The Lantern Project: Helping Young People Take the Next Step

A Headspace pilot has helped 15 young people prepare for the move from primary to secondary school, providing early support for transition anxiety and the risk of Emotionally Based School Avoidance.

Moving from Year 6 to Year 7 is a significant milestone. For some young people it is exciting, but for others the change can bring considerable anxiety.

New buildings, new teachers, different expectations, changing friendships and greater independence can all feel overwhelming. For young people already struggling with anxiety or attendance, this transition can also contribute to Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA).

That is why Headspace developed The Lantern Project, a pilot transition programme designed to provide support before those difficulties become established.

The project was made possible through funding from the Gloucestershire Children and Family Hubs Commissioning Pot and delivered in partnership with The Cotswold School and local primary schools.

Supporting young people before they reach Year 7

The principle behind the Lantern Project is simple: rather than waiting for a young person to struggle after arriving at secondary school, we wanted to intervene earlier.

The programme worked with 15 young people preparing to join The Cotswold School, giving them opportunities to talk about their concerns, meet other young people experiencing similar feelings and gradually become more familiar with secondary school.

The project was called Lantern because we wanted to give young people some of the tools and confidence they needed to help illuminate what can otherwise feel like an unknown path ahead.

As part of the programme, young people also created their own physical lanterns, representing their personal growth, learning and the support around them.

What were young people actually worried about?

One of the most valuable parts of the pilot happened before the main programme had even begun.

We listened.

Structured conversations with young people explored what they were really worried about when they thought about secondary school.

Interestingly, their biggest concerns weren't necessarily the practical things adults might expect, such as finding classrooms or navigating a bigger school.

Young people talked about much deeper questions around identity, relationships and belonging.

They worried about who they would be in Year 7, unintentionally breaking rules they didn't yet understand, how strict teachers might be and whether adults would still help them when they needed it.

One of the clearest findings from the pilot was that these concerns about identity and relationships outweighed many of the practical worries traditionally associated with secondary transition.

That learning helped shape the programme that followed.

Building confidence, connections and familiarity

During the main five-week programme, young people spent one day each week taking part in a mixture of wellbeing and communication work, creative activities and supported experiences at The Cotswold School.

Sessions explored some of the issues the young people themselves had identified.

They looked at identity and making connections, practised how to ask for help and identified the people who could support them.

Young people developed coping strategies for anxiety, considered what makes a good friend and talked about how they could support one another when they arrived at their new school.

Practical activities at The Cotswold School complemented this work. These included meeting the pastoral team, discovering other pupils with shared interests and taking part in activities within the school environment.

By the final week, the focus had shifted towards reflection, readiness and looking ahead to Year 7.

Strong engagement from young people

The pilot involved young people from primary schools across the North Cotswolds, including Rissington, Northleach, Shurdington, Cold Aston, Stow, Kingham and Bourton.

Engagement during the programme was particularly encouraging given that the project was specifically designed for young people experiencing significant transition anxiety and those considered at greater risk of EBSA.

But attendance figures only tell part of the story.

What families told us about the difference they were seeing was equally important.

“My child is now so well prepared”

Feedback from parents and carers has been extremely encouraging.

One family told us:

“My child is now so well prepared.”

Another described the importance of their child having:

“The chance to see that she’s not alone in the way she has been feeling.”

Families also reported seeing increased confidence and self-regulation, while one parent described experiencing less, and potentially no, anxiety over the summer as a result of the programme.

For us, that is an important measure of the pilot's success.

The aim was never simply to teach young people where their classrooms would be. It was to help them feel that they could cope with what was ahead and knew where to turn if things became difficult.

The journey isn't finished

The Lantern Project was deliberately designed to extend beyond the end of Year 6.

It follows a four-stage approach: listening to young people, intensive support before the end of primary school, maintaining connections over the summer and then providing follow-up support once Year 7 begins.

With the new academic year now beginning, the young people will receive three further one-hour sessions during their first half term of Year 7.

These sessions will allow us to find out how the transition has actually gone, revisit the strategies developed during the project and respond to any new challenges that emerge.

The full evaluation of the pilot will therefore be completed later in September once these follow-up sessions have taken place.

Learning for the future

As a pilot, the Lantern Project was also about learning what works.

We have already identified improvements that could strengthen future programmes, including engaging parents earlier, providing additional opportunities for families to ask questions and allowing sufficient time for the considerable coordination involved in bringing schools, young people and families together.

Most importantly, however, the pilot has demonstrated the potential of early intervention around transition.

If we can identify young people who are worried about secondary school and support them before anxiety develops into persistent absence or school avoidance, we have an opportunity to change the trajectory.

Thank you

We would like to thank everyone who has helped make the Lantern Project possible, including Gloucestershire Children and Family Hubs Commissioning, The Cotswold School, our participating primary schools, families and everyone involved in delivering the programme.

Most importantly, thank you to the 15 young people who took part, shared their worries so openly and embraced the opportunity to prepare for the next stage of their education.

The pilot may be coming towards its conclusion, but for these young people the next part of the journey is just beginning.

Want to see more about what we did and what we learned?

Download the Lantern Project – Pilot Transition Project 2026 presentation