University of Manchester & LETS Go UK research project

University of Manchester & LETS Go UK research project: Understanding primary-secondary school transition for pupils with Down syndrome in mainstream schools in England

Participants required: 

• We are looking for 6 pupils who will be transitioning to Y7 over summer 2023.
• Pupils must be in, and transitioning into, mainstream education.
• One parent/guardian and one educator from the pupil's primary and secondary school must be willing to take part in online interviews.

This research aims to understand the experiences of pupils with Down Syndrome, as well as their parents and teachers, over the period of transitioning from primary to secondary school. This period is of major importance to children, and teachers/support staff hold significant influence over the success of a child’s transition.

There is an abundance of school transition research, identifying parental and pupil experiences, as well as the importance of correspondence between key stakeholders, which currently informs transition support programmes. 

While previous research describes the importance of teacher support across this period for SEN children, there is little which depicts, from the teacher’s perspective, how they supported pupils, as well as what support was given to teachers themselves. 

There is also little previous research which explicitly focuses on pupils with Down Syndrome, and even less which recognises the importance of directly understanding the pupil’s experiences, alongside that of parents and teachers. 

Therefore, in this research project we aim to understand all these perspectives surrounding the transition process. 

If you have any questions or would like to take part, please contact the researchers Kelly Burgoyne: kelly.burgoyne@manchester.ac.uk or Charlotte Bagnall: charlotte.bagnall@manchester.ac.uk

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