Helping Anxious Pupils Thrive Through Change: 10 Practical Strategies for Transition Time

As we approach the end of the academic year, many primary school pupils are preparing to move into new year groups—and for some, into entirely new schools. For many children, this time brings a mix of emotions: excitement, nervousness, and sometimes, deep anxiety.

At Classroom Secrets, we recently shared a webinar with Louise from the Happy Confident Company to offer teachers and parents powerful strategies to help children navigate this period of change with confidence. In this blog, we’re summarising key takeaways from the webinar so you can start using them right away in your classroom or at home.

1. Understand Why We Worry

Children need to know that worry is normal—and often helpful. Louise explains that the brain’s amygdala is doing its job: scanning for danger and sending out alerts to protect us. But for children, the idea of moving up a year or into a new school can trigger that same "danger" response.

Teacher tip: Talk to your class about the brain’s response system in child-friendly language. Model your own experiences of nervousness to help them relate and feel reassured.

2. Watch Out for Thinking Traps

Children often fall into "thinking traps" like:

• Fortune telling: “Year 4 is going to be awful.”

• Catastrophizing: “I won’t know anyone. I’ll be alone forever.”

• Mind reading: “The new teacher won’t like me.”

Teacher tip: Name the trap! Help children challenge unhelpful thoughts by asking:

“Do you know that’s 100% true?”

“Is this thought helping or hurting you?”

3. Talk Back to the Worry

Teach children to recognise the anxious voice and speak back to it with reason.
Phrases like:

“Hey brain, I’m okay right now.”
“This feels scary because it’s new, not because it’s dangerous.”

...can be surprisingly empowering.

4. Play Out the "What If"

When a child shares a fear like, “What if I don’t know anyone?”, resist the urge to say, “Don’t worry, that won’t happen.”

Instead, ask:

“Let’s imagine it does. What would you do?”
Help them see they can cope, even with uncomfortable situations.

5. Try the “Can Control / Can’t Control” Venn

Let children write out everything they’re worried about. Then divide it into two areas:

• Things they can’t control (e.g. who’s in their class)

• Things they can (e.g. how they introduce themselves)

This visual helps them focus on where they have power—and let go of what they don’t.

6. Use a Worry Box or Journal

Give children a place to write down worries as they come up—and a set time to revisit them. This prevents worry from hijacking every moment and teaches them they can decide when to deal with uncomfortable thoughts.

7. Hunt the Good Stuff

Anxious children often focus on negatives: what might go wrong, what they’re leaving behind. Help them balance that with the positives.

Ask:

“What are you looking forward to?”
“What might surprise you in a good way?”

Practising this builds a habit of optimistic thinking.

8. “Remember When…”

When confidence is low, remind children of times they’ve coped before:

“Remember how nervous you were before starting karate? And now you love it!”
These moments reinforce their capability.

9. Comfort Zone → Learning Zone

Use a comfort/learning/panic zone diagram to show children that feeling a little nervous is part of learning.
If we only stay where we’re comfortable, we don’t grow.

10. Use Books & Resources to Support the Message

Louise recommended fantastic books like:

• Ruby’s Worry by Tom Percival

• The Koala Who Could by Rachel Bright

• Captain Snout and the Super Power Questions by Dr. Daniel Amen

…as well as tools like feelings cards, journals, and visual guides from the Happy Confident Company.

Watch the Full Webinar

This blog just scratches the surface. In the full webinar, Louise walks through each idea with warmth, clarity, and real-life classroom insight.

 Watch the full webinar on YouTube
(Duration: 45 mins — perfect for an INSET session or quiet planning slot)

Final Thought

You don’t need to use all ten ideas right away. Start with one or two that resonate—and build from there. Even small shifts in how we talk about worry can create lasting change in how children experience it.

Here’s to helping every child feel safe, seen, and strong enough to thrive through transition.

If you would like to hear more from our friends at the Happy Confident Club then please take a look at their Schools Program - The Happy Confident Company and Happy Confident Club