There’s no doubt Year 6 transition marks a huge milestone in a young person’s life. The excitement and anticipation of everything new – environment, experiences, friends and freedoms – is all consuming. It’s also a time when anxiety and stress peak as the unknown lies ahead. And it’s not just affecting students. Navigating the transition to secondary school can feel overwhelming for parents, especially when it comes to changing social media laws and emerging AI technologies.
Here are four key areas to help Year 6 students make a positive transition to secondary school.
1. Know digital citizenship laws and where to get help
A student’s online world explodes during the transition to secondary school and their digital choices can determine their safety, integrity and wellbeing. “Knowledge is power” says Trent Ray, cyber safety and wellbeing expert from the Cyber Safety Project. “It’s important for young people to be aware of the current digital citizenship laws on cyberbullying, nude image sharing and social media restrictions, and to know the law is there to protect them”. As laws can differ from state to state, Trent recommends using Youth Law Australia and the eSafety Commissioner website as valuable resources to uncover Australian laws and to report online abuse.
2. Provide a safe space to have open conversations
When transitioning to secondary school young people will navigate new relationships, both offline and online, on a more mature level than those experienced before. “Learning to recognise what digital consent and respect looks, sounds and feels like is vital” insists Vanessa Hamilton from Talking The Talk, an organisation specialising in healthy sexuality education. “Young people at this stage are discovering their identities, and this is often playing out online”. Making time for open conversations about consent and respect, including how they relate to emerging challenges like AI deepfakes and AI companion apps, is crucial to helping young people thrive in today’s digital world.
3. Empower young people to manage their wellbeing
Tuning into their feelings and acknowledging apprehensions is an important step to help young people through the transition to secondary school. Kritz Sciessere, who alongside sister Bianca, is at the helm of wellbeing education platform, The Big Sister Experience, tells us “At a time when change is happening all around them, young people need to prioritise their overall wellbeing by recognising warning signs such caving to peer pressure or excessive risk taking and know the strategies to take back control.” Bianca Sciessere stresses that young people should “Tune into how their technology use makes them feel, regularly checking in with a trusted adult and having a safe space to explore their boundaries.”
4. Make time to have important conversations
Reflecting on daughter Indiana’s Year 6 transition, parent Nick praised the primary school for simply starting the conversation. “We appreciated that the teachers acknowledged they were all feeling nervous about going to secondary school and offered advice and tips on how to make the transition a really positive experience.” Indiana added, “Everyone at school connects online and knowing how to set boundaries, like agreeing what time to stop messaging at night, really helped me with my digital balance.”
Year 6 Teachers – Get The Final Word on Year 6 Transition
Author: Jadey Faulkner | Community Engagement Team, Cyber Safety Project
Updated September 2025
