Transition to School
Starting school is a big milestone for children and their families. The transition between learning environments can be both challenging and exciting. This page has programs and activities that families, early childhood education and care services, and schools can use to help children transition to school.
Importance of transition to school
The importance of a positive transition to school experience has been consistently emphasised in research around the world. A large body of evidence suggests a successful transition helps improve children’s educational and social outcomes.
Transition to School Statement
The Transition to School Statement is completed by a child’s early childhood teacher or educator and is sent to their new school. The statement:
- summarises a child’s strengths, interests and approaches to learning
- passes this information between families, early childhood teachers and educators
- gives children a voice in the process of meeting new people in the school environment
- helps link the Early Years Learning Framework to the Early Stage 1 Syllabus.
The importance of transition is reflected in the National Quality Standard (NQS). The standards require early childhood education and care services to collaborate with service providers and families to achieve quality outcomes for children. It also recognises that continuity of learning is supported by the sharing of information and the clarifying of responsibilities.
The Transition to School Digital Statement is now available for all Department of Education preschools, community preschools and long day care centres. Other service types will continue to use the PDF Transition to School Statement however, they will be provided with access to use the Digital Statement in future years. Click here to access the Transition to School Statement for your service.
Professional learning
This professional learning supports teachers and educators in early childhood services to provide meaningful information in the Transition to School Statement and for teachers and educators in schools to use the information effectively to support transition to school.
For teachers and educators
- The transition to school – a paper on the literature and research done on transition to school programs
- Continuity of Learning – further research and suggestions on the transition to school
- Transition to school guide for teachers and educators and formative assessment resources
- Collaborative partnerships supporting effective transition - this professional learning support is for teachers and educators to reflect on the key role of partnerships in effective transition to school practices.
- Collaborative partnerships to support transition to school during COVID-19 - these resources include a two-part webinar and transition to school conversation resources.
Case studies
There are lots of different ways for services to approach transition to school. In the videos below, three different services in NSW share their transition to school practices and experiences.
You can watch their stories here:
Find more teacher and educator resources here. You can also visit transition to school during COVID-19 for resources to support children transition to primary school in 2022.
For teachers and educators in schools
Use the Educators Guide to the Transition to School Statement NSW (PDF, 256KB) to interpret the information provided by ECEC services.
For parents and carers
Visit transition to school during COVID-19 for resources to children transition to primary school in 2022.