Dear Colleagues, 

It’s that time of year again when we turn our attention to children who will be moving on to school in September. Families will receive their offers of a school place on 16^th April and over the coming weeks we will be planning and preparing for this milestone in children’s lives. Bristol Early Years requests that all providers and schools use the following guidance and find the attached documentation to support Transition to school for 2024, which can also be found on the Bristol EY website. 

Universal Transition Record (UTR)

The UTR has been updated this year to be more celebratory and inclusive, aligning it with the Bristol Progress Check at Age Two. It also now includes an opportunity to share any WellComm assessments, any strategies, adjustments or adaptations to provision and pedagogy that support the child, and whether any further support is required for toileting. This aims to help teachers plan more effectively for a supportive transition for children and families.

Positive Transitions in the Early Years 

Settings and schools are encouraged to read and share the Positive Transitions in the Early Years guidance . This guidance document includes a useful audit tool to support the development of processes, provision and actions for transition for all children, and children who may need an enhanced transition process. 

For All Nursery Settings 

• All early years providers with three- and four-year-olds transitioning to a primary school in September 2024, including nursery classes in schools, are requested to complete a Universal Transfer Record (UTR) for each child moving on to school.  
• For children with SEND and other vulnerabilities please download and complete a transfer pack and associated documentation and follow the guidance for the Summer term in the Positive Transitions guidance. 
• UTRs should be shared with the receiving teacher/s by password protected email or by hand, by 14^th June, or at your area Network transition meeting (which might be slightly later) to give enough time for reception teachers to plan for settling in and any additional conversations with you that might be needed. The 2024 UTR and documents to support transition are available to download on the ‘EYFS Transitions’ page of the Bristol Early Years website  and are attached to this email also.
• Updated guidance to help practitioners complete the UTRs has and completed examples for reference are available to download on the Bristol EY website. Other associated documents available on the website include the instructions for password protecting UTRs, a letter for Parent/Carers and a GDPR Privacy Notice, together with the additional documents for transition of children with SEND and other vulnerable children. 

For Reception Classes

• Reception teachers are asked to read UTRs carefully as they contain key information to inform planning for transition in ordinarily available provision and to help identify children and families that you may need more information about, including any families that you may need to contact to provide support for toilet training with the nursery.
• Teachers are encouraged to contact the nursery setting for further conversations where indicated.

CPD to support settings and schools with Transition 

There are also a number of fantastic Network CPD opportunities to support schools and settings  with transition

Please contact your lead teacher with any transition queries.

Bristol Early Years