For most children the move to secondary school from a smaller, family-like primary school to a larger school with a different feel and rhythm can be daunting. Imagine you face some additional challenges at home, personally or related to your education and the move to secondary school can feel like a mountain to climb.
Accompanying is the child-centred way we walk with children as they complete their time at primary school to enable the best possible transition to secondary school. The Accompanying Coach builds a positive and meaningful relationship that is the foundation to the move to the new school.
The delivery of the Accompanying Project involves a one to one session each week in school time, usually starting in term 2 or 3 of year 6 and continuing until the end of term 1 in year 7.
We deliver the project in consultation with the local school. A child is referred to the project and a worker is then appointed to work with the child. During the intervention the worker will, if possible, deliver group work to help the child build their skills and confidence, furthermore during the year the worker will attend (as invited) other ad hoc events such as school plays, Christmas lunches and sports days to support the child.
Finally, the worker supports the transition process to secondary school. This can include specific sessions on the move, school visits and one of our Accompanying Project graduates has even designed a game to help others like her consider the issues related to transition. The commitment made to the child is for one year which takes the child into secondary school. The support is reviewed at this point involving the school, the worker and the child to decide whether to continue the intervention and if so what that looks like.