Set up communication channels and build a collaborative team
Suggestion for implementing the strategy ‘Planning for successful transitions to school ’
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Put students at the centre
Put students at the centre
Mt Roskill campus staff explain how they create positive transitions between schools.
Promoting professional conversations – Use the questions, suggested actions, and tools for self-review to reflect on your school context.
Use e-portfolios to collaborate
Use e-portfolios to collaborate
John Robinson HoD Learning Support, Onslow College, reflects on the impact of using e-portfolios to share learning beyond the classroom.
Ideas for sharing information
Ideas for sharing information
Use these ideas for connecting, sharing information, and reaching a shared understanding.
- Discuss options for staying in touch that work for everyone. If parents are unable meet face-to-face make time to share stories from visits or meetings in ways that work for the family. This can be as easy as a phone call, an email or a text message.
- Ensure that team members know who to contact for specific needs.
- Allocate one team member to document and communicate plans and decisions.
- Identify and use digital technologies such as group texting, blogging, SKYPE or Google Hangouts, Facebook or NZ Relay, where appropriate, for meetings and sharing information.
- Focus on the student’s goals and the steps to achieving these.
- Value everyone’s insight and contribution.
Allocate responsibilities
Allocate responsibilities
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Identify an advocate who can educate adults and peers in the new setting about the student’s strengths, needs, interests and ways of making sense of the world.
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Identify a person in the new setting who will recognise and communicate any professional learning areas where support is needed.
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Identify one person to oversee the transition process.
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Allocate a person to manage all the funding-related paperwork for supports and resources.
Keep in touch with parents
Keep in touch with parents
For parents, receiving good news about their child’s day at school is important. It helps them to be proud of their child and enhances the working relationship between family and school.
- Identify the best methods for regular, ongoing communication, and decide who will communicate about what.
- Use both face-to-face meetings and online facilities to support planning and communication. These can include electronic notebooks (for example, blogs or Google Docs), email and phone calls to talk with parents and caregivers.
- Ensure that responses are timely and responsive to parental queries.
Source: Including students with high needs: Primary schools (ERO) (opens in a new tab/window)
Useful resources
Useful resources
Gifted and talented transitions
Information for schools on developing coherent processes to help gifted children to transition between classes, programmes, and beyond school.
Collaboration – the heart of the matter
Ministry of Education recommendations on setting up collaborative IEP teams.
The transition-planning process for individual students
Read time: 96 min
A process devised by the Canadian Ministry of Education.
Publisher: Ontario Ministry of Education
Download PDF (499 KB)
Next steps
More suggestions for implementing the strategy “Plan for successful transitions to school”:
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Current page Set up communication channels
Return to the guide “Transitions – managing times of change”
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How to use this site
Guide to Index of the guide: Transitions – managing times of change
Strategies for action:
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Get to know the studentShow suggestions for Get to know the student
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Partner with the family/whānauShow suggestions for Partner with the family/whānau
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Plan for successful transitions to schoolShow suggestions for Plan for successful transitions to school
- Set up communication channels
- Provide information about the school
- Prepare and support teaching staff
- Identify property modifications
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Prepare for a new student with additional needs in the classroomShow suggestions for Prepare for a new student with additional needs in the classroom
