Soft Transition
What is Soft Transition?
Soft Transition is an opportunity for your child to explore Valley Park in a smaller group, before the Whole Year Transition.
Students who are on the SEND Register, or who are feeling particularly nervous about the Transition process are encouraged to attend. The focus of the day is to introduce the children to each other, the school campus, and staff, in a gentle and nurturing way.
We plan exciting days to help the children feel as though they belong from the very first day at Valley Park School.
Below is an example timetable of what the students will experience on their Soft Transition Day, with some comments from parents of previous Year 6 students who attended.
Soft Transition Daily Plan
| 9.00am | Breakfast on The Meadow with presentation from Head of SEND regarding well-being, Valley Park and meeting your year team. |
| 9.30am – 10.30am | Ice breaker tasks in classroom to get to know your peers. |
| 10.30am – 11.00am | Break on The Meadow |
| 11.00am – 12.00pm | Reading Assessment to support you at the start of year 7. Interactive learning games on the computer in IT suite. |
| 12.00 – 1.00pm | Lunch and tour of the school. |
| 1.00pm – 2.00pm | Art activities, games and icebreakers |
| 2.00am – 3.00pm | Celebration event, presentation to parents and certificates and goody bags given out. |
I would absolutely recommend SEND Valley Park School to others.
You got to me first with this feedback form, and I'm grateful, as I would have been in touch regardless, to say how brilliant the whole transition experience has been for our daughter.
Yes, I feel our daughter is going to be in very safe hands with the SEND team, to not only support her with her wellbeing and any additional needs she has, but also to have high expectations of her, as well as to guide and encourage her to fulfill her potential both academically, and personally.
The softer transition days have helped our daughter to be gently introduced to Valley life, meaning she could enjoy day 3, the regular transition day for all, so much more than if she had only attended for this day. I also appreciate the presence of the headteacher, Mr Jones, at all of the events we have attended so far. We feel the school is being well lead. and this further amplifies our thoughts here.
I think the whole transition period has worked perfectly, not just the transition days, but everything from the open evenings and days last Autumn, right through to the welcome event, one to one meeting at Valley (this also really helped our daughter to overcome some fears and get excited for secondary, and me as her Mum), and the primary visit too. The only recommendation might be to extend the initial softer first day, to also be a full one; we feel our daughter would have managed this. So a huge big THANK YOU for everything so far. Didi, and us as parents, couldn't feel more positive and ready to start the new and exciting journey with you in September. We Are Valley Park!
My child was very excited to go to your school. She enjoyed the 3 days she spent at your school and it helped her a lot to stay and meet new people and teachers.
Really effective. Grace really enjoyed the sessions & felt much more relaxed about the main transition day on the Thursday.
Really good he absolutely loved it made some new friends which is good.
It was helpful. My child felt more ready and less nervous because of the support.
The team was kind and listened to us. They really care about the children.
Thank you for explaining how it works in the school, was very impressed.
The school visit and early meetings helped a lot. My child felt more comfortable.
I thought the sessions were perfectly planned.