Y3-5
YMCA Transition Project – Thetford

Transition Support Worker – Steph Groom– based at Charles Burrell High.

Responsible Officer – Mary Gilbert, YMCA Gt Yarmouth Sub-Regional Manager

1. Name of service.
● YMCA Transition Project – Thetford.

Project Vision
The YMCA Transition project works to enable Year 6 pupils to make a successful transition from 5 Feeder Schools to Charles Burrell High School. The project will seek to provide specific support to 30 identified pupils before, during and after transition and offer support to all year 6’s and 7’s around transition and will also work in partnership with the families and other agencies as part of providing a co-ordinated approach.

Expected Outcomes for Children

 Pupils settle successfully into High School and regularly attend High School.
 Children feel safe and supported in their new environment.
 Pupils are able to access YMCA support across a variety of issues, knowing that they will be taken seriously and treated with care and respect.
 Children develop self-confidence and successfully deal with significant life changes and challenges.
 The families of pupils are also able to access support, which in turn also benefits their children.

2. Date service commenced:
● 1st July 2003.

3. Number of staff.
● Transition Support Worker – Steph Newton

With support from YMCA
● Manager – Amanda Johnson.
● Administration Support – Melissa Baker

4. What does your project do?
● Working in partnership with the Feeder Middle Schools, BEST, families and vulnerable children to provide a Transition Programme covering two key areas.
i. Identify and support 30 vulnerable children during their transition from Middle to High School and map their progress during the academic year.
ii. Provide broad based support to all students in transition to Charles Burrell High through 1:1, small group and classroom support.
● Work with vulnerable young people whilst still in Middle School during the Summer Term, including supporting transition days and providing key links with families and schools. School can exert a direct influence on outcomes for children, not only on educational attainment, but also on levels of offending among their pupils (Maughan, 1994: Sylva 1994).
● Provide a week of summer activities that will help build confidence, self-esteem and communication skills of these young people as well as develop friendship groups.
● To support parents in providing relevant information to best support their child and in accessing of appropriate services.
● Work in partnership with Thetford Schools, BEST, Head of Key Stage 3, Head of transition, School Pastoral Support team, Charles Burrell Multi-agency worker, Education Psychologists, Education Social Workers, NYCS and YMCA PAYP worker. Working with the principle of extended school, providing a co-ordinated multi-agency support network for children and families. The Transition Support Worker being a key access point in keeping with agreed preventative strategies.
● Continued support for vulnerable young people where issues identified regarding behaviour, low self-esteem, attendance and academic attainment. Ongoing support in Great Yarmouth High from Transition Support Worker as part of value for children living in adverse family circumstances of an enduring relationship with a special relationship outside the household. (Cohen & Willis 1985; Jenkins & Smith, 1990).
● Enable students to then become mentors to the following year group of transition pupils, as part of empowering them.
 Establish relationships with the parents/guardians of identified students. Helping improve accessibility to services for families and breaking down of professional boundaries felt by families, as part of Extended School support and Every Child Matters priority. This is in keeping with the principles of Extended schools where there is to be a co-ordinated multi-agency support network for children and families. Facilitating improved sharing of information between family and agencies as outlined in Children Act 2004.

5. What level of prevention do you work at?
● Level 2.

6. Which Children's Fund sub objectives are you focussing on?
● Children's Fund sub-objectives:
1: Promoting Attendance;5: Ensuring that services feel accessible & 6: Providing Services to children at risk of exclusion.

Every Child Mattes Outcomes
- Be Healthy
- Stay Safe
- Enjoy & Achieve
- Make a Positive Contribution
- Achieve Economic Well-Being

7. How do you work – methods of working?
● Small group work.
● 1:1 work.
● Deliver a summer activity programme
● Taster and welcome days at Charles Burrell High School.
● Work with parents – home visits to meet with parents/guardians, attendance at parents’ evenings and ongoing parent liaison.
● Work as part of Charles Burrell High School Transition Support Team.
● Meets with YMCA Line-Manager every month to evaluate ongoing work. Ongoing YMCA training and opportunities for personal development through monthly team meetings and team building / fun days.
● Manager and worker meet with Charles Burrell High School, Key Stage 3 Head and Transition Management group, home/school liaison, at the beginning and end of term to agree key target areas of work and evaluate and review progress.
● Evaluation of work is made by children and parents.
● Evaluation from schools.
● Consultation with other Children's Fund teams.
● Completion of reports for Children's Fund.

8. Where – geographical coverage?

● Charles Burrell High Extended School Cluster.

9. Which schools are you working with at present and in what way e.g. referrals?
● Redcastle Furze Primary School, Queensway Junior School, Norwich Road Primary School, Admirals Primary School, Abbey Junior School and Charles Burrell High School.
● Referral Route:
- School Pastoral Support team.
- Self-referral / family referral.
- Other agencies.
- Liaison with tutors and staff in Junior/Primary or High Schools.

10. Client groups – levels of intervention, i.e. drop-in centre or intense one to one work?
● Transition Support Worker is schools based, appropriate support tailor made for the individual. Mixture of 1:1, small group and tutor group provision. Drop-in / self-referral facility is available.

11. In what way are you working with the other family members?
● Involving many family members.
● Parents and carers are fully involved in support programme for vulnerable young people; Transition Support Worker supports family in accessing wider services and will provide support for siblings where appropriate.
● Where appropriate, cases are referred by transition worker to parent support worker within Charles Burrell High School.

12. Where you get your referrals from or how do people start to use your service?
● Schools.
● School Pastoral Support team.
● Multi-agency liaison.
● Self / family referral.

13. Key Partners and in what ways the service is working with them.
● Identified Primary/Junior and High Schools.
● Extended Schools services (BEST, multi-agency worker)
● Full Service School Team.
● PAYP workers
● Local Voluntary Sector.

14. In what ways are you involved in multi-agency interventions?
● The Transition Support Worker operates as part of the Full Service School and multi-agency working through the School Pastoral Support team.

References

Cohen, S. and Wills, T. A. (1985) ‘Stress, social support and the buffering hypothesis’. In Psychological Review, 98 , 2, pp. 310-57.

Jenkins, J. M. and & Smith, M. A. (1990) ‘Factors protecting children living in disharmonious homes: Maternal Reports’. In Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 29, pp. 60-9.

Maughan, B. (1994) ‘School Influences’ in M. Rutter and D. Hay (eds.) Development through life: A HaY3-5
YMCA Transition Project – Thetford

Transition Support Worker – Steph Groom– based at Charles Burrell High.

Responsible Officer – Mary Gilbert, YMCA Gt Yarmouth Sub-Regional Manager

1. Name of service.
● YMCA Transition Project – Thetford.

Project Vision
The YMCA Transition project works to enable Year 6 pupils to make a successful transition from 5 Feeder Schools to Charles Burrell High School. The project will seek to provide specific support to 30 identified pupils before, during and after transition and offer support to all year 6’s and 7’s around transition and will also work in partnership with the families and other agencies as part of providing a co-ordinated approach.

Expected Outcomes for Children

 Pupils settle successfully into High School and regularly attend High School.
 Children feel safe and supported in their new environment.
 Pupils are able to access YMCA support across a variety of issues, knowing that they will be taken seriously and treated with care and respect.
 Children develop self-confidence and successfully deal with significant life changes and challenges.
 The families of pupils are also able to access support, which in turn also benefits their children.

2. Date service commenced:
● 1st July 2003.

3. Number of staff.
● Transition Support Worker – Steph Newton

With support from YMCA
● Manager – Amanda Johnson.
● Administration Support – Melissa Baker

4. What does your project do?
● Working in partnership with the Feeder Middle Schools, BEST, families and vulnerable children to provide a Transition Programme covering two key areas.
i. Identify and support 30 vulnerable children during their transition from Middle to High School and map their progress during the academic year.
ii. Provide broad based support to all students in transition to Charles Burrell High through 1:1, small group and classroom support.
● Work with vulnerable young people whilst still in Middle School during the Summer Term, including supporting transition days and providing key links with families and schools. School can exert a direct influence on outcomes for children, not only on educational attainment, but also on levels of offending among their pupils (Maughan, 1994: Sylva 1994).
● Provide a week of summer activities that will help build confidence, self-esteem and communication skills of these young people as well as develop friendship groups.
● To support parents in providing relevant information to best support their child and in accessing of appropriate services.
● Work in partnership with Thetford Schools, BEST, Head of Key Stage 3, Head of transition, School Pastoral Support team, Charles Burrell Multi-agency worker, Education Psychologists, Education Social Workers, NYCS and YMCA PAYP worker. Working with the principle of extended school, providing a co-ordinated multi-agency support network for children and families. The Transition Support Worker being a key access point in keeping with agreed preventative strategies.
● Continued support for vulnerable young people where issues identified regarding behaviour, low self-esteem, attendance and academic attainment. Ongoing support in Great Yarmouth High from Transition Support Worker as part of value for children living in adverse family circumstances of an enduring relationship with a special relationship outside the household. (Cohen & Willis 1985; Jenkins & Smith, 1990).
● Enable students to then become mentors to the following year group of transition pupils, as part of empowering them.
 Establish relationships with the parents/guardians of identified students. Helping improve accessibility to services for families and breaking down of professional boundaries felt by families, as part of Extended School support and Every Child Matters priority. This is in keeping with the principles of Extended schools where there is to be a co-ordinated multi-agency support network for children and families. Facilitating improved sharing of information between family and agencies as outlined in Children Act 2004.

5. What level of prevention do you work at?
● Level 2.

6. Which Children's Fund sub objectives are you focussing on?
● Children's Fund sub-objectives:
1: Promoting Attendance;5: Ensuring that services feel accessible & 6: Providing Services to children at risk of exclusion.

Every Child Mattes Outcomes
- Be Healthy
- Stay Safe
- Enjoy & Achieve
- Make a Positive Contribution
- Achieve Economic Well-Being

7. How do you work – methods of working?
● Small group work.
● 1:1 work.
● Deliver a summer activity programme
● Taster and welcome days at Charles Burrell High School.
● Work with parents – home visits to meet with parents/guardians, attendance at parents’ evenings and ongoing parent liaison.
● Work as part of Charles Burrell High School Transition Support Team.
● Meets with YMCA Line-Manager every month to evaluate ongoing work. Ongoing YMCA training and opportunities for personal development through monthly team meetings and team building / fun days.
● Manager and worker meet with Charles Burrell High School, Key Stage 3 Head and Transition Management group, home/school liaison, at the beginning and end of term to agree key target areas of work and evaluate and review progress.
● Evaluation of work is made by children and parents.
● Evaluation from schools.
● Consultation with other Children's Fund teams.
● Completion of reports for Children's Fund.

8. Where – geographical coverage?

● Charles Burrell High Extended School Cluster.

9. Which schools are you working with at present and in what way e.g. referrals?
● Redcastle Furze Primary School, Queensway Junior School, Norwich Road Primary School, Admirals Primary School, Abbey Junior School and Charles Burrell High School.
● Referral Route:
- School Pastoral Support team.
- Self-referral / family referral.
- Other agencies.
- Liaison with tutors and staff in Junior/Primary or High Schools.

10. Client groups – levels of intervention, i.e. drop-in centre or intense one to one work?
● Transition Support Worker is schools based, appropriate support tailor made for the individual. Mixture of 1:1, small group and tutor group provision. Drop-in / self-referral facility is available.

11. In what way are you working with the other family members?
● Involving many family members.
● Parents and carers are fully involved in support programme for vulnerable young people; Transition Support Worker supports family in accessing wider services and will provide support for siblings where appropriate.
● Where appropriate, cases are referred by transition worker to parent support worker within Charles Burrell High School.

12. Where you get your referrals from or how do people start to use your service?
● Schools.
● School Pastoral Support team.
● Multi-agency liaison.
● Self / family referral.

13. Key Partners and in what ways the service is working with them.
● Identified Primary/Junior and High Schools.
● Extended Schools services (BEST, multi-agency worker)
● Full Service School Team.
● PAYP workers
● Local Voluntary Sector.

14. In what ways are you involved in multi-agency interventions?
● The Transition Support Worker operates as part of the Full Service School and multi-agency working through the School Pastoral Support team.

References

Cohen, S. and Wills, T. A. (1985) ‘Stress, social support and the buffering hypothesis’. In Psychological Review, 98 , 2, pp. 310-57.

Jenkins, J. M. and & Smith, M. A. (1990) ‘Factors protecting children living in disharmonious homes: Maternal Reports’. In Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 29, pp. 60-9.

Maughan, B. (1994) ‘School Influences’ in M. Rutter and D. Hay (eds.) Development through life: A Handbook for Clinicians. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific.

Sylva, K. (1994) ‘School Influences on Children’s Development’. In Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 35, pp. 135-70.

ndbook for Clinicians. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific.

Sylva, K. (1994) ‘School Influences on Children’s Development’. In Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 35, pp. 135-70.

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