Transition Collection
Transitions are a core part of early years practice, and they happen constantly in early years settings.
A transition is any shift from one situation, activity or environment to another.
Some happen many times a day (everyday transitions) — tidying up, going outdoors, moving to carpet time, or having a familiar adult step out of the room.
Others are major milestones that involve new people, new spaces and new expectations — like starting school.
Whether small or significant, transitions shape how children feel, behave and learn. When they are supported well, everything becomes easier for the child, and their confidence and wellbeing shine through.
The resources in this collection have been created to support Birmingham practitioners, settings, and the families you support with all kinds of transitions.
Transition Book Lists
We are working with Peters bookshop, who are offering BEYN members a 30% discount on any books purchased.
Use code: BEYN30 when you place your order.
Our Transition Book Lists have been selected by the BEYN team as a helpful starting point, featuring stories that explore and support both everyday transitions and milestone transitions, like starting school.
If you use other books that support children with transitions, we’d love to hear your recommendations so we can share them with the network.
Birmingham Butterflies - Transitions
The “butterfly effect” idea comes from chaos theory. It suggests that tiny actions in a complex system can create large, far‑reaching consequences.
One small, positive action can set off a chain of much bigger, unexpected changes — just like a butterfly flapping its wings and eventually influencing the weather.
A single good idea, shared at the right moment, can:
Shift someone’s thinking, sparking new creativity or confidence
Inspire a small change in practice, which then influences a whole team
Start a conversation that grows into a project, partnership, or movement
Create momentum, where each small improvement builds on the last
In early years work, this often looks like one thoughtful strategy or insight that helps a practitioner, which then benefits a child, which then influences a family, which then strengthens a community.
The butterflies shared in this document come from practitioners who attended our Curriculum Conversations Network Meeting: Supporting Smooth Starts and Confident Steps – Ensuring Positive Transitions for Young Children in Birmingham. (You can download the booklets from this session further down this page).
They capture the small but powerful ideas that can create positive ripple effects for children, families, and teams.
Starting Reception - Flyer for families
Our Starting Reception flyer gives families clear, friendly information at a moment of big change.
It reassures them about what to expect and makes links to 50 Things activities that will support their child’s learning and development.
By giving everyone the same key messages, it strengthens the partnership between home and school and helps children arrive feeling confident, familiar, and ready to learn.
Transition Book - Maya & Marley and the New Friend
We are delighted to be working with Laura Henry-Allain MBE and to be using her new book, Maya & Marley and the New Friend, as our city-wide shared book to support children’s transition into reception.
There is a copy of her book for every Birmingham school, nursery and childminder with children moving to reception.
Laura has created a special video to introduce herself and the book to the children of Birmingham. The link to view this is in the book pack. We hope that practitioners and childminders with children moving into reception will share this video with their groups, and that reception staff will do the same at the start of the new school year.
If you weren’t able to attend a district transition event and would like a copy of the transition book pack to share with children in your setting, please email us: info@birminghamearlyyearsnetworks.org
As part of the book pack, we have also created a resource for you to copy and share with families.
This flyer explains how schools, nurseries and childminders might use the themes from the book in their transition planning, and how families can support this at home by trying some of the linked 50 Things activities too.
An electronic version is included here so you can download and print it whenever you need.
Explore Transition with Your Team: Curriculum Conversations Booklets
Supporting Smooth Starts and Confident Steps: Ensuring positive transitions for young children in Birmingham.
Our in‑setting professional development and learning series offers early years practitioners an opportunity to reflect on their practice.
Each resource is created in response to identified themes and will often link to our termly in‑person network meetings, recognising that not everyone is able to attend but may still wish to explore the topic in their own setting.
1. Engage & Reflect
Read the material. Live links in the PDF will help you navigate.
Identify key ideas, challenges, and connections to your own practice and the children you work with.
Consider how this aligns with your curriculum intent, implementation, and impact.
2. Share & Discuss
Exchange insights with colleagues.
Explore examples, questions, and different approaches.
Identify what strong practice looks like across your team and setting.
3. Plan & Take Action
Decide on one small change and one longer-term improvement.
Clarify what support or evidence you’ll need.
Agree on how you’ll monitor the impact on children.
Related Materials
Webpage - The Birmingham Transition Approach
Blog - Understanding Transitions in the Early Years: Supporting Children Through Change
Blog - One Book, One City: How a Shared Story Is Helping Children Step Confidently into School
Blog - Supporting Daily Transitions Through Song in the Early Years
