“They’re teaching you for the real life, I understand that... but... it’s not always the best way to teach people, by being so stern”: A Narrative Analysis, Exploring the Experiences of Primary-to-Secondary School Transition from the Perspective of Excluded Secondary School Age Pupils.

Clark, Rachael (2025) “They’re teaching you for the real life, I understand that... but... it’s not always the best way to teach people, by being so stern”: A Narrative Analysis, Exploring the Experiences of Primary-to-Secondary School Transition from the Perspective of Excluded Secondary School Age Pupils. Doctoral thesis, University of East Anglia.

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Abstract

Government data trends have consistently shown the high levels of suspensions and exclusions occurring in UK secondary schools when compared to data related to primary schools and post-16 settings. There is a large body of research attributed to primary-to-secondary school transition literature, that has explored the views of Children and Young People (CYP), parents and staff, as well as looking more widely into systems and factors relevant to CYP at the time of primary-to-secondary transition. Previous findings suggest that views mainly derive from a majority group mainstream sample, and although there is a small growing body of research dedicated to exploring pupil’s voices, past research focuses less on understanding the lived experiences of pupils that have been permanently excluded from their secondary school environment. It is therefore likely that their voices are missing when understanding the phenomenon of primary-to-secondary school transition and including their thoughts and ideas around how best to support this time of transition to secondary school.

This study was conducted with an aim to explore the voices of CYP, with a lived experience of the ‘mainstream’ primary-to-secondary school transition, alongside school exclusion. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, following a narrative design, to explore the experiences of primary-to-secondary school transition, of 3 CYP who had also experienced permanent exclusion from their mainstream secondary school (post primary-to-secondary school transition). These CYP are all from one large Local Authority within England and attended the same Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) setting. Using Narrative Analysis, a multi-interview study design took place, whereby participants were invited to complete a second interview and participate in a timeline activity to help further co-construct their ‘stories’. 2 of the 3 participants engaged in both interviews. The findings explore the unique aspects of each narrative as well as the shared themes across the 3 narratives.

Findings from these accounts were jointly interpreted within the discussion section, implying the importance of understanding Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs linked to behaviour and what these CYP considered to be supportive and unsupportive to them at an individual level. The accounts imply the impact of systemic factors, alongside a loss of relational and trauma-informed approaches in secondary schools compared with their primary and PRU experiences. Additionally, the discussion of these findings explores the potential role of multi-professional working and how Educational Psychologists could support CYP with vulnerabilities at transition. Further findings suggest there is both a role in using narrative approaches and timelines in the future, as well as attributing person-centred approaches to support CYP, in future work around primary-to-secondary school transition.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Education and Lifelong Learning
Depositing User:	Chris White
Date Deposited:	11 Nov 2025 09:31
Last Modified:	11 Nov 2025 09:31
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/100946
DOI:

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