At Parkhall Integrated College we understand that the transition from primary school to a post-primary school can be both an exciting and challenging time for students and their parents/guardians. That is why we are committed to making this journey as smooth as possible. We believe that making our process clear and simple is a useful tool to alleviate some of that stress and anxiety.
We offer a programme of transition opportunities throughout the academic year.
Transition begins from the moment students and parents/guardians attend our annual open evening event which usually occurs in January. This is an opportunity for students and their parents/guardians to meet our staff, tour the facilities and to hear testimonies from some of our current students. Information about opening evenings will be sent via primary schools as well as our social media platforms. We would encourage any perspective student to attend. In January, our admission criteria is published through the Education Authority and our prospectus is released which you can view here.
School allocations are confirmed by the Education Authority. This is usually done in May and information is sent out to parents/guardians via e-mail.
At this stage, parents/guardians will also be sent a questionnaire from us to complete. This gives us vital information, so we really do appreciate parents/guardians completing this.
At the same time, our transition team also go out to local primary schools to visit teachers to gain additional information.
At the start of June we host a parent/guardian information evening for the families of new students.
Then in early June students will attend the school to complete the CAT4 tests. There is no need to worry about these tests. Further information can be found here.
There will also be an additional visit and support for targeted students such as students with special educational needs or disabilities. Often these visits are coordinated by our SENCO.
After the summer holidays, new year 8 students will begin their first days at Parkhall Integrated College. Start dates for individual year groups will be e-mailed to parents/guardians.
For these induction days, year 8 students are the only students in the school and this helps to support their transition. During this time, year 8 students will meet their new classes, meet their registration teacher and receive their timetable. Year 8 students will follow an induction programme with the key focus on learning about the school’s vision and values and building positive relationships with their peers and registration teacher. Information about the induction programme will be shared during the parent/guardian information evening in June. During the induction programme, year 8 students will be supported by our Senior Prefect team.
As soon as students have started the school year, year 8 students shall be further supported to settle into post-primary school life through their registration teachers, their year 8 Heads of Year and their Head of Key Stage 3, Mr Roberts. These key staff will also work with other teams of people within school to ensure that all students are cared for and progressing in their learning.
In the meantime, if you do have any further questions about our transition programme, please contact us using the email address info@parkhallintegratedcollege.antrim.ni.sch.uk and our dedicated transition team will be in touch.
