Transitions
Transitional Offer at Lighthouse School, Leeds
Purpose
Lighthouse School, Leeds is committed to offering transitional support to all students who attend our setting, in order to help them feel supported, safe and allow them to adjust to our specialist educational offer. We understand that transitional support is particularly important for Autistic students, who often require extra preparation, structure and consistency during periods of change.
Our transitional process is designed to help students move from one phase of life/education into another, and outlines the support available to students when joining Lighthouse School, Leeds.
Aims
- To promote smooth transition – reducing anxiety by preparing students with regular contact and visits, and gradually introducing changes to routines/expectations and environment.
- To support individual needs – considering social, emotional, sensory and communication needs, and how they impact on access to education.
- To ensure continuity of support – planning for any therapies or interventions to continue, and sharing/implementing any relevant support strategies and documentation.
- To set realistic goals – regularly monitoring progress based on previous educational access/experience, parental/staff feedback and student voice.
- To improve engagement and access to learning – individualised assessments and groupings based on academic ability, with appropriate support strategies identified in order to break down barriers to learning and maximise student outcomes.
- To promote trusted relationships – focus on building rapport with families, staff and students in school, supported by members of the transition team.
The transition process is overseen by the Transitions Coordinator and dedicated transitions team within school, and involves multiple aspects including academic, social and emotional support for students as well as continued communication with professionals and families;
- Contact with home/school – one of the first stages in the transition process is for contact to be made with families and previous settings in order to gather relevant information to support individual student needs.
- Transition booklet – created and shared with student and families which details useful visuals and relevant support regarding the transition process, and allows students to identify any specific questions/worries/areas of concern before starting.
- School visits/Tour of school - student and families will be invited in to meet members of the key team involved in transition process in order to build rapport and create relationships, and to allow familiarity in new environment. Transition tutors will be identified as key workers throughout the process, as well as introductions made to other key members of the school team (SENCo/Head of Lower/Upper School).
- Baseline assessments – student will attend further sessions on site with key members of the SaLT and Core Curriculum team in order to assess progress and place student in correct teaching group based on academic ability and social/communication needs, and will be invited to attend a number of transition days.
- Key documentation – relevant student information identified and kept up to date. Documents such ‘one-page profile’ will be completed as part of the transition process, and any other documents such as IHP/IPRA will be updated/reviewed based on individual student need.
- Multi-team approach – school-wide staff kept informed and involved throughout the process, and opportunity for families to have more detailed contact with other relevant staff in school, e.g access to Family Liaison team, Medical team, Wellbeing team, or additional support from SaLT team.
New parents event - Tuesday 24th March 2026
Click below to see the slides from this event.
The transition information for students starting in September 2026 is below: