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Big school, small screen report

Transition to secondary school

This report provides insight into the online pressures children feel as they make the transition from primary school to secondary or senior school.

Image of a young girl on a smartphone.

What’s on the page

What’s in this report?

With the move to secondary school marking such a crucial point in children’s lives, this report explores the concerns over pressures children face online as they make the big switch and gain more independence on and offline.

It highlights the need for parents to get more support to give children and young people the tools they need to navigate their online world safely and smartly with the right coping strategies to overcome these growing online pressures.

Read the full report

Read the full report or summary below to gain insight into the pressure points for children transitioning from primary to secondary school.

Giving children their first smartphone increases the number of concerns in parents. Along with many other challenges that come with going into a new school and having new responsibilities, children now have to rapidly develop ways to manage friendship groups online.

Parents with a child in the first year of secondary school say that they would have benefited from having more information provided to them by their child’s school that they left.

Useful information includes age-appropriate apps and guidance around mobile phones.

“Parents tell us not enough primary schools are providing meaningful information and advice that addresses parents’ concerns about internet safety for when their child starts secondary school. Only 40% of parents with children moving schools have received any information from the primary school about online safety.”

Supporting resources

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