Transition Glow Groups in Angus schools
Overview
Every Angus secondary has this year established a Glow Group to support P7 pupils during transition. This cookbook describes the experience of one school – Arbroath High – in creating and launching their Transition Glow Group.
Context
Establishing the Glow Group
During 2008-09 Webster’s High School in Kirriemuir ran a very successful transition Glow Group. Their aim was to provide P7 pupils in the small rural associate primaries an early insight into the process of moving to secondary school. One highly popular feature of the Glow Group was an ‘Agony Aunt and Uncle’ discussion board, which allowed pupils to ask questions about common concerns such as homework, bullying and getting lost.
Following this success at Webster’s, the team of Glow trainers in Angus felt that this approach to supporting transition might be of interest to the other secondary schools in the authority. During the autumn of 2009 they approached the Transition Teacher in each secondary school to discuss the potential for establishing a Transition Glow Group.
School motto. Click to enlarge.
At Arbroath HS, the idea was warmly received by Transition teacher, Amanda Martin, and Glow co-ordinator, Sarah Warden. Together with Glow Trainer, Gordon Wilson, they outlined a plan for the creation and development of the Glow Group, but quickly recognised that the people best placed to determine the most appropriate content would be other pupils who had recently experienced transition. Volunteers were sought amongst the first years and a steering group of five pupils was established. Three senior pupils in S5 and 6 were also recruited to support the first years.
The steering group brainstormed ideas of the content they felt would be important to include in the Glow Group. This produced a flood of suggestions which was then sorted to decide which were the priorities and which could realistically be achieved! Priorities included an ‘Ask us a question’ discussion board, an interactive map of the school, information about subjects, interviews with key members of staff and advice about homework and planners.
School planners. Click to enlarge.
The steering group then set about gathering information, writing text, interviewing staff and taking photos. Sarah and Amanda were impressed with the maturity and confidence of the first years in seeking out and interviewing staff, and the commitment they showed in working during lunchtime sessions.
The first years were then in a position to begin uploading material to Glow. The Glow Group had been created for them on the Angus Council site, so that everyone involved – in the primary schools as well as at Arbroath High – would be able to see the Group listed on their ‘My Glow Groups’ page. The pupils were then given Web Designer permissions to the Glow Group so that they were able to design the layout of pages, upload photos and create the text from the information they’d gathered.
* Amanda Martin and Sarah Warden discuss the creation of the Transition Glow Group
* S1 pupils give us a tour of the Transition Glow Group
At this stage, Sarah and Amanda as Administrators of the Glow Group created the ‘Ask us a question’ discussion board. The board was configured to be moderated, so that messages require approval before being displayed. This ensures that any particularly sensitive question can be discussed with a pupil individually, rather than an answer being displayed on the board for all to see.
Launching the Glow Group
The Transition Glow Group has been under development since the beginning of March and the P7 pupils have had access to it throughout this time. However, an official launch took place at the high school on May 5th. Two P7 pupils and a teacher from each associate primary school were invited to attend. The aim of the session was to introduce the P7 pupils to the Glow Group so that they would then be able to cascade this information to their peers back in school. A hands-on session allowed pupils to become thoroughly familiar with the Group and to experiment with asking questions on the discussion board. Primary staff and pupils enjoyed the opportunity to meet the Amanda, Sarah and the S1 pupils responsible for creating the Group.
Using the Glow Group
The Discussion Board. Click to enlarge.
The Glow Group is now being well used by P7 pupils, with questions posted on the discussion board regularly. As the board is moderated, Amanda and Sarah review all questions submitted. Once questions have been approved, the first year pupils take responsibility for answering. Their submitted responses are also checked before being displayed on the discussion board. Although this moderation process can sound onerous, Sarah and Amanda are quick to point out that they very rarely have to intervene and indeed have been surprised by the sense of responsibility of both P7 and S1 pupils and the maturity with which questions have been asked and answered.
Ingredients
To develop the Transition Glow Group, Arbroath High School required:
A Glow Group created on the Angus Council site, so that all the staff and pupils involved, in the secondary school and all the associate primary schools, can see the group in their ‘My Glow Groups’ list.
Membership permissions: all P7 pupils and staff in each associate primary were given ‘Reader with Discussions permissions’, S1 and S6 pupils in the steering group were given ‘Web Designer’ permissions and relevant staff in the high school ‘Administrator’ permissions.
Recipe
If you are interested in using a moderated discussion board, watch the video clips below to see how to configure the board and then moderate messages. Helpsheet – moderating a discussion board – GC550 also covers the same topic.
* How to enable moderation on a discussion board
* How to post messages on a moderated board
* How to approve or reject messages
* How to set up an email alert
Impact
For primary pupils concerned about moving to secondary school, the Transition Glow Group provides a sense of reassurance from other pupils who have recently been through the same process. Pupils gain an insight into the workings of the school, staff faces start to become familiar, and the discussion board debunks some of the urban myths about being a new pupil at secondary school!
For primary pupils in very small schools – where there may be only two or three P7s in total – the Glow Group provides a valuable opportunity to get to know P7s in other schools before the summer break.
* Primary staff and pupils give their feedback on the Transition Glow Group
The opportunity to be involved in the steering group has provided a welcome sense of responsibility for the S1 pupils. They have been very committed to the development of the Glow Group, giving up their time voluntarily and persevering even when things have occasionally gone pear-shaped! Their responses to questions on the discussion board have been genuine and heart-felt, and much appreciated by the P7s.
* Amanda Martin and Sarah Warden discuss the impact of the Transition Glow Group
