Improving School Transitions for Children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities: STEPS Final Project Report

Executive SummaryBackgroundThe Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) system in UK schools faces long-established systemic pressures: inconsistent approaches to inclusion, significant underfunding, a breakdown of trust between families and institutions, and significant attainment gaps for children with SEND. At the same time, demand for Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) has risen sharply without increases in local authority budgets, thus, diverting resources away from inclusive mainstream classroom support.Autistic children are particularly affected by these systemic factors with less than half reporting being happy at school and around 31% persistently absent according to recent surveys. The transition from primary to secondary school is a particularly high-risk period during which the increased scale, complexity, and expectations of secondary environments can overwhelm neurodivergent pupils.The STEPS project (School Transition Experiences for Pupils with SEND) was designed to investigate this school transition in depth, with particular focus on autistic and multiply-neurodivergent young people in mainstream education. The project adopted a bioecological framework, collecting longitudinal, multi-stakeholder data across three inter-related work packages.Work Package 1: Longitudinal survey studyA two-wave national survey was conducted with 88 parents/carers of children with SEND (Wave 1, final year of primary) and 62 of the same respondents nine months later (Wave 2, second half of first year of secondary). Parents/carers were drawn from across the UK; 84% of children were identified as autistic, 51% as ADHD, 27% had a specific learning difference and most had multiple co-occurring neurodevelopmental differences. Approximately one-third had an EHCP or equivalent. At each wave, respondents completed a set of measures on their children’s profiles, school settings, and transition experiences, supplemented by open-text boxes to allow more detailed responses.Key findings:· Families prioritised nurture, inclusion, and SEND provision more than academic reputation when selecting secondary schools.· Approximately 35% of parents/carers anticipated their child would not settle well at secondary, with social integration with peers the primary concern.· Parents/carers who rated their children to have more emotional difficulties (e.g., anxiety, low mood) and demand avoidant profiles were more concerned about how their child would manage the transition to secondary school.· At Wave 2, on average parents/carers perceived transition outcomes more positively than they had predicted nine months earlier. However, there was substantial variation, with some reporting that their children had experienced very difficult transitions.· Children with emotional difficulties, demand avoidant profiles and/or hyperactivity were at increased risk of poor transitions.· Average school attendance across the sample was approximately 82% at both waves but the proportion of children with current or previous attendance difficulties rose from 66% (Year 6) to 74% (Year 7).· Parents/carers associated positive transitions with strong home-school communication, additional opportunities for children to familiarise with the secondary environment before starting, and children having a named individual member of staff, typically Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCos) or year leads, to talk to. Work Package 2: Longitudinal qualitative study with neurodivergent young peopleThirteen autistic and multiply-neurodivergent young people from mainstream primary schools were recruited in Year 6 and followed to the end of Year 8 of mainstream secondary (five data collection points over two years; 63 interviews with young people and 37 with parents). Personalised, creative methods, including draw-write-tell, photo-elicitation, comic strips, walk-and-talk, body mapping, and card sorts, were used to support inclusive participation across diverse profiles.Key findings:· A 'Year 7 honeymoon' period was often followed by increasing difficulties from mid-Year 7 and into Year 8, linked to the withdrawal of initial transition supports.· Transition is an extended process: many young people were still getting used to secondary school by the end of Year 8.· Young people experienced significant emotional burden from cumulative stressors including time pressure and processing demands; unexpected changes to timetables and routines; sensory overload; complex social interactions, bullying, and the use of 'autistic' as an insult; variable teacher understanding of neurodivergence; and punitive behaviour management systems.· Masking was common and young people expended considerable effort appearing to cope during the school day, making distress visible only at home. This meant that many 'flew under the radar' and received support only when a crisis emerged.· Friendships with neurodivergent peers, especially in ‘safe’ spaces like inclusion bases, were experienced as meaningful and protective.· Reactive support, where intervention was only available only once problems escalated, was a recurring frustration for both young people and parents.· Anticipatory, collaborative, and preventative strategies were identified as essential. Work Package 3: Co-produced resources and trainingThree animations were co-produced directly with young people, drawing on their own words to illustrate school transition experiences, what helps, and what Year 7 feels like. A freely available toolkit was published, including the animations, transition activities (card sorts, body mapping, comic strip formats), and supporting materials.Pilot training workshops were delivered with professionals across North Yorkshire, including SENCos, teachers, educational psychologists, and safeguarding leads, and work is underway to embed STEPS training within City of York Council's ongoing SEND continuing professional development offer. Conclusion and recommendationsPrimary-to-secondary transition is a vulnerable period for pupils with SEND, including neurodivergent children and young people. While some thrive, others experience marked and escalating difficulties through Year 7 and 8, which can contribute to escalating mental health challenges and school attendance difficulties. Drawing on converging evidence from across the three work packages, we identify 10 practical recommendations for educational practitioners and policymakers with the aim of adopting an anticipatory approach to SEND support during this key transition.Strengthen primary-to-secondary information sharing.Extend and personalise transition preparation and support.Assign every pupil with SEND a named, consistent key contact at secondary school.Prioritise anticipatory support and preventative approaches.Facilitate conversations about feelings.Work collaboratively with parents to address problems.Engage in high-quality, ongoing neurodiversity training for all secondary school staff.Review behaviour management systems for neurodivergent pupils.Actively foster positive neurodivergent identities through peer education.Scale up access to co-produced, evidence-based transition resources.