EDUCATION
Lost Learning By Aimee Hart @hart_at_home
It’s fair to say our little munchkins have had a challenging 24 months. Never did we expect that ‘March 13th closure’ to result in the amount of time away from the classroom that it did. My daughter is now in Year 2 and she has never known an academic year without disruption. Even this current one has seen her isolating with “that which shall not be named!” But being back in the classroom, back in front of amazing teachers and back socialising with their peers does not alleviate the worry that they have lost learning, missed experiences and had their knowledge paused. It worries me too. As the Deputy Head of a primary school I have seen the stress on families, children and teachers to keep the treadmill of curriculum turning while in or out of school but there has been an impact. There has been lost learning. There are gaps in our children’s education. I think saying it out
loud and realising every child is part of this makes it seem less daunting and less individual. Children are not robots and, even before the pandemic, children progressed at different rates and had different gaps in their learning.
little) support the government is providing. Since home learning, the internet is now flooded with amazing online resources, tools and platforms that can engage your children and give you the information you need to support them.
Ofqual produced a report that stated; on average, Primary aged pupils were two months behind in reading and three months behind in maths. There were also some findings that showed older primary students had not lost learning in reading as this was easily targeted from home. Obviously these studies were generalised across the country and I know everyone had a very different experience with home learning. But let’s think about the now. It’s easy for me to sit here and type ‘Don’t worry, all will be fine!’ Because I don’t know that and I don’t know your child. But be assured that all schools are working tirelessly to support a patchy curriculum and use (the
This is definitely not me suggesting you continue teaching when the children get home from school. No-one has the time for that. But, it’s worth checking in with your child’s class teacher on one thing you could practice at home that they’ve noticed. The most vital things children have missed over the past 24 months fall into: social, emotional or educational categories. All equally as important and all can be supported at home. On the next page are some really helpful tips on what you can do to help your kids.
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