joy o'neill 2012 report based on m sc research

MSc Learning and Teaching University of Oxford Copyright © Joy O’Neill 2012

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Service Children: How do they cope with

transitions between schools?’

A report based on an MSc in Learning and Teaching

dissertation

By

Joy O’Neill


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Introduction

My research has focused on a small rural primary school where 75% of the pupil

population are children from HM Forces families. The families experience high levels

of mobility and as a result, approximately 50% of the school population changes

every year. This occurs in addition to the normal transitions into Reception and out of

Year 6. The aim of the project was to consider the impact on Service children of

multiple transitions and the implications for their learning. The research cycle

considered the views of pupils, parents and staff as well as pupil observations, pupil

assessments and data scrutiny. As a result of the findings, a number of interventions

were designed and implemented to address the needs of pupils, parents and

teaching staff. The intended focus of all of the interventions has been to enable

children to overcome the disadvantages of frequent moves and to provide teachers

with enough information to allow them to construct appropriate learning

opportunities. Staff have shown a wide spectrum of views on the importance of pupil

transition and induction. However, the project has been generally welcomed by

parents, who viewed this as an opportunity to shine a light on an often hidden issue.

The issues faced by Service Children

Ofsted, in their 2011 survey, described Service children as a unique group.

Inspectors found that Service children faced a number of issues including: problems

with school admissions, children missing parts of, or repeating areas of, the

curriculum, poor transfer of information about pupils between schools, slow

assessment and support for Service children with special educational needs and a

general lack of awareness of Service families and their additional needs. Martin et al

(2000) discussed the unusual developmental pressures that Service children face as

a result of the unique demands of the military environment. They cited stressors

such as regular house moves, possible educational issues, friendship issues,

prolonged periods of separation from the serving parent and possible bereavement.

Attachment literature would suggest that global nomads are at risk when seeking to

develop new and secure attachments and friendships (Ender, 2002).


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How does mobility impact on Service Children?

When Service families are relocated to new areas they often face a bewildering array

of differences and inconsistency, such as encountered when moving between the

education systems of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and of course,

overseas locations (outside of Service Children’s Education schools). Pupils may

arrive with very little prior notice and with little or no documentation from their

previous school. Children may have gaps in their education through having missed

certain parts of the curriculum or conversely, they may have covered a particular

topic many times over. Many Service children have had thirteen - fourteen moves by

the time they reach secondary school and often for Service families the only

consistency is inconsistency (Ofsted, 2011).

In 2001, the US Army Secondary Education Transition Study carried out a detailed

piece of research that focused on three aspects associated with Army children and

transition: ‘Procedures’, the transfer and interpretation of records, ‘Policy’, the

curriculum requirements and ‘Support and Systems’, the partnership between the

schools and the units and the social and emotional needs of the student. They found

that in any move the issues of timely transfer of records are critical and that on

arrival at a new school learning is impeded as the pupils concentrate on adjusting to

their new surroundings. Additionally when the time comes to leave, pupils are

frequently ‘distracted by pre-move grieving for the friends they will miss and by the

concerns about the transition’ (SETS, 2001, p95). Perhaps, the most significant

finding is that ‘the first two weeks at the new school and the last few weeks before

leaving’ is an important period for pupils (SETS, 2001, p95).

The SETS project found that many military parents were keen to know what learning

opportunities were available to their children in the new schools and how these

opportunities compared to those for other children. Furthermore, they often acted as

advocates for their children by providing the school staff with information about their

child and ensuring that suitable learning opportunities and pastoral provision were

put in place to meet the needs of their child.


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An action research project to look at Service Children and how they cope with

transitions between schools

Beginning with my research question, how do service children cope with transitions

between schools, I reflected on the school and its current context. An examination of

the school data revealed that the school has a significant fluctuation in its pupils

each year in addition to the newly arrived Foundation Stage children and Year six

pupils who leave to attend secondary school. On average, the school lost and gained

approximately eight to ten children during every term from across all key stages.

Further scrutiny of data indicated a wide spectrum of academic attainment by pupils

on arrival at the school and in some cases concerns around possible special

educational needs.

The aim of the study was to consider the specific educational impact of transition,

due to postings on Service Children. Additionally to investigate the provision for the

continuity of education, the barriers to learning that Service Children face and the

interventions that can mitigate some of these issues. Furthermore I wanted to

uncover:

What methods the teachers used to assist service children when they entered

their new school.

How far these measures helped children to overcome any difficulties they

might have in making pastoral and learning progress.

To what extent would it assist teachers to have individual conversations

about prior learning with parents and children, which could then form the

basis of individual learning plans, before entry to the school.

What tools do Service Children use to assist themselves?

Based on research from the USA SETS (2001) and the Military Child Education

Coalition (2011), which indicated that the first two weeks are the most crucial when

settling new children into school, it was crucial that I began the proposed project in

the first week back to school in September. The project cycle needed to last a


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minimum of six months as research has suggested that most service children take

up to six months to reconnect and settle in a new area (Coe, 2007).

Additionally as the SENCO was concerned about the general lack of information

from previous schools, I also decided to consider the extent to which it would assist

teachers to have individual conversations about prior learning with parents and

children, before entry to the school. I felt that such conversations may enable

individual learning plans to be put in place.

The cycles took place in September 2011, January 2012 and April 2012 and each

consisted of:

Semi structured pupil interviews with the seven newly arrived pupils in key

stage two, carried out at school, each lasting approximately fifteen to twenty

minutes.

Semi structured interviews with the parents of the seven newly arrived

children, carried out in the parents’ home, each lasting between 30 and 60

minutes.

Questionnaires for the key stage two teachers, teaching assistants, Head

teacher, SENCO and Family Support worker.

Seven pupil observations in the classroom each lasting ten minutes and

focused minute by minute.

Seven information sheets to gather background data on each child from the

Head teacher and school office (September only)

A termly (every 12 weeks) base line assessment on all seven children on

arrival carried out by the class teacher.

Scrutiny of a sample of literacy and numeracy assessment data for each of

the seven children.

My success criteria was: to be able to gain enough knowledge about each child to

build a picture of their life and learning experiences; to share this knowledge with

teaching staff to enable them to construct appropriate learning experiences for each

child; to promote the culture and context of Service children within the school; to

evaluate the current induction processes and to investigate the role that parents and

community have in the pastoral and academic transition of the child.


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Findings

Themes in the first cycle

The following themes emerged during the first cycle:

During their school career three of the children had experienced periods of

time out of school during their school career due to admissions issues. The

time out of school averaged four to six weeks although the time period for

some children was longer. It should be noted that this information is not

normally recorded in pupil records and the school was unaware that these

gaps had existed.

The parents of three of the children had not provided any information on their

children to the school either before arrival or on joining the school and these

parents also had very limited contact with the school during the first two

weeks. This caused the Head teacher concern as she felt that parents should

be involved with the school during the arrival and induction stage and

beyond.

No previous school records for four children had been received by the school

within the first two weeks. This was despite the school office making contact

with the previous school to request the records.

A pastoral induction plan is in place for every new child at the school,

however, not all teachers allowed children in their classes to participate fully.

Six of the children had experienced between two and eleven school and early

years setting moves during their lives. This information is unlikely to be

recorded on the pupil’s records and for that reason it is unlikely that schools

will know how many transitions the child has experienced.

The parents of three of the children raised multiple concerns to the Head

teacher within the first two weeks.

Based on the base line assessment and work scrutiny five of the children

were working below average for their age on arrival at the school.

The school also felt that two of the children had possible undiagnosed SEN

on arrival at school.

All of the children said they felt nervous or upset about being in a new school.


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Five of the children experienced peer friendship issues on arrival at the

school and within the first two weeks.

Six of the children were visibly distressed and withdrawn in class or showed

emotional outbursts during the first two weeks.

First cycle interventions

After analysing the themes from the first cycle, which seemed to revolve around a

lack of clear information, I decided that my initial focus should be on providing staff

with the information that they needed on each child in order to allow them to plan

appropriate learning experiences. Research suggests that in order for children to

make a successful transition into a new school they need to settle quickly and feel

valued, as well teachers need to learn about the new children as quickly as possible

(Foley and Rixon, 2008). Where this information was not available, I wanted to

encourage staff to investigate the matter and gather their own information on the

pupils. Finally, as a number of pupils were experiencing friendship difficulties I

wanted to provide an intervention that targeted friendship concerns.

My first priority was to meet with staff and share each child’s case study, which

would help the staff to create a picture about each child’s experiences and

educational needs. I had anticipated that the teaching staff would find this

information useful, as it would provide them with knowledge that they had been

unable to gather elsewhere. Furthermore, I hoped that the knowledge from the

learning conversations could then be used to develop an individual learning plan.

Where gaps still existed in the jigsaw, I suggested that staff should make contact

with previous schools to glean the missing information. However, I received a

spectrum of responses from the teaching staff. When I shared the information, one

class teacher keen to find out as much as possible about each child. The other class

teacher appeared to be unconcerned “It seems to me that if the parents hadn’t

moved so many times the issues wouldn’t exist … their answer seems to be to move

if they are unhappy”. This attitude was also shared with some of the teachers in the

SETS study who felt that the Army should stop moving families. The teacher

continued “I don’t worry about what other people say about the child. I only want to

know what grade the old school graded them at”. This opinion is in contrast to the


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results of the SETS project, which stated that ‘listening to students quickly expands

the teachers understanding of them’. I also met with the Head teacher and SENCO

to share my findings.

Both teachers wanted the Family Support Worker to be responsible for any focused

work on friendship issues. They perceived friendships to be pastoral and their role as

teachers to be academic. Following this response I approached the Family Support

Worker to facilitate the creation of a focused social and emotional support for these

children. After discussions, it was decided that a number of short but regular

Personal Social Emotional Development (PSED) sessions would be put in place for

the pupils and run by the Family Support Worker. These PSED sessions were

designed to target friendship issues and other social skills.

Themes in the second cycle

The following themes emerged during the second cycle:

One child is preparing to move again after only a few months at the school.

Based on teacher assessments six of the children are still working below the

expected average for their age.

The parents of four of the children are not engaging with the school or

providing the information required to allow the school to plan for their needs.

Six of the children continue to have emotional or behavioural needs which are

evident in class.

Five of the children continue to have friendship issues.

Five of the children felt confused by the different learning methods that were

used in their new school.

Four of the children are receiving additional one to one support for English

and/or Maths to aid progress but this is not specifically focusing on any gaps

in their learning.

Two of the children have had a significant number of school absences due to

illness or family holidays.


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The parents of three of the children have requested additional support for

their children and these children are receiving outside specialist support from

an educational psychologist, a doctor and a social worker.

Perhaps of most interest was the perception of the parents of five of the

children who had a differing view of how their child was settling in the school

compared to the perception of the staff. The parents generally thought their

child was doing better academically or settling in well pastorally when the

staff thought the children were not. The notable exception was a child in year

4 whose parents were very concerned about him and the teacher did not

seem to share this view.

Second cycle interventions

After analysing the themes from the second cycle, I decided the second intervention

should focus on the seeming difference in perception between the parents and

school concerning children’s learning needs. In conjunction with the Head Teacher

and SENCO, it was decided that an intervention should be designed to encourage

parents to provide up to date information on their child’s previous academic and

pastoral experiences. It was hoped that this information would provide enough

knowledge about each child to enable the teachers to construct appropriate learning

activities. In addition it was hoped that this would encourage parents to engage with

their children’s current learning in school and at home.

Previously the school has invited parents to attend presentations on different

learning styles and approaches at the end of the school day, as well as to attend

traditional parent/teacher meetings. The Head informed me that “in general Service

parents are not keen to attend despite sending reminders home”. The Head

explained that historically the school had a low response rate from parents when

asked to complete questionnaires or attend parents at the school. However, there

was generally a high parent turnout rate at events such as merit assemblies, school

performances and fairs. We considered possible barriers to attending, such as, the

time of day, day of the week, childcare issues, work commitments and the venue. I

investigated options such as temporary crèche facilities, using an area of the base

as a venue and offering refreshments to tempt parents to attend. I spoke to the


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parents of three of the children to gauge their responses to the suggestions. It was

felt that holding the meeting on the base was too “heavy handed” and that parents

“did not want neighbours and people from work” seeing them go into school at the

end of school because “then everyone would know their child had problems because

it’s on the school newsletter”.

With this in mind, I planned a series of parent meetings to be conducted by the

SENCO and the class teacher and held within the school day. These meetings would

be offered by invitation only and not be advertised on the school newsletter. The

letter, sent by the Head, would be clear, free from jargon and written in a non-

threatening way. The Head teacher would then follow up with a friendly telephone

call two days before the meeting to confirm the times of the meetings and the

parents attendance.

These meetings were held in February and achieved 100% parent attendance. A

year 6 girl’s mother attended the school for the first time since her daughter joined.

The SENCO gathered additional information on all of the children “I’ve found out

things I didn’t know or wasn’t told before” but she still felt that the parents of two of

the children were reluctant to discuss their child’s special educational needs. One of

the class teachers still had reservations about the usefulness of the information

gathering. The other teacher felt upset by the comments from parents which she

took as a sign that she had not done enough in class for the children.

Themes in the third and final cycle

The following themes emerged during the third and final cycle:

All of the children had made some academic progress in varying degrees but

despite this six of the children continue to be working below the expected

level for their age. This information appears to relate to the work of Galton et

al (1999) who found that many pupils experienced a stall in progress after

transfer and that an estimated two out of every five pupils failed to make the

expected progress during the following year. As a result of the lack of

academic progress these six children are receiving additional academic

support both in the class and from a one to one teacher at the end of the


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school day. Many of the children are also receiving top up lunch time

sessions.

The SENCO is working with two of the children who have special educational

needs in addition to the work being carried out by class teachers.

Four of the children continue to experience peer friendship issues and are

continuing to receive additional social skills support from the Family Support

worker.

Three of the children continue to experience emotional and behavioural

difficulties and are continuing to receive additional support from the Family

Support worker.

Four of the children are working with outside professionals for specific

additional support. These professionals are: an educational psychologist, a

doctor, a social worker and a specialist dyslexia teacher. The parents of two

of these children are actively involved in partnership working with these

professionals.

For the first time since September the parents of four of the children have

engaged in a meaningful way with the school and they are beginning to offer

some insights into their child’s previous learning experiences.

One of the children is about to move house again.

Third cycle intervention

Following the third action research cycle I put into place my third and final

intervention. This intervention was comprised of a final staff meeting and a detailed

discussion with the Head teacher to debrief her on all of my findings over the seven

months. As part of the staff session, I discussed the summary of my findings to date,

the literature that underpinned my findings and also some suggestions for further

changes within the school after the project had finished. I also answered any

questions the staff had on both the project and the school in general. Finally, I took

some suggestions for future research.


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Discussion

The focus of my research was on Service children and how they cope with

transitions between schools. Prior to the research cycle the school had significant

concerns around the timely transfer of pupil information from one school to another

and thus the implications for the teaching staff in preparing for children who they

know nothing or very little about. This mirrors the concerns of both Ofsted (2011) and

SETS (2001) who claim that the timely transfer of records are critical when a child

moves.

I reflected on the extent to which it would assist teachers to have individual

conversations about previous learning with parents and children prior to or upon

entry to the school. Could this information form the basis of individual learning plans

for the children? Information from the school shows that no records were received

within the first two weeks for four of the seven children. Without this information

teachers reported to find it difficult to place the children in the correct learning group

within the class. Even when records are received they often only refer to the child’s

last school and contain no information on the numerous previous schools. Research

from the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Children’s Fund (2009) and Ofsted (2011)

informs us of the nomadic nature of Service children who experience regular moves,

often up to fourteen times during their school careers. On arrival at the school five of

the children were working below average for their age, and at the four - month point

six of the children were working below the expected average for their age. This

seems to be in contrast to the results of the DCSF commissioned three Rapid

Analysis Papers in 2009, which suggested that Service children do better than their

non - mobile peers. At the end of the final cycle in month seven, these six children

continued to work below the expected level for their age. This is significant in light of

the research carried out by Galton et al (1999) that claims that many pupils

experience a stall in progress after transfer and that an estimated two out of every

five pupils failed to make the expected progress during the year immediately

following the change of school.

As a result of the information gathering process, I was able to actively listen to the

children, parents and staff and was then able to build a detailed picture of each child.


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Edgington (2004) reminds teachers of the relevance of carefully gathered pupil

information and how such information could be used to construct appropriate

pastoral and learning experiences. As well Leach and Moon’s research (2007)

praises the concept of tailoring learning materials to each individual student. For

mobile pupils with a complicated school career, this approach could assist in

identifying any gaps in learning and then offer a plan to address these gaps.

Additionally it allows pupils a voice in the transition process.

I was proactive in sharing the newly gathered information with the teachers, SENCO,

Head teacher and Family Support Worker. However, it should be noted that this

information was received in different ways by some of the staff members being more

responsive than others. I would like to think that all schools want to do the best for

their pupils and I feel that in order to do this schools need to understand their pupils.

Although the teacher may feel a pressing need to concentrate on assessing the

academic level of the new child and introduce them to full curriculum activities from

the start; gaining an understanding of the issues that arise in Service life and the

nature of mobility in respect of Service children is really the first step to providing

them with effective support.

Some of the parents seemed relieved to be given the chance to talk about their child

and previous experiences and in many cases they also shared their worries. I felt as

if they viewed me as a “go between”, a person who had an understanding of Service

life and who understood the context of what they were telling me. The involvement of

the parents is key because they are the one constant in a child’s life. It would seem

reasonable to expect that they have full information on their child’s transitions and

any key events. However, I would like to explore in future research why some

parents appear to build barriers which prevent them from sharing vital information

about their child prior to or on arrival at school.

The overall results of this small scale project lead me to conclude that the impact on

service children when moving to a new school is not confined to academic success

but also affects the child’s social, emotional and behavioural functioning within the

school setting. In this study all of the children continue to be affected either

academically or pastorally at the seven month point. This seems to be in contrast to


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the transition cycle research carried out by Service Children’s Education, who

suggests that the majority of children will have settled by the six month point.

Recommendations

A robust and consistent induction and leaving process should be put in place

to support every new pupil on arrival and departure.

Schools should request pupil records from the previous school and be

persistent in this request until the records arrive.

School staff should make time to speak to pupils and parents prior to or

shortly after arrival to gather pastoral and academic information. This

knowledge will ensure an authentic understanding of the whole child.

Additionally, this information will allow schools an opportunity to mitigate some

of the issues that arise from children arriving without records.

Schools should give new pupils the skills and the knowledge they need to

succeed when they arrive in a new school. This should include making both

the academic rules and the daily routine used in the school explicit.

In addition to base line assessments, teachers should gather information on a

child’s prior learning experiences by initiating conversations with the pupil and

parents. This should also help to identify any gaps in learning that may exist.

Schools should develop structures, which allow pupils to ask about things

they do not understand, particularly their concerns about classroom learning

and the expectations of their new teachers as discussed by Galton et al

(1999).

Teachers should also consider the emotional impact of mobility on pupils and

investigate the use of appropriate interventions to support peer friendships

and any emotional and behavioural issues should they arise.


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Schools should act promptly to support newly arrived Service children with

suspected or diagnosed special educational needs.

All professionals who work with Service children should have an

understanding of the context of Service life and the key issues that Service

families may face. Schools should not assume that because members of staff

work with Service children that they understand the issues for Service

children.

Schools should seek to work in partnership with parents to better support

pupil’s academic development and pastoral wellbeing.

Finally

It is important for schools to remember that although Service families are often very

good at adapting to change, some moves may prove more difficult than others.

Therefore, schools should be alert to the needs of pupils and families and offer

timely and effective support as required beyond the induction stage.


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About the Author

Joy O’Neill is a Service wife and mother, an Early Years Teacher, University

Lecturer, Doctoral Student and a National Governance Leader.

Joy has worked to support Service children and their families for over 19 years in the

UK and Overseas. Concerned by the increasing issues for Service Children she

founded the Service Children Support Network which works with professionals and

members of the military to support Service Children. Her first book ‘Service Children:

a guide for education and welfare professionals’ was published in August 2011.

http://www.raf-ff.org.uk/

joy o'neill 2012 report based on m sc research

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