Introduction
Transition from primary to secondary school is always challenging. But the lingering after-effects of the pandemic and the constant disruptions schools have faced make it especially so this year.
To understand exactly how challenging teachers felt transition was likely to be this autumn, GL Assessment commissioned pollsters YouGov to ask them. We wanted to assess what impact teachers thought the pandemic had on outgoing Year 6s'/incoming Year 7s' academic, social and emotional development, how reliable they thought the newly restored Key Stage 2 SATs results were likely to be, and what steps schools were taking to address any gaps in student learning.
Our survey1 of over 1,000 teachers in England is illuminating - and emphatic. It found that respondents, evenly split between primary and secondary teachers, were under no illusions about how difficult they expect things to be for the new Year 7 intake - or how much support many of them will require.
The good news is that it appears most schools have anticipated children - and colleagues - will need more support than normal. Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures, and where possible they have taken steps to understand where where help will be most needed and provide targeted support accordingly.
Schools are once again rising to the challenge - but the extraordinary range of transition measures schools are planning to put in place is an indication of how great they believe that challenge will be.
Our survey of over 1,000 teachers in England is illuminating - and emphatic.
Three-quarters of teachers (75%) think that incoming Year 7s will be unprepared academically, while almost four-fifths (79%) are concerned that they won't be ready emotionally or socially for secondary school.
Main findings
According to our survey, three-quarters of teachers (75%) think that incoming Year 7s will be unprepared academically, while almost four-fifths (79%) are concerned that they won't be ready emotionally or socially for secondary school. Concern is equally high among both primary and secondary school teachers, and even higher among headteachers and principals (80% of whom believe children will be unprepared academically and 81% think they will be unprepared emotionally and socially).
When asked what concerned them most, teachers cited worries over basic classroom skills (60% of respondents), behaviour in the classroom and around the school (54%) and reading and literacy skills (52%). Significant minorities are worried about pupil confidence (39%) and numeracy skills (38%), while two-fifths (42%) mentioned transition itself as an area of concern.
As a result, the vast majority of schools (71%) are putting in place an extraordinary programme of measures to address gaps in learning and basic classroom skills.
Just under a half of teachers (46%) say their schools are planning to offer more pastoral or emotional support, though this rises to three-quarters (75%) of headteachers and principals. A third of teachers (33%) say their schools plan to implement a more comprehensive reading programme, three in ten (30%) anticipate devoting more time this year than in previous years to supporting outgoing Year 6s/incoming Year 7s so they are prepared for transition, and a quarter (26%) aim to broaden the curriculum to plug any gaps in students' knowledge.
Additional measures involve devoting more time to developing classroom skills (cited by 24% of teachers) and numeracy skills (22%) as well as putting on additional early morning or after-school classes (20%). Only 13% of respondents say their schools are adopting none of these measures.
Key Stage 2 SATs
Teachers overwhelmingly think that disruption to the education system will affect children's performance in this year's Key Stage 2 SATs and make the results less reliable. Four-fifths (82%) say pupil performance will be affected by the disruption caused by serial lockdowns, rising to nine in ten (89%) headteachers and principals.
As a result, two-thirds (65%) think this year's SATs will be less reliable than in pre-pandemic years, though that rises to four-fifths (82%) of headteachers and principals. Only one in five teachers (19%) and even fewer headteachers (7%) believe this year's results will be as reliable as before.
Primary teachers are even more concerned than secondary school teachers - 71% of the former think SATs will be less reliable this year compared to 58% of their colleagues in secondary schools, and 88% of them think pupil performance will be affected (versus 77% of secondary school teachers)
So concerned are secondary school leaders, that a fifth of them (20%) are considering drafting in specialist or primary expertise to help students tackle any learning needs.
Four-fifths of teachers (82%) say pupil performance in Key Stage 2 SATs will be affected by the disruption caused by serial lockdowns, rising to nine in ten (89%) headteachers and principals.
We've found kids with amazing potential we wouldn't have known about without CAT4.
Toby Barnard, Associate Principal, St Peter's Collegiate Academy, Wolverhampton
Package of support
Despite the obvious challenges transition promises this year, teachers are overwhelmingly confident that they will be able to spot children who may need additional academic or emotional support, with 94% saying they are certain they can do so. And this is where standardised assessment comes in.
Standardised assessments can provide an extra layer of confidence in - and greater insights on - the starting points of new cohorts. They can identify student potential, understand students' attainment in core subjects, and uncover potential barriers to learning.
The Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT4) is one assessment that often plays a key role here. As Toby Barnard, Associate Principal at St Peter's Collegiate Academy in Wolverhampton explains, “We've found kids with amazing potential we wouldn't have known about without CAT4”. Andy Daly, Executive Principal (Secondary) at Meridian Trust, adds, “CAT4 can help to identify where students may have untapped potential that has not previously shown in SATs or other attainment assessments.”
Our own data analysis has shown that CAT4 scores have remained stable throughout the pandemic. To get an idea of how it can help teachers support all students and help them achieve their potential - from students who struggle to the most academically able - read our student stories. All are based on real students and their CAT4 scores; we've just changed the students' names.
Conclusion
Our survey shows clearly that teachers are expecting this year’s transition to be tough. Large majorities believe that pandemic-induced disruption has left outgoing Year 6s/incoming Year 7s at a disadvantage and that they are not as well prepared academically or emotionally as previous cohorts for the switch to secondary school. They are especially concerned about the negative effects on children’s basic classroom skills, general behaviour and reading and literacy.
Teachers also think that the constant interruptions to children’s education will have affected student performance in this year’s Key Stage 2 SATs and that consequently the results will not be as reliable as in pre-pandemic years. Primary school teachers are even more doubtful than secondary school teachers, while headteachers and principals in both tend to be more concerned than junior colleagues.
However, most schools appear to have anticipated the challenges and put in place a range of measures to mitigate any lingering pandemic after-effects. The vast majority say their schools are deploying a wide variety of interventions to address any gaps in student knowledge, bolster pastoral support and ease the transition to secondary school.
Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures, and where possible, schools have taken steps to understand where help will be most needed and provide targeted support accordingly.
- YouGov surveyed 1006 primary and secondary school teachers in England online. Fieldwork was undertaken between 14-26 April 2022.
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