a loss of safety rather than a fresh start. 

SEND learners, in particular, may depend on highly personalised approaches visual schedules, chunked instructions, safe adults, movement breaks. If these do not transfer, pupils spend their energy surviving rather than learning. 

1.3 Fragmented Communication Between Adults and Agencies 

Early years transitions and Year 7 transitions often expose where communication systems break down. Vulnerable learners may be supported by: 

• SENCOs 

• Social care 

• Cirtual School officers 

• Speech and language therapists 

• Educational psychologists 

• EAL leads 

• Attendance teams 

• Pastoral staff 

Yet without a shared space to coordinate, key information gets lost. Families frequently describe feeling forced to retell the same story to multiple professionals. Schools describe gaps in safeguarding, curriculum access and pastoral insight that could have been prevented with early coordination. 

LAC are particularly affected when multiple agencies are involved and no one holds the whole picture. 

1.4 Induction Processes Not Adapted for Vulnerable Pupils 

Many transition programmes assume all pupils manage change the same way. Vulnerable pupils often struggle with: 

• Large crowds or noisy induction days 

• Sudden timetable changes 

• High-pressure assessments 

• Unfamiliar adults leading sessions 

• Unstructured social time 

A standard induction can be overwhelming. For pupils who rely on predictability, clear routines and emotional safety, even a “fun” welcome day can trigger distress.

For a deeper exploration of the reception transition into primary school, read our blog: Stepping into Primary School – Challenges and Opportunities. This piece examines the emotional, social and practical adjustments children face when moving from early years settings into a more structured primary environment and outlines practical strategies schools can use to balance high expectations with emotional safety during those first critical weeks.

1.5 Lack of Family Partnership 

Across early years and year 7 transition, parents and carers of vulnerable learners often report feeling side lined during transitions. They hold crucial insight into what comforts their child, what triggers anxiety, and what helps learning but this knowledge is not always collected in structured ways. 

Families want predictable communication, collaborative planning and early reassurance that support will be consistent. 

2. Continuity Strategies That Travel Across Phases

Continuity is the antidote to instability. Vulnerable learners feel safest when what works for them in one setting continues seamlessly in the next. Below are strategies that ensure support, familiarity and trust survive the transition. 

2.1 Create a Pupil Passport 

A Pupil Passport gathers the information that matters most, not just data, but actionable insight and crucially, provides continuity. 

A strong Pupil Passport includes: 

• Strengths, interests and motivators 

• Communication style and sensory preferences 

• Strategies that help with regulation 

• Adult approaches that work well 

• Medical, social or pastoral notes that impact learning 

• Agencies involved and agreed interventions 

• Family voice (“What we want the new school to know about our child”) 

Unlike long reports, a Pupil Passport is used, not filed. It should be: 

• One page 

• Practical 

• Strengths-based 

• Co-authored with families and professionals 

• Updated before the child moves 

Schools using Pupil Pathways transition portals, StepIntoSchool and SixIntoSeven often describe the passport as the single most effective lever for equity across transitions. 

Securing strong transitions in the earliest stages of education is one of the most powerful ways to reduce long-term disadvantage. In our blog, “Giving every child the best start in life”, we explore why structured information sharing, family voice and early identification are critical during nursery and reception transitions. When schools embed continuity from the very beginning, children do not simply settle more quickly, they build confidence, belonging and learning behaviours that carry forward across every future phase.

2.2 Consistent Regulation Strategies 

Regulation is relational. When the adults change, the strategies must stay the same. 

Continuity strategies include: 

• Keeping sensory routines (movement breaks, quiet spaces, tactile tools) 

• Uing the same visual schedules or symbol systems 

• Ensuring new teachers adopt familiar calming approaches 

• Signaling changes well in advance 

• Giving pupils protected time with a trusted adult early in the term 

For LAC, predictable adult responses are essential; inconsistency can reactivate anxiety and hypervigilance. 

2.3 Curriculum and Classroom Adaptations That Travel 

Particularly for year 7 transitions often bring heavier curriculum expectations and more complex tasks. Vulnerable learners benefit from adaptations that make learning accessible from day one, such as: 

• Scaffolded tasks and pre-teaching 

• Chunked instructions 

• Continued use of personalised learning routines 

• Gentle introduction to high demand subjects 

• Reduced high-stake testing in the early term 

• Clear modelling of routines and expectations 

SEND learners, especially those with processing, communication or sensory needs, benefit enormously from consistency between phases. 

2.4 Stable Relationships and Safe Adults 

Nothing anchors a transition like a consistent relationship. 

Practical approaches include: 

• Having a named safe adult continue check-ins 

• Building in predictable relational routines (morning greeting, end of day review) 

• Ensuring new staff are briefed on relational triggers 

• Keeping peer connections intact where appropriate 

A child who knows “there is someone here who understands me” enters the new year with confidence. 

2.5 Family Continuity Measures 

Families want reassurance that their child is understood. Schools can strengthen continuity through: 

• Pretransition home visits or virtual meetings 

• Early September check-ins to discuss how routines are landing 

• Giving families a clear point of contact 

• Offering a calm, predictable communication pattern 

• Sharing early successes to build trust 

When families feel valued, their child feels safer and inclusion becomes a partnership rather than a battle. 

3. Coordinating Multiagency Support Effectively in School Transitions

For vulnerable learners, especially SEND and LAC, effective transition planning requires more than two schools talking. It requires a coordinated, multiagency ecosystem that plans together, reviews together and stays aligned. 

Below are structures that turn scattered support into a coherent system. 

3.1 Multiagency School Transition Meetings 

Rather than multiple isolated conversations, hold shared meetings where key professionals sit at the same table. 

Participants might include: 

• SENCOs from both settings 

• Virtual School officers 

• Social care representatives 

• Pastoral leads 

• EAL specialists 

• Counsellors or wellbeing staff 

• Educational psychologists 

• Family support workers 

These meetings ensure everyone hears the same information, agrees on the same strategies, and understands their role in supporting the learner. 

3.2 Joint Action Plans 

A written plan clarifies: 

• What support will be in place 

• Who is responsible 

• Timelines for review 

• Early help strategies 

• Pupil voice 

• Family goals 

A joint plan means everyone starts September with the same map. 

3.3 Shared Digital Records 

Too often, key information is lost in emails or paper folders. Digital systems such as the Pupil Pathways transition portals with controlled access ensure: 

• Safe transfer of sensitive data 

• Visibility of involvement from all agencies 

• Clear audit trails 

• Continuity of support when staff change 

• Reduced burden on families 

All of the Pupil Pathways transition portals use role based access to ensure the right professionals see the right information at the right time. 

3.4 Clear Safeguarding Pathways 

Transitions are a high-risk moment for safeguarding gaps.
Secure coordination ensures: 

• Timely transfer of safeguarding plans 

• Awareness of triggers, risks and protective factors 

• Alignment between DSLs in both settings 

• No child’s history being overlooked 

For LAC especially, safeguarding continuity is non-negotiable. 

3.5 Joint Training and Communities of Practice 

Shared professional learning helps everyone work from the same principles.
This might include: 

• Attachment informed practice 

• Trauma aware approaches 

• Communication frameworks for SEND learners 

• Consistency around behaviour support 

• Understanding overlapping EAL/SEND needs 

Multiagency investment builds shared language and expectation, and to see how this coordinated approach works in practice across phases, read our blog: “One Journey, One Platform: Inclusion that starts at transition.” It explores how transition should amplify inclusion, with examples of how schools are using a single, structured transition system to ensure vulnerable learners do not experience fragmented handovers. By creating one shared journey from early years through to secondary, schools reduce duplication, strengthen accountability and ensure that inclusion is embedded from the very first conversation, not retrofitted after challenges emerge.

4. First Term Inclusion Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) 

To know whether a early years or year 7 transition is inclusive, schools must track early indicators of wellbeing, participation and safety. These KPIs can be reviewed at Weeks 2, 6 and 10 to catch issues early. 

4.1 Attendance Stability for Year 7 School Transitions

Look for: 

• Early dips, especially on high demand days 

• Patterns tied to subjects or times of day 

• Differences between SEND/LAC/disadvantaged pupils and their peers 

• Impact of home-to-school routines 

Attendance is one of the earliest indicators of belonging. 

4.2 Emotional and Behavioural Regulation for both early years and Year 7 school transitions

Key indicators: 

• Frequency of dysregulation events 

• Use of safe spaces or sensory resources 

• Predictability of adult response 

• Whether known strategies are being applied 

If staff follow the Continuity Passport, behaviour patterns should settle within the first six weeks. 

4.3 Engagement in Learning 

Track: 

• Task completion 

• Willingness to participate 

• Confidence during group tasks 

• Response to adapted materials 

• Retention of key concepts 

A pupil withdrawing from learning often signals unmet needs rather than lack of motivation. 

4.4 Family Confidence Feedback 

Families should feel: 

• Informed 

• Involved 

• Listened to 

• Supported 

Short early term check-ins can identify friction before it becomes a barrier. 

4.5 Multiagency Responsiveness 

Measure: 

• Whether agreed actions have been completed 

• Response times 

• Meeting frequency 

• Quality of communication 

• Coordination between internal and external professionals 

Effective multiagency work is proactive, not crisis driven. 

4.6 Pupil Voice on Belonging and Safety for both early years and Year 7 transition 

Ask pupils: 

• Do you know who to talk to if you’re worried? 

• Do you feel understood by adults? 

• Do you feel safe in school? 

• What helps you most in lessons? 

Their answers often reveal what data alone cannot. 

Understanding pupil voice is particularly important during the move to secondary. In our blog, “What are the transition worries for Year 6 going into Year 7?” we explore the most common anxieties pupils report before starting Year 7, from navigating a larger site to managing friendships and academic pressure. Capturing and responding to these concerns early allows schools to design transition programmes that proactively reduce fear and strengthen belonging.

Conclusion: Inclusion Starts Before Day One

Inclusive transitions for both early years and year 7 transition are not about more meetings, more paperwork or more complexity. They are about doing the right things early, clearly and consistently. 

Vulnerable learners thrive when: 

• Their needs are known before they arrive 

• Relationships are prioritised 

• Strategies travel with them 

• Agencies coordinate as one team 

• Adults respond with predictability 

• Inclusion is monitored intentionally 

With tools like Pupil Pathways transition portals, StepIntoSchool and SixIntoSeven, schools build structured, insight rich and relationally intelligent transitions that put belonging at the centre. When vulnerable pupils feel safe, understood and supported, they enter the new year with confidence and inclusion becomes the norm, not the exception.