Secondary schools should create separate “mini-schools” on their campuses to prevent newly arrived 11-year-olds from being overwhelmed and intimidated by the sheer size of the place.

The recommendation, published to-day by the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust, coincides with the start of the school year this week and follows government research suggesting that a sixth of pupils do not feel ready to start secondary school.

The transition from primary to secondary schools is notoriously difficult and is one reason why pupils can appear to struggle to progress in their first years of secondary education.

Key Stage 3 results for 14-year-olds routinely show one in ten pupils failing to progress in reading and writing in the first three years after leaving primary school, and some even regress.

David Crossley, the director of achievement networks at the trust, said the trust wanted schools to think about how they could ease the transition. “Moving from a small primary school to a large secondary can be a daunting process for children, with social integration often a more important concern for students initially than academic achievement. Happiness, wellbeing and achievement are all vital for a successful student.”

Efforts by schools to help children to feel that they belonged could ease the feeling of being overwhelmed at a large establishment. Mr Crossley cited Mossbourne Community Academy in Hackney, where Year 7 pupils have their own dedicated mini-school.

Sir Michael Wilshaw, the school principal, said the concept meant that Year 7 pupils did not have to move around as often as other year groups and staff could focus on their needs. “This provides much needed stability at a time when many pupils see their learning suffer.”

The trust also suggests that schools provide a mentoring or buddy system, where a pupil coming from primary school is paired with an older pupil.

School heads should also liaise with feeder primary schools early on to identify children who are likely to need extra support and primary pupils should visit secondary schools several times before transferring. Mr Crossley said that creating more all-through schools, which took pupils aged 5-16 years, could also ease the transition.

Case study

Samworth Enterprise Academy, Leicester, is a school for children aged 3 to 16. It is structured in three phases: the first is for nursery-aged pupils up to Year 4; phase two covers Years 5 to 8; and phase three is for Years 9 to 11. Pupils have specialist Spanish, music, art and PE lessons from Year 1.

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