Holding transitions

The move after Year 11 is one of the clearest transitions in our research. It is also a point when some young people can fall out of education, employment or training.

At school, routines are often held in place by the system: uniform, registers, lessons, deadlines, familiar staff and regular contact. After Year 11, much of that structure can disappear at once.

Sixth form, college, apprenticeships and work often require young people to organise their time, manage their feelings and take more responsibility for themselves. A young person who appeared to be coping at school may struggle when that structure ends.

What adults can do. Stay in touch after school contact ends. A monthly text, a standing offer to meet, or a regular check-in can make a real difference. Adults can provide one steady relationship while other parts of a young person’s life are changing.

The transition to secondary school does not end when Year 7 begins.

Some young people manage the first few months, then find support around them becoming less certain. Routines are still new, teachers change, friendship groups shift and trusted adult relationships may not yet be in place.

Across South East London, the number of young people who say they have someone supportive to talk to falls by around 30 percent between ages 11 and 13.

Year 8 is an important time to check in again. Ask: “Who is your trusted adult in school?” If they cannot name someone, do not wait for a crisis. Help them find one.

Children who arrive in the UK from another country may enter a school system that is very different from the one they know.

They may not be told about everyday expectations: how teachers are addressed, what discipline looks like, the unspoken rules of the playground, how to ask questions in class or what being on time means. Many children learn these rules only when they are corrected.

What adults can do.

• Explain school routines and expectations clearly, for the child and, where possible, their family.
• Pair a new arrival with a young person who has recently been through a similar transition.
• Make the learning two-way. The school also learns about the child’s previous school experience, culture and strengths.

Some families in our research moved into home education, or back into school, after taking time to settle and plan. A thoughtful transition can help a young person feel safer and more ready for what comes next.

For full guidance on moving into or back from home education, see Chapter 22.

Not every important transition has a formal name. Smaller changes can still have a big effect on a young person.

This might include:

• Moving class during the school year.
• Returning after exclusion or beginning a behaviour plan.
• Losing a trusted teacher who leaves or changes role.
• Moving between kinship care, foster care or residential care.
• A parent moving out, a sibling leaving home or an older sibling becoming a young carer.

These changes can look minor from the outside. For the young person, they may not feel minor at all.

The adult’s role is to notice the change and, where possible, be the relationship that remains steady.

A Mental Health Services Passport is a young person’s own short summary of their mental health support. It can help them explain what has helped, what has not helped and what they want a new adult to know.

NHS guidance describes these passports as a way for children and young people to own and communicate their story when moving between services or providers, created by the young person with support from a practitioner, and only shared with their agreement.

Without something like this, a young person may have to repeat their story each time they meet a new adult. A passport can give them more choice and control.

It might include:

• Things that help when I am struggling.
• Things that do not help.
• People I trust.
• Words or phrases I find difficult.
• What I want a new adult to know in the first ten minutes.

How to use it. Create it with the young person, not for them. Review it together before a move or handover. The conversation about updating it can be as useful as the passport itself.

The most important support at a transition may be simple: one consistent adult who stays in a young person’s life.

What this looks like in practice.

• Choose continuity over intensity. One adult who checks in monthly for two years can matter more than several adults who disappear after a short period.
• Make continuity visible. Mark milestones together: “You have been at college for six months, and we are still checking in.”
• Make active handovers. If you are leaving, introduce the next adult in person where possible, with the young person’s consent. Do not rely only on a generic email or a new name on a system.
• Keep cross-organisation relationships where appropriate. If you knew a young person through school, your relationship does not have to end simply because their school placement or service changes.