BACK TO SCHOOL

Arnold Kaloki from BrightTeach talks solutions to stressed parents, absent students, and declining grades

The 15th June was the first day that year 10s and 12s returned to school to prepare for their GCSE and A-level exams, but there are a lot of roadblocks for students trying to get back to learning. Some schools are only supporting students who are struggling, while others have limited their attendance numbers to 10 classrooms of 10. Some are providing only one day of teaching on core subjects, while the other subjects will be taught remotely from home. We are yet to be given a date for when schools reopen properly.

Polls show parents spend an average of 15 hours a week i educating their children and fitting their jobs around these hours, working longer and later than usual as a result. We have also seen that a third of pupils are not engaging with schoolwork at all ii , which will have an immeasurable impact on the student’s knowledge and work ethic.

Making the Jump

Years 11 to 12, 9 to 10 and 6 to 7 are the years which have the most significant impact on students. This is when they move onto a new key stage and a new qualification (A-levels, GCSEs and Secondary Education), and the demands put on them are considerably more than they experienced previously.

The biggest jump is from GCSE to A-level (Year 11 to 12). As the world evolves to a more technological era, students are more interested in STEM (Computer Studies, Science and Maths) subjects and want to study them further at university. According to The Telegraph, the number of student entries for STEM subjects has increased by 6% but the number of students getting A/A* in the subjects has been decreasing each year for the past 3 years.

One theory for this is that there is a lack of knowledge about the time and effort required to achieve a top grade at A-Level, vs a top grade at GCSE. This is something we constantly see at BrightTeach. The problem isn’t that the students lack the knowledge of the subject or that the subject content has become increasingly more difficult, but that students are using the same revision strategies that they were using during their GCSEs, with the assumption that it will produce the same results. Students have not been prepared for their A-level exams and one can only think that it will be significantly worse this coming academic year.

Feeling the stress

41% of working parents have expressed that balancing work and schooling has become increasingly difficult (according to pupil management). Many of us are starting to see emails from people coming in over the weekend and during the evening, where usually we would not, and this seems to be, in some cases, a direct result to home schooling pressures. These working hours have negatively affected staff mental health leading to experts calling for more flexibility from employers.

There is a solution - tutoring

A tutor can offer an affordable solution. They are experts in their subject with experience in teaching, and their passion for the subject will rub off onto the student. Diane Birch from BITA said “After being with Rosie (the tutor) I see my granddaughter doing her English homework on her own where she never used to do it before.” When your child is more engaged with a teacher who is completely focused on them, they are more likely to enjoy what they are learning. Another benefit is that there is no set speed at which the student needs to learn; they can go at their own pace and at a time where they are able to concentrate.

Ultimately, a tutor provides quality one-to-one teaching and can prepare your child for upcoming exams. They also free up time for parents to get work done at reasonable hours! From your child’s perspective, they will engage with the work more, understand the content better and feel prepared for whatever the school has to offer in the new year. An investment in a tutor today can be a great support.