Uniservity

Sue Nicholson, ICT Consultant for West Berkshire LEA, explains how the transition from Primary to Secondary School can be a simple and enjoyable process.

For any child anywhere in the country the transfer process from a primary school to secondary school can be somewhat daunting. Alongside the fear factor is the issue of actually finding out about what the next step will entail. Through communications enhanced by ICT technology the process of making this transition is becoming increasingly effective.

According to research carried out by the National Foundation for Educational Research and published by TeacherNet, 40 per cent of pupils lose motivation and make no progress in the year after transfer to secondary school.

Although the main reasons for this are not very clearly defined in terms of what is the direct cause, in my professional opinion there are two main aspects to transfer and transition processes - that of the professional organisation - the school and the teacher, and that of the learner and their parents. The teachers need to be confident that they are provided with or have adequate and manageable information relating to the children and their prior learning whilst the learner and the parents need to feel comfortable with and well informed about the new environment.

An effective transfer process should be continuous involving, a variety of communication channels between the environments. For the learner to feel at east in their new surroundings thye will have been engaged in a variety of communications enabling them to internalise information and advice from a number of sources - not just teachers. Transfer from Primary to Secondary school is no longer about a single one-to-one meeting with the head of year, it is about a range of ongoing and effective communication taking place between teachers, parents and children. It is vital for children to feel comfortable in their situation of change.

In West Berkshire the whole issue of transfer and transition has been given a high profile, as National priorities deem it necessary to improve upon current practices. We can still site the examples where a head of year and a few chosen pupils will visit the Primary school to answer the children's questions and to investigate friendship groups. Although valuable, it is unrealistic to imagine that this is the most effective practice when electronic communications can so easily be used to enhance the process.

Last year, in West Berkshire LEA we launched a pilot project to work with Secondary Schools and their feeder Primary Schools to develop and capitalise on the potential of the UniServity School Portal which is in place across the authority. The objective being to help learners and teachers in the process of transfer from one school to the next. The project had to be none onerous so that staff would take it on board, whilst providing inspiration for the future, as well as providing an exciting, fun and worthwhile educational experience for all.

One of the key issues for us, even though we are a relatively small LEA, is that physical distances of a rural community present barriers for us. It is hard to get teachers out of schools and even more difficult to manage the logistics of transporting children between environments. The pilot project involved only two afternoon meetings for staff - one to set the scene for the project and one to share experiences and output. The tasks were also simple in nature - designed to be open ended and adaptable and to inspire teachers with ideas on how to use the technology in the future.

Primary schools were encouraged to get their children to record annotated examples of their ICT experiencse and share these with the teachers at the secondary school, by placing them on the portal. They were also engaged in 'ask an expert' type discussions through the forum functionality, with pupils at the secondary schools.

Secondary schools linked the project to the Key Stage 3 ICT Strategy work by producing presentations and virtual tours of the school for primary pupils. They also acted as the experts in answering the types of questions that many of us have heard asked about the secondary school environment.

The project was more successful than any of us might have dreamed for a project taking place on such a short timescale. Teachers from primary and secondary schools forged links and entered professional discussion, which still continues. Staff from the secondary schools said that 'for the first time they realised just how much children were doing in ICT at the primary schools'. The experience was meaningful and motivational for pupils as the boundaries of distance and fear were dispelled. Indeed, their honest comments informed us all. In one of our schools Year 3 pupils were so excited at the possibility of showing off their best work that they got the Year 6 pupils to teach them 'how to do it' during their lunch time. The impact upon parents was also phenomenal, as children rushed home to show parents what they had been doing 'on the web'.

Many educational projects, in my opinion, fail as they are 'one off' and, although fun at the time do not move thinking forward. In West Berkshire LEA we are just about to launch the 'transfer project' for this year, by request of the schools who have got some good ideas as to 'what we might do this year'.

The power of the UniServity system in this process is that it allowed teachers and pupils to develop in ways best suited to them and their needs. They have ownership and are motivated by its simplicity of use and effectiveness of output. The system allows us to bridge the physical barriers of distance, engage a variety of communication styles, create flexible approaches across a range of subjects and personnel, be more than a summative process and form an ongoing and natural part of school life and pupil development.