Transition

The process of transferring to a secondary academy can be daunting, but here at De Lacy Academy we do our best to ensure your child is already comfortable and familiar with the academy long before their official education here begins. During Years 5 and 6 a number of different enrichment activities are offered to all our feeder primaries for students to take part in, these range from sporting competitions, Bake Offs, clay modelling and CSI workshops.  There are also other one off events where younger students visit the academy, this is mostly for sports related activities but also when we are able to offer specific curriculum support to the primaries, e.g. French workshops.

Once students have been offered a place at this academy, staff from De Lacy begin liaising with primary staff so that we are well informed about each child who will be starting in September. The information shared is vital as it is not only about your child’s academic progress, but also their social and emotional strengths and areas to develop and any special educational needs that they may have. Consequently, by the time September arrives, with the help of the children’s primary teachers, the Student Support Officer for Year 7-9, the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo) and the Assistant Principal for Inclusion will already have a clear picture of each child about to join the academy. In addition, De Lacy requires all students who will be transferring to their school in September to complete Cognitive Ability Tests (CATS), these tests, combined with SATs results and primary teaching assessments, provide a very good picture of your child’s educational strengths and abilities and therefore enables us to ensure they are placed within the correct academic set when they start school.

All students who will be joining us in September will make a number of visits during June and July of Year 6. The purpose of this is twofold. Firstly, it gives students the opportunity to further familiarise themselves with the site and with the staff who will be working closely with them. This is done through students participating in fun related activities with members of teaching staff. Secondly it enables key staff at De Lacy to introduce themselves to the students and answer any questions they may have.

Every year we develop and improve upon our transition process, based on feedback from students and parents so that we can continue to be confident that students receive the best experience when moving to secondary education. For further information on areas such as uniform, timings of the school day etc, please see the Parent Handbook, or other related pages on this website. If you require any additional information please do not hesitate to contact the academy and ask to speak to the Year 7 Student Support Officer, Mrs H Watts.

We want all new students and parents coming to De Lacy Academy to feel excited and comfortable when they arrive here. This page will be updated with photographs, videos, tips and advice to help you through the journey. Our aim is to ensure that every student entering our academy in year 7 is confident, happy and excited for this new phase in their life.