Education
Mind the gap: why Summer learning is important By Andrew Campbell Parents face a confusing dilemma this summer holidays with seemingly conflicting opinions being offered on how children should occupy the long summer break. It is widely acknowledged that children experienced significant setbacks to their educational progress as a result of the pandemic and Ofsted has published a series of reports detailing the impact of school closures. Children hardest hit by the Covid restrictions regressed during the pandemic, with some who were potty-trained pre-lockdown reverting to nappies and dummies, and others forgetting basic numbers. Older children lost physical fitness as well as reading and writing skills with the impact worse for disadvantaged children. In addition to a ‘Covid attainment gap,’ children now face the prospect of a further loss of knowledge and academic skills during the summer holidays. Longstanding research has established that most children experience a ‘summer learning loss’ when they return to school after the long break. Sometimes referred to as the ‘summer brain drain’, summer learning loss is defined as a loss of knowledge and academic skills over the long summer period. A systematic review of thirty nine studies found summer learning loss equalled about one month of classroom learning, and students tended to regress more in maths skills compared to reading skills. So there seems to be a compelling case for parents to take action to prevent their child suffering a major setback to their
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educational and emotional development as a result of the combined effects of Covid and the long summer break. On the other hand, there is a persuasive stance being advocated by child development experts who say that children need a ‘summer of play’ to recover from the stress of lockdown and a year of Covid upheaval. A group of academics calling themselves PlayFirstUK have warned that intensive ‘catch-up’ plans, intended to help children make up lost ground, could end up worsening children’s mental health and wellbeing and have a negative effect on learning in the long term. Whilst there is understandable concern about children’s education, they will not learn effectively if their mental health is poor. Social interaction, play, physical activity and good mental health need to come first, according to PlayFirstUK. But is it really such a stark choice between a ‘summer of fun’ and a ‘summer of catch up?’ Not if you can make learning a fun part of your child’s summer.
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Fun number activities Lemonade stand. Team up with a local charity to raise money. Younger kids can measure ingredients and count money. Older kids can set a price by working out the cost per serving and setting a profit margin. A council permit may be required. Go to the summer sales. Take your young one to the summer sales and ask them to work out the savings. For example, if £25 item has fifty percent off, how much does it cost? Set them a budget so they have to monitor money spent and money remaining. Bob the builder time. Embark on a construction project. Whether it’s a bird house or a treasure box, children will have to use a range of maths skills to get the job done. Gather and sort rocks. Starting a rock collection will introduce your child to geology AND reinforce basic maths skill. They can classify rocks by grouping them – large or small, smooth, jagged or speckled etc. Older children can go one step further and speculate on how the rock was formed.
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