Year 6 Transition 2025

The Transition process begins as soon as we receive our list of new students and runs throughout the summer term and into the holidays with our Summer School in August.

 We keep in regular contact with our new families sending letters, updates, key information and copies of the Academy Newsletter from March onwards. Much of this communication will be sent via email so it is vital that Parents make us aware of any email address changes to ensure that they are not missing out on important information. This can be done by messaging Mrs Barnsley Elizabeth.barnsley@rrca.org.uk

Each year Mr Markham invites all our new parents to his Transition Coffee Morning, an informal opportunity to meet key staff and have a tour of the Academy on a normal working day. This is the chance for parents to ask specific questions relating to their child and the move to Central as well as to speak with some of our current Year 7 students about their experiences of the first year at secondary school.

The Transition Team arrange to visit every student to meet with them and their teachers in the primary schools in the weeks following the Year 6 SATs. The students will have the chance to ask questions and hear about their new school, whilst the Year 6 teachers will be able to share academic and pastoral information about the students reflecting their individual strengths and areas for development which gives us a comprehensive insight into our new Year 7 cohort and enables us to plan strategically for their arrival. If any student is joining us from outside Carlisle we will still arrange to meet with them and their teacher but this will usually be an online Teams meeting at this stage.

The first Monday in July is Transition Day when all of our new intake students join us in the Academy for their first day as a Central student. The day will begin with an assembly and the organisation of students into their Tutor Groups. This is followed by lessons, break time and lunch which the Catering Team provide for everyone. There is also a Tutor period during which the students will meet their Form Tutor – the person responsible for their pastoral care for the next five years. We end with a final Assembly bringing the year group back together to capture the highlights of the day. The same evening we host our first Parents Evening for all our new families and at this event Parents will meet key members of the senior team and have time with their child’s Form Tutor as well as an opportunity to speak to the SEND team, Medical team and Catering team about any specific needs their child may have.

Following the whole year Transition Day there will be other opportunities for specific students with additional SEND, SEMH, Medical needs to be invited back in to the Academy for some bespoke 1:1 or small group sessions in the final weeks of the summer term.

During the summer holiday we organise a Transition Summer School Camp and all of our new intake students are invited to join us for three days of sports and activities run by our staff. This is an excellent opportunity for students to have fun, meet some of their new classmates and teachers, build friendships and become familiar with the Academy buildings, facilities and outdoor spaces. All snacks, drinks and lunches are provided and the three day experience is entirely free, there is no cost to parents. We conclude the summer camp with a celebration assembly to which parents, grandparents and siblings are invited to attend. All we ask is that Parents sign up their child using a link set up in the summer term so we have an idea of numbers for planning and catering. In past years we have had 90+ students attend our Summer Camp and all have had an amazing experience.

Transition is both an exciting and sometimes daunting time for students and Parents and we at Central want to make the move to secondary school as smooth and positive as possible so encourage all Parents to contact us on the Academy email or Mrs Barnsley’s direct email with any concerns or questions that they might have and we will always do our best to answer them quickly and with information to support families through the process.