Enthusiastic in September, drifting by Christmas: the push to fix Years 7 to 9
What happened
A new national alliance is trying to fix a stretch of school that gets talked about far less than it should: Key Stage 3, which covers Years 7, 8 and 9. The alliance is led by Becks Boomer-Clark, chief executive of Lift Schools, and Lesley Powell, chief executive of North East Learning Trust, with support from the Department for Education. Seventeen academy trust and council leaders act as regional chairs. On 17 September 2026 it launched a national call for evidence. It wants examples of what works when children move from primary to secondary school, relevant research, and - unusually - examples of approaches that have failed. Submissions close at 5pm on 9 November 2026. There will also be roadshows in eight cities: Addlestone, Cambridge, Doncaster, Exeter, Leicester, Manchester, Newcastle and Worcester. The alliance says it will talk to pupils directly about their own experiences, which is not something that always happens. Four priorities are guiding the work: engagement and belonging; foundational literacy and numeracy; assessment and data coherence; and pathways to adult life. 'For too long, Key Stage 3 has been a seriously overlooked phase of education,' Boomer-Clark said. Many young people, she noted, 'begin Year 7 with enthusiasm, only to gradually lose confidence, curiosity and connection.' The aim is to treat Key Stage 3 as a phase in its own right, rather than as a waiting room between primary school and GCSEs.
Why this matters
Ask most parents about the big moments in school and they will name starting primary, SATs, GCSEs and A-levels. Years 7 to 9 rarely come up. There is no national test at the end, and no qualification. That is precisely the problem. What is not measured tends not to be prioritised. Schools are held to account for GCSE results, so Years 10 and 11 get attention and resources. Key Stage 3 can quietly become the years where things are allowed to drift. Many parents recognise the pattern Boomer-Clark describes. A child starts Year 7 excited about the new school, the new subjects, the locker, the timetable. By Year 9, something has gone flat. There are understandable reasons. The jump from one teacher who knows you well to twelve teachers who each see you a few times a week is a genuine shock. Friendship groups are reshuffled. The work often repeats things covered in Year 6, which is dispiriting for children who were doing well. Adolescence arrives in the middle of it. The alliance links this to rising numbers of young people who end up not in education, employment or training - known as NEET. The argument is that disengagement rarely starts at sixteen. It starts earlier, quietly, and by the time it shows up in the statistics it has been building for years.
What the evidence actually says
It is worth being clear about what this is. It is a call for evidence, not a finding. Nothing has been concluded, nothing has been funded, and no policy has changed. That said, the underlying concern is well supported. The dip in attainment and motivation after the move to secondary school is one of the more consistently documented patterns in English education research, and it has been noted for decades. The Education Endowment Foundation and others have looked at transition repeatedly. What is genuinely less settled is what to do about it. Schools have tried summer schools, transition days, nurture groups, keeping Year 7 in a separate part of the building, and having fewer teachers per class in Year 7. Results have been mixed and often poorly evaluated. So asking for evidence, including evidence of failure, is a sensible starting point rather than an evasion. Asking what did not work is unusual and worth crediting - most calls for evidence collect only success stories, which is how education ends up recycling ideas that never really worked. Two notes of realism. Alliances and reviews are common in English education and many produce reports that change little. And the four priorities listed are broad enough to cover almost anything, which makes them hard to fail against. Whether this amounts to something will depend on what follows the November deadline. The involvement of pupils themselves is the most promising detail, because children are the only people who experience the transition from the inside.
Practical advice
If you have a child in Years 7 to 9, or one heading there, these are the things that tend to help. Watch for the quiet drift rather than the dramatic problem. A child who has stopped talking about school, stopped mentioning friends, or stopped caring about marks is easier to help in Year 8 than in Year 10. Disengagement is usually gradual. Stay in contact with school even when nothing is wrong. Parental contact often drops sharply after primary, partly because there is no daily playground conversation. A short email to a form tutor once a term keeps the relationship alive for when you need it. Ask about reading specifically. Children who arrive at secondary school with weak reading fall behind across every subject, because everything is read. If you are worried, ask directly whether your child has been assessed and what support exists. Schools have this data. Take friendships seriously. Belonging is one of the alliance's four priorities for good reason. A child with no one to sit with at lunch will struggle academically too. Clubs help, and so does knowing which staff member your child would go to if something went wrong. If you want to contribute to the call for evidence, it is open until 5pm on 9 November 2026, and it is not only for schools. Research, practice and experiences of what has not worked are all being sought.
What to know
A new alliance led by Becks Boomer-Clark and Lesley Powell, with DfE support and seventeen regional chairs, has launched a national call for evidence on Key Stage 3 and the move to secondary school. It closes at 5pm on 9 November 2026, with roadshows in eight cities and direct consultation with pupils. The concern it is built on is real and long-documented: children often arrive in Year 7 enthusiastic and lose ground and interest by Year 9, and the phase gets less attention because it ends in no exam. The alliance is asking what has failed as well as what has worked, which is a better question than most reviews ask. It is also, at this stage, only a question. For parents, the useful bit is nearer to home: watch for quiet disengagement, keep a line open to the form tutor, ask about reading, and take friendships seriously. Sources: Schools Week, 'KS3 alliance seeks evidence on transition to secondary school', 17 September 2026, https://schoolsweek.co.uk/ks3-alliance-seeks-evidence-on-transition-to-secondary-school/. Education Endowment Foundation, evidence on secondary transition, https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/. Department for Education, https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-education. This article is for general information and does not replace advice from a doctor, pharmacist or other qualified healthcare professional.
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