At Summercroft we view each year group as a whole cohort and do not believe they should be viewed as two individual classes as they progress through the school. Therefore the classes are mixed every year. There are a number of reasons for this which support your child’s development:

• To promote social development: Children benefit from building friendships with a wider group of peers. Mixing classes helps prevent social cliques and encourages inclusion, empathy, and teamwork.
• To foster adaptability: Learning to work with different peers helps children develop flexibility and resilience — valuable life skills for the future and in line with Summercroft Learning Powers.
• To create a fresh start: A new group of classmates can re-energise children and offer a renewed sense of excitement and curiosity for the year ahead.
• To manage class dynamics: Class sizes naturally shift due to families joining or leaving the school. Reorganising allows us to maintain balanced classes with an even distribution of needs. This helps teachers plan more effectively and support all students.

Using their professional judgement our staff take great care and thought in creating new class lists and are afforded dedicated time outside of lesson time to make these judgements. We consider many factors to ensure the classes are well-balanced and conducive to effective learning environments, including:

• Attainment
• Gender
• SEND including EHCPs and STAR plans
• EAL
• Pupil Premium
• SEMH / Behavioural needs
• Prior knowledge on positive / negative peer relationships
• Additional LSA support and how this can have greatest impact

The cohort will benefit from classes working together throughout the year and all children have the opportunity to mix with close friends daily during break and lunchtimes.

We provide transition for all children in the summer term prior to starting in their new class. This includes a move-up morning with their new teacher and class, opportunities to visit their new classroom, and transition booklets emailed to parents for the children to access during the summer. Some children will have additional transitional support based on individual need.