Exploring Initial Teacher Training in Small Schools: A Guest Blog by Karen Taylor-Paul from Alban Teaching School Hub, with case studies from Hertfordshire schools

As part of the HFL Education Small Schools’ Programme—now in its second successful year, and about to enter a 3rd academic year—we’re pleased to share this special blog post on Initial Teacher Training (ITT). The blog aims to complement the programme’s mission to support our smaller schools through practical, relevant, and timely content.

We’re especially grateful to Karen from the Alban Teaching School Hub for contributing this guest post, in collaboration with Chiltern Teaching School Hub. Drawing on her experience and the voices of small school leaders, Karen explores the opportunities and challenges of engaging with ITT, offering practical advice and real-world examples, including some case studies.

Whether you're considering hosting a trainee or simply curious about the benefits for your school community, this blog is designed to inform and inspire.

The HFL Education Small Schools' Programme launched in early 2024 with sessions facilitated by our experienced team of advisers and speakers hand-picked for their innovative and successful approaches to leading smaller schools.

The first series was very well received, earning a BETT Award nomination for Leadership and Management Solutions for 2025 and an endorsement from Neil Short, Chairman of the National Association of Small Schools.

The Third round begins in autumn 2025, with sessions each half term. Focuses have been chosen for their current relevance and based on feedback from the sector. We hope you can join us for the next instalment! 

Find out more:

With the continued downward trend in teacher qualification and ongoing national recruitment issues, it is important to ensure that we are doing all we can to support those who do choose to train.

Supporting trainees can be a daunting prospect for headteachers, and especially for those in smaller schools, but can offer huge advantages.

In this blog, we provide the answers to some frequently asked questions, as well as sharing the experience of two local headteachers, who have successfully supported trainees within their small school settings.

Recruitment into primary ITT – the national picture

There has been a continued downward trend in postgraduate primary entrants since the high during the pandemic (14,380 in 2020/21 to 8,258 in 2024/25). 88% of the PGITT target was achieved in 2024/25 primary compared to 94% in 2023/24. School workforce in England data published in June 2024 showed the teacher workforce grew by less than 300 teachers in the previous year as record low numbers of early career teachers entered the profession coupled with rising numbers of teachers leaving (39,971 – rate of 8.8%).
 

Benefits of hosting a primary trainee

Hosting trainee teachers in school can bring a whole range of advantages:
•    Additional classroom support
•    Build a talent pool and pipeline for future recruitment in your school or trust
•    Support retention
•    Create professional development opportunities for colleagues who mentor
•    Bring in new ideas to your school 
•    Offer release time for phase leaders or senior leaders 
•    School-based trainees are supernumerary

Other considerations:

•    Building capacity in your small teams (with falling roll and financial instability)
•    Access funding through the apprenticeship levy
•    PGTA is brilliant for job shares (e.g job share with an Assistant Head).  
•    In a trust the release time can enable experienced colleagues to work across a trust within the school day 
•    Many trainees go on to successfully gain employment in their placement or another local school
•    If you have a really good member of support staff with a degree could they be supported to train? These colleagues would need to be known to your school for at least a year to commence the programme. There are a range of providers in the local area which can be signposted to you by your local Teaching School Hub.  

Some barriers to being involved in training are perceived rather than actual experiences

Often schools are worried about some or all of the following, but none of these need to prevent you from working with trainees: 
•    Mentoring requirements
•    Mentoring capacity (experience / suitability)
•    School Ofsted grading 
•    Quality of Education in the school
•    Staffing changes in the school
•    Having both an ECTs and an ITT trainee at the same time

Mentoring 

In fact, mentoring is an exciting role for more experienced practitioners within in a school and as leaders we need to elevate this status in our organisations:
•    Mentoring can be shared so that more than one staff member takes responsibility for ensuring high quality training and mentoring
•    Mentoring is essential to the development and retention of your workforce
•    Mentors impact colleagues throughout training and their induction
•    Evidence informed professional development is provided for mentors and schools are funded for this training time.  
•    Training material can be embedded into wider teaching practice.
•    Access to the latest research, practice and innovation on teaching and support for young people
•    Payment to the school to support the training
•    Makes staff feel valued and subsequently supports staff retention 
•    DfE are responsive to feedback from the TSH – you will see changes within your schools
•    Build school capacity through mentor development and growing expertise
•    Trainees must deliver 80% (14 hours) of a timetable by the final term which provides capacity for the colleague in the class they are assigned

What are the training pathways?

There are a variety of different routes available, including:
•    Primary 3 – 7 (QTS only and PGCE)
•    Primary 5 – 11 (QTS only and PGCE)
•    Post Graduate Teacher Apprenticeship (PGTA)
•    BEd
These programmes are now all available as part-time routes (3 days or 4 days a week).

What is the Post Graduate Teaching Apprenticeship?

As a newer training option, this is often a route employers understand least about, which can lead to a lack of confidence to support participants. Here are some key points of reference:
•    An apprenticeship to enable degree holders to gain QTS whilst employed in a school
•    Fees of £9000 are payable from your apprenticeship levy which will be on the approved providers list at HCC if your staffing does not make you eligible for levy funding directly. 
•    Apprentices are paid on the UNQ1 and are employed full-time during their training period
•    12-month contract from 1 July 2025 to 31 July 2026.  This is currently being reviewed by the DfE to reduce the duration. 
•    The apprentice can teach up to 60% of a timetable solo from September (equivalent of 10 hours)
•    The apprentice will be required to complete a contrasting placement in the Spring Term

Hear from Hertfordshire primary headteachers

Two local headteachers share their own experience supporting initial teacher training in small schools:
 

"We were delighted to learn about the Initial Teacher Training (ITT) programme through Alban Teaching School Hub as we had an outstanding staff member eager to advance her career. Our primary concern was how to facilitate this development without losing her valuable contributions to our team.

Having previously collaborated with the Alban TSH in supporting Early Career Teachers (ECTs), I was pleased to discover a new pathway offered by a trusted provider. Initially, I was apprehensive about the time commitment required for mentoring, particularly given our status as a small school. However, I found that most mentoring sessions occurred outside of teaching hours, and there is a clear expectation that the school day extends beyond 3:15 PM.

The consistency in scheduling trainee teachers' days out of the classroom has greatly facilitated our planning and organisation of cover. Additionally, we receive ample notice for any additional days required, ensuring minimal disruption.

I have been thoroughly impressed with the diligence of the tutors who visit to monitor progress. Their visits provide an excellent opportunity for both our mentor and me to address any lingering questions.

I highly recommend this pathway to other small schools, as it has proven to be an effective means of retaining talented staff."

John Ferguson
Headteacher, Kimpton Primary School working with Alban TSH
 

Our rationale for having a trainee:

As a small school with well established staff it gives the opportunity to bring someone new to the team. It’s great CPD for the mentor and brings in some money too. I like the idea of giving something back, after all we were all trainees once up on a time.

Did you have initial concerns or reservations?

It does involve a time commitment for the mentor and also other staff across the school. Historically we had some bad experiences with students who didn’t seem to understand the role or the commitment needed. Over the past decade this has shifted and we have only had positive experiences.

What training route have you identified? PGCE, PGTA, part-time?

We’ve had BEd, PGCE and part-time students. The best for us have been final year BEd or last placement PGCE as they can take on more teaching commitments. When we have had emergency staff requirements these students have been worth their weight in gold. They took on large teaching commitments and really stepped up to the challenge. Part time students are the hardest to accommodate as they never see a whole week through and can miss whole subjects and sequences. We’ve found they need to have the flexibility to do different days in order to get the bigger picture.

Benefits that having a trainee has brought to our school:

• New and current teaching practice and resources used in school.
• Children get to experience a different teacher, when they often have the same teacher for at least two years, this is especially valuable in a small school.
• They often have more energy and enthusiasm which rubs off on current staff
• It’s helpful sharing rationale behind decision making as it can help us all question our practice, staying curious is really important and can be hard otherwise
• Teachers can be released while students are teaching, even if it’s just to mark at the back of a room!
• Some of our students have kept in touch, attending the summer residential and productions
• Children across the whole school build up relationships with different adults
• Students often bring a new skill set in school, they might run a club or introduce a new sport or language which all enriches school for everyone

Tips or things to consider for schools not currently engaged in ITT

• The mentor will need to attend training
• All staff need to be on board in a small school as students need to experience each phase and will have random questions for everyone!
• Workload of the mentor is increased at least at the start of the practice
• The mentor has to want to be involved

Anja Tyler, Headteacher
Benington C of E Primary School working with Chiltern TSH

Common questions for small schools:

Q: We have small classes or mixed year groups in classes.  Can a trainee work with these groups as part of their training year?

A: Trainees must experience four consecutive year groups across their training year.  A mixed class is in keeping with the training guidance.

Q: What happens when our trainee leaves for their contrasting placement?

A: Training provisions will accommodate a direct swap with someone training on the same programme, where possible.

Q: Our classroom teacher has areas of responsibility due to the size of our school. Can the trainee take these on?

A: The collaboration between a trainee and the experienced classroom teacher can often breakdown feelings of isolation in small schools.  The trainee can build up the support and delivery of specific areas of the curriculum in the earlier part of the training year. The regular class teacher can continue to deliver the specific specialism in the early stages of the training year.

Engage your school community into considering a career in teaching

This does not necessarily mean to train in your setting but we know that the majority of applications for teacher training in Hertfordshire are from applicants where specific schools or local communities are known to them.

Consider the following in your communications:

• Pop up on your website
• Train to teach info in newsletters and on websites
• Pop up banners if your school is used for external hires
• Host a school experience morning for perspective applicants in your area
• Use the Teach in Herts recruitment service to signpost opportunities to candidates

For more information

Please contact your local Teaching School Hub for more information or support:

‘Do you think you’re good at writing?’

Some other examples of questions we asked the children were:

• What goes through your head when your teacher says, "Now we are going to do some writing?"
• What do you like about writing?
• Do you write much at home?
• Do you know why you are writing the things you do at school?
• In class, do you get to make choices about what you write about?
• Do you know how to improve your writing?
• Think about the last piece of writing you have done in school. What star rating would you give it?

Crucially, we asked the children for feedback on how we could improve writing at Highover. For example, we asked, ‘Do you have any ideas for how we could make writing at Highover better?’ Examples of the children’s responses included:

‘I think that English could be improved by giving us opportunities where we can pick what to write about/free writing.’

‘Doing writing for fun in your own different book and if you had an idea in the week, you could write it all down before you go home.’

‘Let children write whatever comes out of their head onto a piece of paper.’

As you can see from the pie charts above, older pupils were enjoying writing less than younger pupils and children’s suggestions reflected that they wanted more freedom with their writing. We felt a responsibility to give our pupils the chance to develop a genuine love of writing. To do this, we created opportunities for them to write freely outside of English lessons, allowing them to explore topics of their own choosing. We hoped this freedom would help them associate writing with joy, pride, and self-motivation.

We introduced ‘writing for pleasure journals’ for all our pupils to encourage a sense of creative freedom, allowing them to write without the immediate focus on specific learning outcomes or the pressure of perfect punctuation, spelling, and grammar - while still valuing these skills as part of their broader development. Some children choose to write in response to a given prompt. The prompts may, for example, be an image, a piece of music, an object or a poem and they may lead to pupils choosing to write, for example, a poem, a description, a recipe, a diary entry, a news story, an interview or a letter.

If we want our children to truly see themselves as writers, who make their own choices, and who are confident to write at length in a range of genres, we need to give them opportunities to write for their own pleasure, in their own book – and in the knowledge that it will only be shared if they wish to share it.

Our ‘writing for pleasure’ sessions complement the philosophy of the ESSENTIALWRITING curriculum perfectly. Within English lessons and writing for pleasure sessions, children are learning all of the skills they need to write effectively and then combine these with a genuine desire to write authentically. One teacher thoughtfully reflected on the writing for pleasure journalling sessions:

“Children really love writing for pleasure. They like being able to write about the stimulus but many also write their own stories so don't use the stimulus. In each session, they can either start something new or pick up from where they were last time.”

Our key principles at Highover for developing a writing for pleasure culture:

• Child-centred: regardless of the stimulus; the writing children create is ultimately up to them.
• Ownership and agency: pupils are given ownership over their writing projects, allowing them to make choices about their content, genre, and writing process. Each child should have a dedicated writing journal to use for these sessions.
• Creative freedom: writing sessions promote creativity, exploration, and the freedom to experiment with ideas and styles. This writing is not checked or ‘marked’ in the same way it would be in an English lesson, but children can choose to share it with others if they wish to.
• Engagement through collaboration: children are motivated by opportunities to share, discuss, and work together on writing projects.
• Teachers as writers: teachers participate alongside pupils, modelling the writing process and demonstrating how writing can be enjoyable.
• Building confidence: giving children time, space, and support to develop their writing skills, fostering a positive attitude towards writing.
• Writing community: creating a classroom culture where writing is celebrated, shared, and enjoyed by all

We have found that many of the pupils, who previously didn’t enjoy writing, are now developing a sense of enjoyment of writing:

‘I like it because in writing for pleasure sessions you can write about anything you want and this gives more freedom.’

‘It gives me ideas about writing stories at home. I love it because it's super duper fun!’

‘I now like writing because it is fun, and you can enjoy it. Sometimes we even do writing for pleasure and that is SO fun!’

‘You can write in any way you like. For example, you can write a song, a poem or a story’

‘It makes me feel relaxed.’

In primary schools, our curriculum is so full, it often feels as if there isn’t enough time for anything outside of our tight timetables for things such as writing for fun. This is where we need to be brave enough to give our pupils what they want and need. Ultimately, it can support them to be empowered, confident and keen writers for life.

I could easily fill this blog with endless ‘team’ related quotes but feel the above embodies nicely how trust and governing boards can strive to succeed. There are very few cases where individual governors enable a school to maximise the potential of all its pupils on their own but rather more common is where the collective effort of a group of governors or trustees come together and raise the bar for their school.

Governance is a team game and like football requires teamwork, a strategy and shared goals (excuse the pun). Just as football needs a manager, captain, vice-captain, players, coaches and support staff to work effectively so a governing board similarly needs a headteacher, Chair, Vice chair, governors and a governance professional clerk.

Teamwork and collaboration

In football, each player has a specific role, whether it's the goalkeeper, defenders, midfielders, or forwards. Similarly, in school governance, each member of the governing body has a distinct role. The chair of governors is akin to the team captain, leading and inspiring the team, other governors, like defenders and midfielders assume various link and committee roles playing on their strengths and individual skill set, and (this may be a stretch!) the centre forwards are those experienced governors you can send out to ‘play’ upfront as vice and committee chairs. The headteacher, much like the manager, is responsible for the day-to-day management of the wider team plus as a member of the governance team working to support the whole school community. 

Just as a football team must work together to win, school governors must collaborate to ensure their school's success. Effective communication is crucial. In football, players must train hard together, communicate on the field to execute a game plan and adapt to the opponent's tactics. In governance, governors must communicate openly and regularly, train on their own and together, understand the challenges in the education landscape and develop strategies and have a plan to achieve their school development and strategic goals (there it is again!).

Strategy and planning

A successful football team has a well-thought-out game plan. They watch their opponents, identify strengths and weaknesses, and develop strategies to win. Similarly, as governors we must be horizon scanning for threats and opportunities, benchmarking ourselves against schools of a similar size, consider national benchmarking data to help maximise the opportunities and assess the challenges. All of this can be captured in a strategic plan and vision for our schools. This involves setting ambitious targets and objectives, with clear KPIs, monitoring progress towards these, and adjusting the course of progress when needed. The strategic plan should address key areas such as the school estate, IT provision, SEND provision, student outcomes and wellbeing and how these will be underpinned through effective use of school finances and budgeting.

Recruitment and retention

In football, recruiting and retaining talented players is essential for success. Similarly, school governors must focus on recruiting and retaining high quality staff. This includes not only teachers but also support staff, senior leaders as well as the best governors! High turnover rates can disrupt the school's stability, leadership and impact student outcomes. Governors and school leaders must create a positive work culture where all staff are valued, supported and invested in through long-term professional development and a supportive working culture. This will not only help retain staff members but also attract the best staff to join from other schools with a less positive work environment.

Monitoring and evaluation

Football teams constantly evaluate their performance, reviewing match footage and statistics to improve their performance. School governors must also monitor and evaluate their school's performance. This involves reviewing data on student attainment, achievement, attendance, behaviour and looking at how different groups of pupils perform. Governors should visit the school regularly, gather evidence on areas specific to their link role or area of expertise, and meet with staff and pupils to monitor the school’s progress towards its short-term School Development Plan objectives and medium/ long-term strategic aims and vision.

Stakeholder engagement

A football team thrives on the support of its fans and how it supports and interacts with the local community. Similarly, a school benefits from strong stakeholder and community engagement. Governors should foster communication with parents, local businesses and community organisations. This can help to build positive relationships and engagement with, and from, the community which can only help to cement your schools place at the heart of its community, this in turn may secure much needed additional resources and support for the school. Engagement with, and understanding of, the community a school serves should also feed into the development of your curriculum and ethos that reflects the needs, values, history, diversity and context of the local area.

School governance IS a team game. Like a football team, school governors must work together, communicate effectively, and develop strategic plans to overcome challenges and maximise opportunities. By drawing on the strengths of each team member and engaging with stakeholders, governors can ensure that their school provides the best possible education and maximise the opportunities for all its pupils – or put more simply, win the game!

With evidence-based approaches to the teaching of reading ever more prevalent in schools, and with reading for pleasure and high-quality phonics instruction a focus for Ofsted, DfE English Hubs and therefore schools, we would expect reading standards to be on the rise. In many ways, they are. If we consider the key stage 2 reading SATs outcomes of 2024, the percentage of children achieving the expected standard rose to 74%, up from 73% in 2023. We know that considering this measure alone as a barometer for success is flawed. Reading is a complex undertaking, and therefore requires a complex approach to its assessment, but nonetheless, around a quarter of 10 and 11 year olds have left primary school each year in recent years unable to demonstrate the stamina, fluency and written reading comprehension skills required of them.  

We have supported hundreds and hundreds of teachers through our successful Reading Fluency Project over the years with closing this very specific gap for their pupils - lack of comprehension of age-appropriate texts. In our most recent rounds of the project, I have been struck by just how many times I have had the same discussion with teachers. It goes something along the lines of: “My bottom 20% seems to be getting bigger and bigger each year and they seem to be further and further behind!” (Any non-educationalist mathematician will swiftly identify the lack of logic in that statement, but this term bottom 20% has become somewhat synonymous with ‘struggling readers’).  If we are getting better at understanding the science of how children learn to read, teaching the code with more efficacy, on a bed of authentic reading for pleasure culture, then why does this long tail stubbornly remain in year 6?  

I have a theory about this. One of the difficulties is that in some schools, children’s only form of reading instruction, perhaps since year 2 or year 3, has been whole class guided reading. In some cases, in real terms, this could mean that for the last four or five years in every reading lesson, for the most vulnerable learners, the text presented has been too hard. The very children who need the  most practice, as they are at risk of falling behind, are denied the ability to even participate meaningfully in the lesson.  

Let’s imagine Mia. Mia is in year 3 and when she was in year 1, she attained the expected standard in the phonics screening check. She achieved a score of 34. She could read the phonemes presented on a flashcard and blend them into words. She could read her decodable reading books but she read them slowly, often pausing to blend and did not progress through the bands as swiftly as her peers. She sounds dysfluent to listen to when attempting to read from an age-appropriate book but can read her well-matched reading book. Now Mia is in year 3, she participates in whole-class reading lessons as she doesn’t meet the threshold for requiring phonics intervention. However, when the teacher asks the whole class to read from the class novel or extract, Mia pretends. When she does attempt to read it, she crunches through the words slowly and has no headspace left for understanding. She thinks reading is hard and that she’s not good at it. She no longer reads regularly at home, because she perceives that reading isn’t for her - she prefers other pursuits. In lessons, Mia can sometimes answer the questions that the teacher poses, especially following discussion or help from her peers. Her vocabulary is pretty good as she enjoys listening to stories and engaging in chat and role-play with her peers. 

Fast-forward 3 years and Mia is now in year 6. She still doesn’t enjoy reading at home. She has developed a suite of masking strategies which she artfully employs in reading lessons. She can lift surface-level retrieval responses without understanding. She can hide under the radar, appearing to be reading whilst her mind is somewhere else entirely. She doesn't put her hand up. She still loves listening to stories and in class story time, will participate enthusiastically. Mia will form part of that 26% of children who do not meet the expected standard in the SATs. It’s obvious when we consider her story. She met the expected standard in the screening check in year 1 but found reading hard - she lacked the automaticity required to develop proficiency. She knew the code but without very regular practice, she was not able to apply that code without conscious effort. The books were getting harder and harder each year, and Mia’s fluency was not able to keep up. What she needed was practice and lots of it. Instead, she was denied the opportunity to read at all during the school day; the texts on offer were all inaccessible to her. She was stuck in a vicious cycle. Reading was hard - therefore she didn’t practise - therefore reading remained hard. It seemed to her that those around her who loved the whole class reading lessons were able to read the chosen text and got better and better at reading. She didn’t see a problem with the form of instruction, she thought the problem was her - ‘reading isn’t for me.’  

In my view, the problem isn’t with the whole class guided reading lesson, the problem is that in this case, it’s the only reading lesson. In Mia’s case, this lack of access to appropriate reading material to build her fluency and comprehension is exacerbated by the fact that she doesn’t read at home. As teachers, we can’t control this, so we need to ensure that we have systems in place which allow for enough reading to happen within the school day, so that those who aren’t reading at home aren’t further disadvantaged.  

What might the solution be to this long tail which we are seeing at the top end of our primary schools?  

Fluency pre-read 

Where the class reading lessons utilise a shared text which is pitched at age-relatedness, then those children who lack the automaticity to read it independently with comprehension can have a pre-read of the text prior to the lesson. There need be no pre-teaching of vocabulary, or preparation of questions and response, simply reading and re-reading the text over and over a few times will allow for a level-playing field once the lesson begins. Those children like Mia will be at an advantage, rather than a disadvantage. 

Independent reading

In addition to the whole class reading lessons, time can be sought within the school day for children to simply read their book. Success with this yields huge reward but is hard-won. All children need to have access to rich and high-quality texts which are correctly matched to their reading ability. There needs to be opportunity for authentic book chat and recommendations from the adults as well as the peers. A wealth of ideas can be sought on the OU’s Reading for Pleasure site. Once this will to read is well-developed, children choose to read at home of their own volition, thereby creating a virtuous circle. The more they do it, the better they get at it. 

Assisted reading

Tweaks within the taught reading lesson to enhance access are easy to implement. One of the most effective can be assisted reading. Instead of asking children to take turns to read aloud, or asking them to read the extract in their heads, reading the text aloud to the children with expert prosody, asking them to follow along with their eyes will develop their understanding and ability to read with prosody themselves. Children can then independently re-read the text, before discussion commences.  

Asking the right questions 

Most successful reading lessons will take the form of reading, thinking, discussion, questioning and response. Often, the key to enjoyment and understanding will be in asking the right sorts of questions. Inference is the outcome of good reading; we want to be able to visualise, empathise, connect and understand when we read, in order to derive joy from it. Provocations which lead to thinking and inferential understanding are the most important kind.  

The long tail of struggling readers at the upper end of primary school reflects the need for a more nuanced and tailored approach to reading instruction. Whole-class guided reading, while valuable, is not sufficient on its own for children who have not yet developed fluency or comprehension at the required level. To break the cycle, schools can provide opportunities for fluency-building practices, independent reading, and targeted support to ensure all children, including those who struggle, have access to appropriate texts and the practice they need to thrive. By embedding strategies such as pre-reading, assisted reading, and fostering authentic reading enjoyment, we can create an environment where every child, like Mia, has the chance to not only keep up with their peers but to develop a love for reading that lasts a lifetime. 

To join our renowned Reading Fluency Project and learn our evidence-based suite of strategies and resources which swiftly close attainment gaps in reading, then get in touch via reading.fluency@hfleducation.org. 

The summer term is upon us! Lighter evenings, hope of better weather and a diary full of teaching, sports days, residential trips and end of year celebrations! For Year 6, there's a mix of excitement about stepping into the unknown, coupled with some unease.  Throughout their primary journey, staff have prepared pupils for this transition and now it is in the final stages.

Whilst this blog focuses on the transition from primary to secondary, the planning principles for transition are adaptable for any age phase.  For those of you supporting transition in the early years consider exploring these blogs from the HFL Early Years Team:

• 5 Top tips for supporting smooth transitions in the Early Years | HFL Education
• Transitioning from reception: Year 1 readiness in science | HFL Education

Dr Dan Nicolls states: 

Thoughtful transition planning between primary and secondary schools can create a seamless shift, ensuring pupils and their families feel they are moving from one safe space to another. Continuity, security, and creating a sense of belonging in the new school community are crucial for long term success, especially for those with SEND. Establishing this early could support pupil attendance, reduce the risk of emotional school-based avoidance (ESBA), and potential suspensions and exclusion.

Let’s explore some top tips on how schools can strengthen their transition plans. 

Pupil voice

What if… I get lost? Get a detention? Forget my homework?

The purpose of listening to pupils is to personalise transition, share information with secondary staff and show pupils that everyday worries are normal during any change. Pupils should have opportunities to discuss their own concerns whilst also focusing on navigating unfamiliar school routines and systems.

Are the year 6 cohort given ample opportunity to ask questions about secondary school?

An ideal opportunity is when secondary staff visit their feeder primary schools. One effective approach I have used was giving pupils time to discuss, reflect and record questions with a primary staff member.  In one such session, I was surprised when a group of pupils identified with social, emotional and mental health needs (SEMH), shared initial unease centred around showering after PE and putting on a tie.  Not one mention of behaviour policies, homework or getting lost! The discussion uncovered concerns that were emailed to secondary staff who addressed them during their visit-many pupils commented on how approachable and responsive the secondary staff were.

Primary staff may wish to reflect on who will act as mediator and how they will share this with secondary colleagues.

Secondary schools may consider curating the information into a frequently asked question document to share with families.

Some useful tools to strengthen pupil voice work include: 

• Helen Sanderson Associates: Consider the good day/bad day, perfect week documents.  These person-centred tools provide information on what is working, pupil interests and can strengthen staff knowledge of pupils with SEND.
• Children’s Commissioner: A free activity pack focusing on pupil voice with worksheets and activities.
• Dr Pooky Knightsmith: A particularly useful tool to manage concerns is the If….Then…Planning tool.
• Black Sheep Press: Talking about Secondary School can be used as a visual scaffold to initiate and strengthen discussion as part of pupil voice, particularly for those with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN).
• Autism Education Trust: have provided some great templates which identify a concern and provide a free text to add in how this can be solved.
• Blob School book: a great visual to facilitate and stimulate discussions about a range of situations, such as the playground or classroom.  Could be used with a class, group or individual. 

Developing healthy networks

Some pupils with SEND face challenges in forming and maintaining healthy relationships.  Familiarity can support in establishing new friendships, but just because pupils have attended the same primary school does not automatically mean they have a positive relationship.

• How and when are primary schools sharing information about peer group support and friendships?
• How do secondary schools use this information from primary colleagues to group pupils?
• What support do both primary and secondary staff offer to pupils who are transitioning without a familiar peer? This could add an additional layer of vulnerability, particularly for pupils with SEND.

Moving from a small number of teachers in primary, to working with a larger number of adults in secondary school is a significant change. Pupils with SEND may benefit from having one key staff member who is responsible for taking an overview of how the pupil is settling in; this can be done through regular check-ins. Who will this be? A form tutor? Head of year? A specific teacher? They will build the foundations of a support system, provide feedback to the SENCO and as such may need to be involved in transition.

When working with a pupil with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the previous setting told me they loved playing card games. I factored this in when visiting helping to quickly establish a positive relationship and included this when introducing new staff as part of enhanced transition.  I created a photo book of key staff, including an image of us playing cards, which parents reported helped during periods of uncertainty during the summer holidays.  Primary staff may want to use personalised photographs when discussing staff during transition discussions.  I worked with one student who loved it when I asked questions about secondary staff, referring to them by name, with parents informing me it took away the unfamiliar. Another way to create connections for pupils requiring an enhanced transition, is to send an email or postcard over the summer.

For pupils with SEND it is important for secondary schools to establish positive connections with parents early on.  When pupils and parents need a more bespoke transition, primary staff may wish to consider inviting the secondary school to specific meetings.  Hosting at the primary school, where parents are familiar, can reduce unease and demonstrate a collaborative approach to transition.

Secondary schools should consider how communication processes are shared during transition plans.

• Who do parents communicate with and why? For parents who have a child with SEND is it directly with the SENCO?
• Is contact via email, telephone or in person? How long can parents expect before teaching staff respond to parent communication?
• When are formal meetings held each year to review provision/needs? Set expectations early on and be transparent.

Remember parents, whose children have SEND, will have experienced different journeys, and may require different levels of transition themselves.  The Hertfordshire SEND Toolkit has some great practical tips to support communication with parents and there is a whole section on supporting transition.

Familiarisation with the school environment 

Exploring the environment enhances familiarity and one successful approach I have used involved pupils, in teams, completing a treasure hunt.  Staff photographs were displayed in subject areas and pupil voice questions located the next clue.  For instance, “where can you get a plaster?” (A helpful detail when year 7 pupils are breaking in new shoes!)

Many pupils with SEND benefit from visual scaffolding to embed learning and transition is no exception. Providing maps of buildings can be particularly helpful.  Secondary schools could consider colour-coding by subjects or faculties for clearer visual support.  One school used the colour of the subject exercise books! Sharing photographs of key areas, with pupils in them during a visit can aid familiarity, and scaffold primary staff discussion. One primary school I know well used this to practice mapping out movement from one lesson to another.

Secondary schools may need to consider if pupils with SEND will access additional support outside of the classroom.  During transition activities consider

• Do they know where, when and how to access the support?
• If they need to leave a lesson, do they know the processes to achieve this? Do all staff know that this will be happening? 
• How will this be factored into transition planning?

Continuity of provision 

A proactive and anticipatory approach to provision can enhance transition and pupils settling into their new school.

Primary staff should think about how this can be shared with secondary settings. Do written records:

• Reflect the current level of need?
• Include information on strategies and reasonable adjustments used to support high quality teaching?
• Reflect additional support outside of the classroom, including break and lunch times?

Clear, specific, up to date documentation is particularly important to secondary schools as they often have a number of feeder primary schools.

The transition safety net, within the Hertfordshire SEND Toolkit, is a great visual to support reflections.

Good quality information handed on by primary staff should assist secondary practitioners to quickly apply effective teaching strategies at a universal level, during high quality teaching, and, when required, at a more targeted level.  The secondary SENCO should consider:

• How will this information be shared with all teachers to ensure suitable support from the start of the year?
• Do all staff have the skills and confidence to provide this support?

Reflections for the next year?Top of Form

As part of the transition process, it is important to review what worked well and consider this in planning for the following year. Towards the end of September, strategic schools should consider: 

By reflecting on transition as a series of interactions that engender a sense of belonging and security, we will support all pupils, particularly those with SEND, to face the exciting challenges that secondary school presents. So, as you embrace the summer term consider the steps you will implement to enhance transition for the next academic year and beyond.

For further blogs on curriculum continuity during transition consider exploring the following blogs from our HFL colleagues:

• Preparing transition to secondary school…considerations for language learning
• Supporting lower attaining pupils in KS3 maths to become fluent and flexible calculators

References:

• Nicholls, Dan (December 3rd, 2023) Be Braver | heroes needed | Dan Nicholls (dannicholls1.com)
• Seigal, Daniel J. (2014) Brainstorm-the power and purpose of the teenage brain 

With SATs just around the corner, Year 6 children are diligently working to fill knowledge gaps in maths, SPAG, and reading. But how can you ensure they also reach their potential in writing? Here are five practical tips with effective longer-term strategies to enhance Year 6 writing during this busy period.

1. Keep the writing going!

Keep writing every day during the build-up to SATs and afterwards, to ensure you have sufficient evidence to meet all the ‘pupil can’ statements in the Teacher Assessment Framework (TAF). It is worth noting that writing is a headline school accountability measure, whereas the SPAG test is not. Grammar can be taught through writing. Focus on one grammar skill in each writing lesson, such as using word classes for effect or experimenting with different clause structures in sentences.

It is worth remembering that a range of writing is required:

This can be seen in the teacher assessment exemplification materials, where Morgan uses the polite recommendation in the letter of thanks, the passive voice in the graffiti argument and technical vocabulary in the science piece.

With limited time, avoid writing projects that require children to absorb a lot of new information. Instead, focus on projects where they can quickly generate ideas. For example, when writing to inform or persuade, encourage children to write about personal interests and topics they already know well.

An effective genre is ‘faction’, where children write to inform the reader about a mythical creature or place they've created. To avoid ‘middle of the road’ writing, choose an audience and purpose that requires a formal register,  to sound like ‘experts’. This encourages ambitious sentence structures, passive voice, modal language, and carefully selected vocabulary. Provide high-quality model texts (e.g., Holly Black’s Arthur Spiderwick’s Field Guide or Britannica’s All New Children’s Encyclopedia) and discuss how writers open sentences and choose words carefully. This will also encourage writing at the greater depth standard as children could demonstrate they are able to ‘draw independently on what they have read as models for their own writing’ and ‘exercise an assured and conscious control over levels of formality, particularly through manipulating grammar and vocabulary to achieve this’.

2. Independence and choice

If your class's writing sounds similar, it's time to offer more choice. For example, children could write from the perspective of a character they have chosen themselves. Not only will this motivate your children to write, but it will also ensure their writing is independent and can be used as evidence. Independent writing doesn't have to be a ’cold’ write:

To help children write, success criteria can be established with the children through exploration of model texts but shouldn't be overly directive. Furthermore, the guidance points out that when a specific aspect of writing has been supported through modelling or success criteria, a piece can still be used as evidence that a child has independently met other ‘pupil can’ statements that were not explicitly scaffolded.   

3. Mind the Gap

Consider the range of evidence you currently have: does it cover all the statements in the TAF, or are there gaps? One statement often lacking evidence is:

‘integrate dialogue in narratives to convey character and advance the action’ (TAF)

Dialogue is an exchange of speech between characters, not quotes in a newspaper article. Correct use of speech punctuation is essential. Use a comma after the reporting clause and end punctuation within inverted commas:

He asked, “Your journey here was uneventful, I trust?”

“Yes, Uncle,” I said.

Evidence is also needed to show how dialogue ‘conveys character and advances the action’ (TAF). This involves the ‘show don’t tell’ technique: instead of telling the reader what's happening, show them through actions, sensory details, and dialogue.

If you feel you have insufficient evidence of dialogue, a rich writing project could involve creating a simple short story where characters move through a setting and have an encounter involving dialogue. This would also provide evidence for:

‘in narratives describe settings, characters, and atmosphere’ (TAF)

Find inspiring examples of short stories with vivid settings and powerful dialogue, such as Uncle Montague’s Tales of Terror by Chris Priestley, Short! by Kevin Crossley-Holland, or Shakespeare Stories by Leon Garfield.

The scene from Edward Scissorhands when Peg encounters Edward in the attic is an example of video providing an engaging writing stimulus: description of the setting and characters could be added to the dialogue in the film.

Explore how these writers use dialogue to reveal characters' thoughts, feelings and personalities. Discuss how they weave in detail to describe settings and characters, creating specific atmospheres. (This reading and discussion will of course also develop pupils’ reading comprehension and so provide useful practice for KS2 reading expectations.) For example, in Macbeth from Shakespeare Stories, dialogue reveals things about the characters: 

Collect phrases that describe character reactions, such as ‘’her eyes blazed’ or ‘he bowed his head,’ to integrate into and inspire their own dialogue.

To ensure the writing is independent, give children time to create characters and generate ideas for how they might speak and behave through drama activities like improvisations, speaking statues, and freeze frames. Demonstrate how to shorten dialogue and use it sparingly to advance the action.

To develop setting descriptions, use model texts as inspiration, such as this excerpt from Uncle Montague’s Tales of Terror:

Create soundscapes in class, featuring elements like whispering trees or the watching moon to help generate ideas for figurative language and sensory descriptions.

To add to the element of choice in their writing, help children open their stories in different ways. For example, look at how writers begin stories with dialogue or an atmospheric setting description, and let your children choose how to start.

4. Transform your classroom into a publishing house!

Motivate your children to edit their writing to the highest standard by becoming a publishing house: publish their work, whether through a final draft or reading aloud to their preferred audience. The national curriculum emphasises the importance of editing and proofreading, so allocate ample time to teach and support this process. Share how professional writers like S.F. Said take time to edit then proofread their work, as can be seen here.

In addition to working on new writing, children could revisit work completed earlier in the year and edit it. They often enjoy this, and it helps to expand your bank of evidence.

It may be that you are redoubling your focus on your ‘cuspy’ children: those just below expected standard (EXS) and greater depth standard (GDS). Address gaps in their writing through guided group work or 1:1 feedback, so that they can apply what they have learnt independently in their writing.

Using the TAF as a guide, start by sorting your children’s books into groups based on their main writing needs, such as:

• using a variety of sentence structures: Help children practise writing a range of sentences to fit the purpose and audience, whether formal or informal. Consider using passive voice, modal verbs, and subordinate clauses.
• improving cohesion: Support children in linking ideas clearly and avoiding repetition so the writing flows smoothly. Check children are using a range of conjunctions and fronted adverbials effectively and are not over-reliant on the same cohesive devices.
• selecting appropriate vocabulary: Provide guidance on choosing words that best fit the audience and purpose of the writing.

Remember the basics: children must demarcate sentences ‘mostly correctly’. For further guidance, see the HFL moderation team’s blog: Messages arising from the 2024 KS2 writing moderation cycle and Getting it Write.

To guide children while maintaining their independence, you can indicate the broader section in their work which would benefit from improvement or correction but avoid being overly specific. They need to demonstrate their ability to edit and improve their work.

Having grouped your books, in the following lesson, model how to edit a piece of writing to address common issues you have noticed. Demonstrate how reading your writing aloud can help identify areas for improvement. Teach children to be each other’s ‘editors in chief’ and give feedback using prompts such as:

• "What is your 'special moment' in this piece of writing? Which bit do you want to 'zoom in' or linger on? Can you describe it to me? Go and add that!"
• "Which bit could you take out to make it clearer or to move the story on?"

While the class are editing, provide feedback tailored to each group.

To help children make additions or rewrite sections, provide editing flaps where they can rewrite sentences on strips of paper and stick only the end onto the margin, allowing you to flip the strip up and see the original underneath.

Having edited the compositional aspects of their writing, you can now move on to proofreading. To keep this stage engaging, ‘gamify’ the process: who can make the most effective and impactful corrections or improvements? Be specific about what you want them to look for as a class and use mini-plenaries to focus on different elements in turn, such as word choices, verb consistency, punctuation, and spelling. For example, you might demonstrate how to split run-on sentences into separate sentences, or join them with a conjunction or semicolon (avoiding the comma splice), depending on the effect you want to create:

1. The wind howled outside, the lights flickered ominously.

   To join these two clauses, this could be:

2. The wind howled outside while the lights flickered ominously.

   Or:

3. The wind howled outside; the lights flickered ominously.

This can be discussed, and children can then hunt in pairs for examples in their own writing to fix. Another common area of confusion you may need to revisit is the correct use of the apostrophe. Training your class to use editing stations (with thanks to Emma Stanley for these resources) can help to create a buzz about editing and proofreading.

What would really help is for children to edit as they write by incorporating regular mini-breaks. Pause the class and have pupils read their sentences to a partner, making necessary changes to spelling, punctuation, or composition. Each break can focus on a specific aspect. This practice helps children develop self-awareness in their writing, making it less daunting than editing an entire piece later. Live feedback in the classroom addresses misconceptions immediately and can have a ‘ripple effect’ where other children overhear and then check their own writing.

If you need evidence for the handwriting statement, ‘maintain legibility in joined handwriting when writing at speed’, allow time for children to copy their final draft after editing and proofreading. This could be the entire piece or just their ‘best bit.’

5. Check the spelling!

Evidence is needed for correct spelling of words from the Year 3/4 and Year 5/6 lists. Spellings can be evidenced through dictations, but Year 3/4 spellings are often problematic as they are used frequently in children’s writing. Again, points could mean prizes! Here are some strategies to address common spelling issues when proofreading or modelling writing:

• For unstressed vowel sounds (e.g., different, interest, family, remember), model how to count the syllables and use a ‘spelling voice’ to emphasise the harder-to-hear syllable (like Wed-nes-day). Have children hunt for this kind of word in their writing and check them.
• For adding suffixes, teach the ‘swap, double, or drop’ rules. Get children hunting for -ed, -es, or -ing suffixes in their writing and check the spelling with their partner:
• Swap the y for an i (family > families; reply > replied)
• Double the consonant to keep the vowel sound short (stop > stopped; run > running)
• Drop the e when adding -ing (make > making)

For common homophone errors, correct a short piece of writing together which contains examples (e.g. there/they’re/their), then have children hunt with partners for specific examples in their own writing. Some children may need personal reminders to check the spelling of certain high frequency words they often get wrong.

ACE spelling dictionaries are effective scaffolds for spelling. Teach your class how to use them and encourage regular use, along with thesauruses.

Final thoughts and best wishes

By keeping the writing going, ensuring there is always an element of choice, and maintaining rigorous editing, you can help your Year 6 children fulfil their potential in writing.

Best wishes for SATs. I hope this information helps you get the best out of your young writers during this busy time. Below are useful links for further guidance.

Getting it Write: Secure Teacher Assessment of Key Stage 2 Writing

Year 6 checklist for writing teacher assessments

Year 6 writing at greater depth (GDS): quick wins, guidance and helpful materials

A very particular weakness

Looking back to look forward: reflections from the 22/23 moderation cycle

Declaration of independence

GDS and writing in year 6: keeping things focused now time is short

The long and the short of GDS in Year 6 writing

'Write away!' and other lessons derived from the 2018 KS2 Writing Moderations

The case for flexible leadership: a guide for governors

Recruiting a headteacher is one of the most critical decisions school governors make. The HFL Leadership Recruitment Service supports governors and trustees through this daunting process. Amid challenges like school funding pressures, recruitment and retention issues, and the need to improve outcomes for young people with diverse needs, flexible leadership options—such as dual headship, federations, and co-headship—offer valuable solutions.

Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) also supports this approach:

Hertfordshire’s schools are leading the way in developing innovative structures and solutions. This blog highlights the benefits of flexible leadership models, shares examples of best practice, and provides advice for governors seeking to implement a new approach.

The benefits of flexible leadership models

1. Sustainability in small schools 
   Flexible leadership arrangements are particularly effective for small schools struggling to remain sustainable. Sharing leadership across multiple schools, such as through a federation, allows schools to retain their individual identities while benefiting from shared resources and expertise.

   Sarah Bridgman, headteacher at Ponsbourne St Mary’s and Thundridge Primary Schools, leads two small schools in collaboration. By pooling resources for joint staff training, sports events, and trips, the schools enhance educational opportunities while remaining financially viable. Trust between governors and the leadership team is key to this successful collaboration.

2. Transformational impact on schools 
   Clare Barber, principal at West Grantham Secondary Academy, has overseen a dramatic turnaround at her school, which has a high percentage of disadvantaged and SEND pupils. Following its journey from an ‘Inadequate’ Ofsted rating to ‘Good with Outstanding features,’ Clare now divides her time between her own school and outreach work, supporting improvement initiatives in other schools. Flexible working models, such as a flexible working week and longer lesson periods help to improve teacher well-being, outcomes, and attendance.

3. Recruiting and retaining talent 
   Flexible leadership options can attract experienced leaders who might not apply for traditional full-time roles. Sarah initially sought a part-time headship to balance her career and family life. Governors at her first school later explored partnership opportunities, creating a structure that allowed her to lead both settings.

   Part-time leadership can work, but governors need to be clear around the details. Mark Lewis, CEO of HART Schools Trust, explains that if leaders are not present every day, there must be a visible figurehead on the ground. Leaders who work across multiple settings bring a broader range of experience, benefiting all staff and children.

   Clare’s implementation of flexible working options for her staff has enhanced recruitment and retention, with teachers appreciating the improved work-life balance. Governors should recognise that such models can make their schools more appealing in a competitive recruitment market.

    

Best practice for governors

1. Consider flexible leadership arrangements 
   When recruiting a school leader, governors should consider how flexible leadership arrangements align with the school’s needs and long-term goals. Mark advises governors to be explicit in their adverts about openness to different structures, including partnerships with other schools or trusts, or offering executive leadership support.
2. Establish collaborations and federations 
   Collaborative leadership models, such as federations, enable schools to share resources and leadership while maintaining their distinct identities. Sharing staff can be beneficial for small schools, helping to address financial challenges. Governors may explore potential partnerships with nearby schools, weighing the benefits of joint leadership against logistical considerations.
3. Support dual or shared headship 
   Ensure leaders are supported in managing their workload across multiple settings. This might include appointing senior leaders with class responsibilities in each school to handle day-to-day issues. Technology, such as virtual meetings, can save time and improve communication. Governors at St. Bartholomew’s School in Wigginton have embraced an innovative co-headship model, combining the strengths and experiences of two dedicated educators with diverse backgrounds. Victoria, an EYFS specialist, and Kelly, focused on KS2 and SEN, bring complementary skills to the table.

4. Invest in leadership development 
   Strong, adaptive leaders are key to the success of flexible models. Professional coaching and development opportunities, such as the National Professional Qualification for Executive Leadership (NPQEL), can help headteachers build the skills needed to manage complex, multi-school arrangements.

   Part-time leadership can work well, provided there is clarity around what happens in the leader’s absence. For example, a headteacher working four days per week with an experienced deputy stepping up for the fifth day provides structured development opportunities for the deputy.

5. Prioritise equity and staff wellbeing 
   Clare’s flexible working week allows teachers to consolidate their planning into one day, which can be taken at home. These changes reduce stress, improve work-life balance, and lead to greater job satisfaction, enhancing recruitment and retention.

   Kelly at St. Bartholomew’s emphasises the importance of work-life balance. By sharing headship responsibilities, they can maintain their roles while managing personal commitments, enhancing job satisfaction and setting a positive example for staff.

   Mary Exton Primary School in Hitchin also implements a successful co-headship, with each headteacher working a three-day week. Clear communication and defined responsibilities are central to the arrangement’s success.

6. Communicate with parents and stakeholders 
   Transparent communication is essential for building trust and ensuring buy-in from parents and staff. Flexible leadership models can preserve the unique identity of each school while enhancing stability and opportunities for pupils. Sharing examples of successful collaborations and improved outcomes can reassure stakeholders.

A forward-thinking approach to leadership

Flexible leadership models provide the best of both worlds for schools. They enable small schools to retain their close-knit ethos while benefiting from collaboration. Leaders gain opportunities to broaden their expertise and share best practice, while governors ensure their school remains sustainable and successful in a changing educational landscape.

Flexible leadership isn’t just a solution to existing challenges—it is a pathway to building stronger, more resilient schools.