For their Learning Away programme, the Walney partnership schools use the Critical Skills approach to tackle KS2 – 3 transition issues through the vehicle of action research; students and teachers are co-researchers, examining the quality of transition together. The schools developed a number of resources to enable young people to personalise their experiences at camp, and to subsequently use their experiences to help plan the camp for the following year’s Year 6 students. This slideshow shows the bead system in action - a co-constructed system to record children's skill development over the camp and leave them with something to remind them about what they had achieved. You can find more information, resources and tools about co-constructing residential experiences with children and young people on the Learning Away website: http://learningaway.org.uk/resources/

1. Brilliant residentials: transition beads in action
Transition beads in action
Walney Partnership: Camp Junior 2 Senior

2. Brilliant residentials: transition beads in action
First we identified
the transition skills
we’d need, in
workshops that we
ran ourselves.

3. Brilliant residentials: transition beads in action
Then we collected
beads – each one
shows a time we
showed a transition
skill.

4. Brilliant residentials: transition beads in action
The transition skills
we identified were:
• Teamwork
• Joining in
• Bravery
• Responsibility
• Confidence
• Having fun.
We also got a bead for
attending camp.

5. Brilliant residentials: transition beads in action
On camp, we
asked our teachers
to make a record
each time we
showed a transition
skill.

6. Brilliant residentials: transition beads in action
Here are some of the
things we did to improve
our skills:
Making journey
sticks

7. Brilliant residentials: transition beads in action
Here are some of the
things we did to improve
our skills:
Taking part in
teamwork activities

8. Brilliant residentials: transition beads in action
Here are some of the
things we did to improve
our skills:
Joining in when
other people
needed help

9. Brilliant residentials: transition beads in action
Here are some of the
things we did to improve
our skills:
Taking
responsibility for
the tents…

10. Brilliant residentials: transition beads in action
Here are some of the
things we did to improve
our skills:
…and the camp
areas

11. Brilliant residentials: transition beads in action
Here are some of the
things we did to improve
our skills:
Having fun – and
being a bit brave!

12. Brilliant residentials: transition beads in action
We reflected on our
learning –
together…

13. Brilliant residentials: transition beads in action
…in small groups:
inside or outside
learning, which do
you like best?

14. Brilliant residentials: transition beads in action
…and on our own.

15. Brilliant residentials: transition beads in action
Our helpers picked
out the right beads
for each person…

16. Brilliant residentials: transition beads in action
…then we
organised our
beads onto
strings.

17. Brilliant residentials: transition beads in action
Our teachers
helped us put them
on.

18. Brilliant residentials: transition beads in action
Well done!

19. Brilliant residentials: transition beads in action
I showed all of
these transition
skills during the
camp.

20. Brilliant residentials: transition beads in action
I’m going to wear
this at my new
school in
September –
memories of being
brave, joining in
and having a go
will help me feel
confident.