Transition
Thank you for choosing Ellis Guilford School for the next stage of your child's education.
Welcome from Ms Johnson
As the very proud Principal of this extraordinary school, I am excited to welcome your child to Ellis Guilford School. I look forward to seeing them taking their next steps in their education and personal development journey.
I genuinely hope that both you and your child are equally excited. Our school is an innovative and creative school that will provide your child with the learning experience to aim high and achieve excellence.
On this page, you will find all the information you need with regard to your child joining Ellis Guilford School (EGS), whether that is moving from Year 6 to Year 7 (from primary to secondary school) or moving to EGS from another secondary school.
For children joining EGS during the school year, you will receive a printed copy of the New Starter Booklet below. Year 6 parents will receive a printed copy of the booklet on Transiton Evening.
If you have any queries regarding the transition process at Ellis Guilford School, please email: enquiries@ellisguilfordschool.org.uk
For students with special educational needs and/or disabilities, please email:
egs-send@ellisguilfordschool.org.uk
Key Information for New Starters
Please click on the headings below for useful information to help your child as they start their journey at Ellis Guilford School.
Moving Up from Year 6 to 7: Transition Events 2025
TRANSITION DAYS: TUESDAY 1 JULY AND WEDNESDAY 2 JULY 2025
9.00am to 2.45pm - Year 6 Children Only
TRANSITION EVENING FOR PARENTS/CARERS: TUESDAY 1 JULY
6.00pm to 8.00pm - Year 6 Parents/Carers Only
UNIFORM FITTING EVENT: WEDNESDAY 9 JULY 2025
Drop-in between 4.00pm and 6.30pm (optional)
We are committed to ensuring a smooth transition for our new Year 7 children. Every year we hold two transition days during the first week in July to provide an opportunity for your child to familiarise themselves with our school environment, to meet some of their teachers and their new classmates. This is an opportunity to introduce Year 6 children to our school, our building, our timings, and our staff members. It is also an important opportunity for us to get to know a little more about them! The children will take part in a range of activities, and they will meet their form tutor and other key staff, including their Head of Year.
In addition to the above two days, we also hold an information event for parents and carers in the evening of the first day. This is the perfect opportunity for you to hear from the Principal, meet tutors and to ask any questions, to try and reduce any anxieties about the transition to a new, bigger school.
There will also be a 'uniform fitting' event in the summer term before your child joins EGS. Just Schoolwear is the official provider of our branded uniform. Your child will be measured for their blazer so that you can order the correct size from their website.
Key Staff
When your child joins Ellis Guilford, they will be allocated to a Form group. Your child will remain in the same Form group throughout their Ellis Guilford journey.
Their Form Tutor and Head of Year will be the key staff that they can talk to about any issues they may have. Other key staff include the Leadership Team, Directors of Faculty, Attendance Team, SEND Team and Safeguarding Team.
You can find out about our key staff and how to contact them below.
Attendance
Our attendance target for all pupils is 98%. Attendance at school is, in most cases, the single most important factor that effects the chances of success at school.
Visit our Attendance page below to find out about how we can support you with attendance and how to report your child's absence.
Rewards & Sanctions
To enable effective teaching and learning to take place so that children are able to achieve their potential, Ellis Guilford fosters an ethos of discipline and respect between children, and between staff and children.
Children are rewarded for good behaviour and an excellent attitude to learning, and sanctions are given for unacceptable behaviour. See Appendix One of the Behaviour Policy to find out about our Guilford Golds rewards system and the types of negative behaviours for which sanctions are given.
Teaching & Learning at Ellis Guilford
We aim to encourage learners who have Equality, Integrity and Ambition — to furnish learners with the skills to develop into ambitious learners today, for tomorrow. Our aim is to provide an excellent education, to bring out the best in all pupils and prepare them for success in life.
We teach children how to learn so they can remember more and do more, how to be active, rather than passive, recipients of information; but each of these skills are taught within the context of the rich knowledge each subject provides.
We follow the CET curriculum that has been carefully designed to encourage our core values as a trust and as a school. Find out more about the Curriculum and our Knowledge Organisers for your child's year group below.
Uniform
Ellis Guilford School has a compulsory uniform to be worn by every pupil. We look forward to seeing all pupils looking smartly dressed and proud to wear their Ellis Guilford School Uniform.
School Meals and Online Payments
- Your child may bring a packed lunch and snacks for break times or they may choose to buy their meals and snacks from the Restaurant or Year Group Food Pods.
- All students should bring a refillable bottle to school every day to ensure they stay hydrated. Water stations are available around the school.
- Payment for school meals and snacks is online only using Arbor Payments. Find out how to set up your Arbor account below.
School Communications & Arbor Parent
Ellis Guilford is a paperless school. All school communications to parents/carers are sent by Arbor Parent App and email. Only urgent communications will be sent by text.
To ensure that you receive school communications, please make sure the school holds your current email address and mobile number, and make sure you download the Arbor Parent App when requested to do so. If your details change, you can update us by email to: enquiries@ellisguilfordschool.org.uk
The Arbor App and Parent Portal enable us to keep you informed about your child’s life at school in a much more accessible way. It is also used for online payments for school meals and other items such as trips and replacement school ties.
Social Media: Ellis Guilford Online Community
If you are a user of social media, we recommend that you follow us on one of our two social media platforms for updates, reminders and news of student success, including our weekly Parent Briefing.
Further Useful Information
Please visit the Parents section of the website to view further information to support you with your child's transition to Ellis Guilford School. Here, you will find our Uniform Requirements, Term Dates, Timings of the School Day, Extra-Curricular Activities (our Ellis Electives) and much more!
Interactive Map
Please feel free to browse our interactive map of the school. This is especially useful for new children to help them find their way around the school site.