Pyrlands

Is your child moving up to secondary school in September?

Wish you could make it less daunting for them?

You can, with The Big Step

Moving up from primary to secondary school can be one of the biggest changes in a child’s life.

Even for confident kids it’s stressful and anxiety-inducing. Those feelings can build up once the reality of leaving primary school hits home. It’s that transition which requires some careful planning and attention.

The Big Step is a bespoke summer programme designed to empower children heading into Year 7, so they arrive at school in September feeling confident, excited, and ready for their next adventure.

Book your child's place

Our Ofsted registered programme will enable your child to:

Activities

Students experience thrilling sports, orienteering challenges as well as arts, crafts and problem-solving activities

Learn more about our activities

It’s an opportunity for them to test the water before they jump in.

Our programme is designed for everyone including children with special needs. If you have a child who needs additional support, you can talk to us before the programme starts about strategies that will help them while they’re with us.

It’s an opportunity for them to test the water before they jump in.

Select your school

Pyrland School

Sessions

1-Day

3-Day

5-day

Year 6-7 summer transition

5-day programme

Dates

12-16 AUGUST 2024

Hours

8:50AM - 3:20PM

Cost

£120

Pyrland School
Cheddon Road
Taunton, Somerset TA2 7QP
United Kingdom

Payment Plans available

Want to pay in installments? No problem.

What parents say...

“I’m so glad she has gone from scared witless and tears to excitement about starting a new school. I am forever grateful. Thanks again Dan. You guys are awesome. P.S. It was totally 100% worth the money.”

"Such a genius way of integrating Year 7 children into the school. Good size groups, my daughter made 5 new friends immediately."

This was the best decision I made this year. Evie knew nobody and this helped her make friends and lose her anxieties at starting big school on her own, so thank you so much 🙂

"It was worth its weight in gold and I am truly thankful to you guys. Honestly - it was fantastic! My son had such a great time, made lots of new friends, and looked forward to going every day!"

Book now for this summer.

Give your child a head start in September

Research from the Education Endowment Foundation has shown that students attending a transition programme can make, on average, two months’ additional progress, compared with students who don’t attend a programme.

Other studies have shown that academic performance often declines in the months leading up to the transition to secondary school, sometimes significantly, in the case of disadvantaged students. The Big Step helps counteract this decline and gives them a much-needed boost at the beginning of Year 7 – a time when they can otherwise feel inadequate and vulnerable.

Kids learn best when they’re having fun

More than just a holiday club, our programme gets children learning new skills while having fun. From sports and arts & crafts, to cookery and team building games, each child’s natural curiosity is nurtured through interactive, stimulating and challenging activities.

Our dedicated, inspiring teachers will identify the needs of each student, and work with them to maintain their numeracy and literacy so knowledge and key skills aren’t forgotten over those long summer months. Students are given a Passport to Success so they can track their progress throughout the week. We also send a report on each child to Year 7 tutors, giving them an insight into their new students before the school year begins.

Help them make The Big Step smaller

Their moving up journey starts here

95% FEEL MORE PREPARED

In a recent survey, 95% of students said The Big Step helped them prepare for starting secondary school in September.

Priced with affordability in mind

Option to pay in installments or with childcare vouchers.

We’ve carefully reviewed the cost of childcare in your local area and tried to reflect those rates as closely as possible. We want The Big Step to be accessible to everyone. You can either pay in full, in installments, with childcare vouchers or via a private childcare scheme. Your school may also offer a discount. Please get in touch with us for more details.

Details

Get in touch

Get a head start, with discounts, vouchers, and payment plans

For payment plans, school discounts, or to pay with the government childcare voucher scheme.

Get in touch

What students say...

"I loved The Big Step and had so much fun. I made lots of new friends and it has made me much more positive."

"It’s extremely fun. If you have the opportunity to do it, take it. I really enjoyed it and if I could do it all over again, I would!!"

"I really enjoyed ‘The Big Step’. I loved their activities, everyone was nice and I would definitely recommend it. Don’t change a thing."

"I think this was one of the greatest experiences of my life, it was amazing!"

Make the Year 7 intake smoother for students and staff

It’s not only students that benefit from The Big Step.
Our programme enables teachers and support staff to
gain valuable insight into your new students’ academic
and pastoral needs.

We’ll work closely with you adapting our programme to suit the needs of the school. And it doesn’t involve lots of extra work for your time-pushed team. We strive to make this an effortless experience for your school.

We take all the organisation off your hands

During the planning phase, our team will manage the timetable, marketing, bookings, groupings and parent enquiries so you can carry on with the usual day-to-day running of your school.

Our programme is carefully planned with you to:

Build new student confidence and prepare them for Year 7 learning
Give students an understanding of your school’s culture and policies
Provide teaching staff an analysis of behaviour, safeguarding insights and potential intervention strategies for each student
Produce higher levels of attendance and engagement for the autumn term and beyond
Enable KS4 students to be involved via peer mentorship

Discover more about our impact on schools

What schools say...

"I’d just like to say thank you so much for the summer school. I knew it was going to be good, but just not this good. The staff were absolutely outstanding, and the children were amazing due to the tight and well-planned programme and excellent leadership of the staff. I can’t thank you enough."

"I just wanted to say a big thank you to you and your team for providing our students with an amazing start to West Exe School. It’s been a really positive week and the students have thoroughly enjoyed it and benefited from it. Your team have been great, and I can’t speak more highly of them and their work commitment and leadership."

"Education South West schools have been working with ‘The Big Step’ since its inception and continue to do so, a testament in itself. The fact that it is so easy to use, has professional staff who want to work with young people and the programme can be made bespoke to the individual needs of each of our schools means that the impact on children and transition has been positive."

"SEND pupils at Teign School have benefited hugely from being part of ‘The Big Step.’ They talk of having greater confidence and being more settled about starting school. Parents have commented that their children have had smoother transitions to secondary school based on the work that ‘The Big Step’ project has done."