Teachers across Norwich have joined forces to create online English and maths lessons to help children make the transition to secondary school, including those learning at home because of coronavirus.
Professional storytellers are also bringing to life local myths and legends to inspire pupils to write their own stories as part of the English lessons.
Elliot Thorne, a year 6 teacher and English lead at Avenue Junior School, has seen his story on the local legend of the hikey sprite is read by Bafta-winning East Anglia-based actress Diana Quick.
Pupils stories are then sent to their new teacher to understand the current level of their learning and what they need to progress.
MORE: Send a thank you message to your child’s school and teachersThe Bridging Project has been organised and funded by the Norwich Opportunity Area (NOA), initially with teachers from across nine city primary schools and five academies.
Following this, seven schools, Lakenham Primary, Avenue Junior School, West Earlham Primary Academy, Mile Cross Primary School, City Academy and Open Academy collaborated on lesson plans to bridge the gap in English and maths.
The lost learning time in classrooms caused by the pandemic has made bridging
work even more important for year six pupils to ensure the best start at their new school in September.
Jade Sadler, year six teacher at Lakenham Primary School, said: “Transition from primary to secondary is a daunting time, not only for children and their families, but their year 6 teachers too.
“I feel much happier knowing that what we are doing as a primary school for transition will be useful and can be built on in the secondary schools, creating a much smoother transition and making the ‘unknown’ more certain for the children when everything else is changing.”
MORE: Schools turn to virtual reality and video tours for new pupilsEmma Roberts, an English teacher at Open Academy, added: “The links we have embedded into the lesson plans and resources we have created will hopefully provide students with a sense of comfort as they make the big leap to high school. It will also allow teachers to better assess the starting points of students and therefore be helpful in informing future planning for this year group.”
Emma van Deventer, NOA transition project manager, added: “It is about improving a child’s wellbeing when they move up to high school.”
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