Design and implementation of #Talking about School Transitions 5-7; a longitudinal skills-based primary-secondary...

Primary-secondary school transitions are emotionally demanding, critical periods for two-thirds of children, who report stress and anxiety up to 2 years before and after starting secondary school. Maladjustment is associated with poor attainment, attendance and mental health difficulties, especially for more disadvantaged groups. Thus, from a public health perspective, timely support is crucial, which is recognised in policy, practice and research. However, significant limitations pervade all three sectors, with primary-secondary school transition consistently noted as "a period not handled well" (March, p. 65), and interventions "do not give enough importance to improving emotional wellbeing and how schools might be supported in this role". Existing interventions are limited in focus, often targeting social adjustment and academic attainment rather than emotional wellbeing; reach, with few programmes spanning three school years; sustainability, due to minimal stakeholder involvement; and rigorous evaluation. The present paper aims to address these limitations, by presenting the theory, empirical research, and methodological decisions, informing the design and implementation of #TaST 5-7: the first emotional-centered, skills-based intervention, delivered contiguously across Year 5, 6 and 7. This research makes a unique methodological contribution through presenting a worked-example of integrative co-production and rigorous component analysis. It advances empirical understanding of how to best support children's emotional wellbeing in the context of primary-secondary transitions through a theoretically grounded intervention structure, builds practitioner capacity for evidence-informed support by presenting an outline of the #TaST 5-7 lessons and offers a replicable model for future intervention design, implementation, and evaluation.