Transition Planning

Entry to School

The ministry has prepared Planning Entry to School – A Resource Guide (2005) to assist school boards in providing a smooth transition into school. For children with special needs, entry to school is more complex and requires careful planning and coordination. An entry-to-school plan should provide adequate time for children and parents to learn and practise the skills and routines that will facilitate a smooth move from preschool to school.

The goal of planning for entry to school is to help children adjust quickly to the school setting, enjoy learning and develop a positive attitude towards education. A good start to school improves a child's chances of success from school entry to graduation.

Helping Students with Special Needs Prepare for the Future

As part of the Individual Education Plan, a plan for the student's transition from secondary school to a postsecondary setting must be developed with input from the student, parent(s)/guardian(s), the principal, school staff, community agencies, and postsecondary institutions, as appropriate. The plan should reflect the student's needs and goals for his or her future consistent with the IEP Standards. The transition plan must include the following elements:

• specific goals for the student's transition to postsecondary activities. The goals must be realistic and must reflect the strengths, needs and interests of the students;
• the actions required, now and in the future, to achieve the stated goals. The actions identified must build on the student's identified strengths, needs, and interests;
• the person or agency (the student, parents, educators, providers of specialized support and services, community agencies) responsible for or involved in completing or providing assistance in the completion of each of the identified actions;
• timelines for the implementation of each of the identified actions.

For further information about developing transition plans, please see Transition Planning: A Resource Guide, 2002. While transition plans do not have to be developed for exceptional pupils under the age of fourteen or for exceptional pupils who are identified as exceptional solely on the basis of giftedness, boards may still develop transition plans for such students at their own discretion.