Lay A Little Egg For Me! by Louise Addison

We have seen a real difference in the comments from our parents between the first lockdown reactions and the second one!

We are seeing many more parents and grandparents calling in to arrange a free assessment for their children during this second lockdown and, as always, we ask them why they believe it necessary for Kip to help their child at this time. By far the most responses include parents noticing something specific their child is finding difficult, like fractions, and also a bit more awareness that the child’s academic level seems lower than they thought. They can see for themselves that the levels have slipped back in academic ability, confidence and concentration. For the first time parents had to be teachers and couldn’t help but be much more aware of progress and the difficulties whilst doing so.

So how is this second lockdown so different from the first?

Firstly, parents noted that during the first lockdown their children would settle down to work set by their teachers and do it by themselves. It even allowed working parents a little time to get some of their own work done! The children would come and ask if they got stuck but basically they were still in the classroom mode of having a go by themselves first. It is all about confidence. During this second lockdown, parents reported that their children wanted them to sit next to them, help them with everything and check that they were ‘doing it right’. They reported a significant lack of confidence to just ’have a go’. Many children were looking for constant reassurance as they feared they were ‘not as clever’ as their friends. In the classroom most children are aware of who is doing what around them and often just lean across and help each other with the little problems. Secondly, interest in doing the work is reported as getting noticeably harder to achieve. Many parents said that motivation was low, despite much more targeted work from teachers, and that they were finding they needed to negotiate with their children. ‘You do school work for an hour then you can watch TV or play on the computer.’ Thirdly, they could see the lack of motivation first hand. They noticed that the level of concentration was down from the first lockdown, with the child being very easily distracted so work took much longer to complete.

So what can we do at Kip?

We start with a free assessment so we can tailor their individual plans exactly to their learning needs and styles. This forms the basis for an individual learning plan for each child. We use a mix of one to one support and independent learning time and include structure, pace and challenge to the lessons we give. We find that combination improves concentration and selfesteem. Immediate feedback of their success gives the students confidence and a positive attitude to errors. Helping them to achieve their potential is our aim!

For your child’s free, no obligation

assessment, call Jo on: 01629 56611

or 01246 220224