We know moving from the Infants to Juniors can be a really scary time. Some children will be excited to start at a new school, while others will be nervous. We hope that by the time your child starts with us in September, they will be excited about coming to Town End.
We aim to develop independence and resilience as the children move to us. the children will be in a mixed age class of year 3 and 4 children at Town End – this is due to the number of children we have in our school. Learning is carefully planned and differentiated to ensure that it matches your child’s stage of development.
During their time at the Infant School, children have will have lots of opportunities to come and see what it is like at Town End. We hold a Federation Christmas Fayre and have open evenings each year for children to attend. We also hold Coffee Mornings for parents to come along to as well. Members of staff from Town also regularly visit the Infant School – Mr Weston (our Head of School) visits every two weeks to meet with the Senior Leadership Team and also has regular meetings with the Infant SENCo to ensure that both schools work together and have a smooth transition plan in place.
In September and October, we hold Open Evenings and opportunities for parents to come and visit Town End. This is so parents and children can ask questions about how we work. Parents then apply for a place at Town End through the Derbyshire County Council Admissions website. Parents are then informed of their places in April and we send out welcome information with key information and dates.
From the Summer Term, teachers from the Junior School will start to meet with Year 2 teachers and infant Staff. They will find out the kinds of things your child enjoys and will find out how to help the children learn best. Mr Weston (our Head of School and SENCo0 will also meet with Mrs Ashall at the Infants to discuss any additional needs your child may have, as well as any adjustments we may need to make in school. We will also organise meetings with families to discuss transition plans as needed.
The teachers from Town End will come and see the children at the Infants, so they can get to know them.
Mr Weston and Mrs Hodson will come and visit so the children can get to know them. They do this so when your child starts at Town End, they have some faces that they will know and can go to if they have any worries.
The most exciting part is that your child will come and spend some time with us before the end of the year with their new class and teacher. They will get to see what the lessons are like, try a school dinner and go onto the playground. We also organise extra visits to school if children are worried or anxious, and provide activities to support them with this.
During Transition Week, the children have the opportunity to meet their new teacher and other adults in their class. They are given a Transition Book and a Welcome Pack with lots of pictures and information in. We also hold a meet the teacher and parent welcome session at Town End, where you can come and visit us and ask any questions you have.
If your child does not attend Tibshelf Infant and Nursery School, we will ensure we make contact with your child’s current school. We will speak to their current teacher and any relevant staff. We will also organise to come to your child’s school to meet them and get to know them. We will also offer extra visits to support them.
If you have any worries at all, please do contact us and we will try to help as much as we can. You can also speak to the staff at the Infant School too, as many of them work across both schools!
Below are the Welcome Packs and current Transition Books for our new starters in September 2026.