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New international project to support children’s transition from pre-school to primary school
The research team is led by the Prevention and Early Intervention Network (PEIN) in the Republic of Ireland, with Leeds Beckett University, the Marie Curie Association in Bulgaria and the European Parents’ Association based in Belgium.
The team aims to find out what parents feel they need, and how primary school teachers and early years educators can support them, in their children’s journey from pre-school into primary school. They will then develop a bank of resources for parents - and training materials for practitioners.
Dr Susan Atkinson, Senior Lecturer in the Carnegie School of Education at Leeds Beckett University, explained: “Evidence has shown that poor transitions from pre-school to primary school affect children throughout their education and can have negative impacts on their long-term future. There are also significant differences in the approaches taken by pre-schools and primary schools.
This project seeks to improve transitions by enhancing the awareness and skills of practitioners, while supporting parents to support children during this stage - and to do this in a pan-European context.
The Leeds Beckett team will lead on the first stage of the project, investigating current transition practices across Europe to establish what support is currently available and examples of best practice.
The partners will then explore parents’ awareness and experiences of the support currently available to them and their children, with a focus on the parents of children living in disadvantaged and vulnerable circumstances.
Dr Atkinson said: “We know that the transition into compulsory schooling impacts on children’s emotional and social development and academic attainment. This transition is more challenging for children with special educational needs and those who do not share the same language and culture as the school.
“The recent pandemic has highlighted the fact that the poorer and more marginalised groups in society are the ones who are left behind in education and so it is really important to offer appropriate support to these groups.”
The three-year project has received €211,763 of funding from Erasmus+
The research builds on Dr Susan Atkinson’s current Erasmus+ funded project, Transitions for All Into School, a European collaboration to develop materials for parents, families and educators through knowledge exchanges to support those who find the transition to school challenging. Dr Atkinson also lead a 2015 Erasmus+ funded project, which developed training materials for teachers and others to promote school inclusion for young people with complex needs.