Transition is both an exciting and challenging time for pupils, whether that be to a new year group or new school. Preparing children for the change that is coming is important, as is getting to know your new class ahead of them starting with you in September.

We've put together a range of activities to help pupils get ready for the next year. Our new school year collection of resources contains a range of writing projects, paint projects and activities that all pupils can use, but you might want to choose activities based on the age of the pupils:

Transition to (and within) KS1

• Moving to Year 1 - Children can record themselves speaking or type to create an 'All About Me' fact file for their new teacher.
• My Face - Pupils can draw their face - these are great to use as a display or for peg labels!
• My Family - Children might want to create a picture of their family to show their new teacher.
• Me and My Avatar - Now children will be moving from Mini Mash to Purple Mash, they may want to choose their Avatar and then write a few sentences about it.

Transition to (and within) KS2

• Moving to KS2 - Students can compare what will change from their current year group to their new year group.
• Moving to Year 3 - Children can share their ideas of their memories, hopes and what will change when they move into KS2.
• Reflection and Goals - Students, particularly those in the UKS2, can reflect on their achievements and what they would like their goals to be for their new school year.
• Class Rules - If you're spending time with your new class, you could create a set of rules to be revisited in September.

Transition to Secondary

We have put together a series of activities to help pupils get prepared for the move to Secondary School.  Each activity in our new topic pack Transition to Secondary gives pupils the space to gather their thoughts and write them down. We recommend that they save each activity and come back to it regularly, taking time to reflect on what they have written and where possible share with friends and family.

In addition to these resources, we're also giving teachers a free downloadable pack of transition resources aimed at Year 6 pupils. The pack uses resources from Dot Com Digital and covers the following topics:

• Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking
• Knife Crime
• Online Safety

The topics included cover a range of emerging threats and safety situations. The sessions in this pack are a sample of what is available in the free version of Dot Com Digital. They contain teacher guidance, resources, aims and success criteria for each session.

There is also a guidance document for teachers that detail all the activities available. You can also watch our webinar which looks at how the transition to Secondary School can be more supported with Purple Mash.

We hope that these activities help your pupils get ready for next year ahead and we would love to see any of the work that you complete. You can share on Twitter @2SimpleSoftware or @PurpleMash, or on Facebook @2SimpleUK.