How can primary schools reduce pupil anxiety across the transition to secondary school?

At 11 years of age children in the UK experience a particularly anxiety-provoking event in their lives: the transition from primary to secondary school.

For most children their experiences of anxiety are short-lived. However, some experience persistent difficulties which, if unaddressed, may have negative long-term consequences.

Therefore, the current thesis sought to identify methods by which practitioners can support children to reduce their anxiety during this time.

A systematic review investigated the features of school-based therapeutic interventions associated with a reduction in anxiety amongst children aged 7-14 years.

Findings from 16 studies indicated that universal interventions based on a CBT model can be delivered effectively by school-staff, although effects may not emerge until some months later.

The implications of these finding are explored with reference to study limitations.

The empirical paper adopted a mixed-methods approach to explore ways in which primary schools can work preventatively to reduce children's anxiety before secondary transition.

The quantitative aspect used multiple regression analysis to determine the extent to which existing strategies, grouped into cognitive, behavioural and systemic approaches, predicted a reduction in anxiety amongst 529 typically developing children and 89 children with SEN.

Systemic strategies predicted a reduction in school anxiety amongst typically developing children, whilst no type of approach predicted changes for those with SEN.

The qualitative phase extended these findings by using thematic analysis to consider the methods of support favoured by 6 children with ASD, a particularly anxious subgroup of children with SEN.

A range of commonalities were highlighted, although it remained important that children received individualised support tailored to their specific needs.

These findings are discussed with reference to relevant literature, limitations of the study and avenues for future research.