Pastoral Care for Year 8

Magherafelt High School is a non-selective co-educational post-primary school in Magherafelt, Mid-Ulster, Co. Londonderry. It has a wide catchment area as the 550 pupils have transferred from many primary schools in a wide geographical area.

Joanne O’Neill teaches Home Economics to A level and is also the Form Tutor for Year 8 pupils. Due to the pandemic these young pupils did not get to enjoy their final days at primary as did their predecessors and on joining their secondary school have spent much of their time in Year 8 out of school and having remote learning.

Joanne takes us through how she is using Microsoft Teams to connect with pupils and establish relationships.

Key Learning

• Engagement

• Show care for younger pupils at High School

• Build relationships between the child and adult and with friends in similar peer groups

• Establish a daily routine for learning

Points to Consider

• Create weekly themes: Motivate it! Monday

• Be creative

• Personalise your messages and announcements

• Sustain engagement

• Ready for the day messages also from Principal

• Short ‘off the cuff’ messages for pastoral care

• Being interactive to facilitate the chat function