Education

from Families Hertfordshire July/August 2021

News

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 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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Reading fluency Attention and focus Auditory processing Spelling / writing issues Maths/working memory Anxiety/ behavioural issues 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.

Stepping up to secondary school

By Clare Cogan The summer term is drawing to a close and our year six children are preparing for their transition to secondary school. This can be a challenging time, even without the disruptions of the past year.

Common worries and concerns can include the increase in independence your child will be expected to have, whether they will be with their friends, and even how they will find their way around a much bigger school.

It’s likely that your child’s current school will be helping them prepare for these challenges, but there are some things you can also do to help your child’s transition go as smoothly as possible for them (and you)!

Children’s can feel anxious without realising and sometimes hold these feelings inside. Rather than asking if they are worried about anything, talk to them about change being exciting but scary too. Explain that this is because their brain needs to get used to a new place and way of doing things when it was very comfortable with the old way. Talking about their feelings, using an example of how you or an older sibling felt in their shoes, can help them feel confident that they have the resources to manage and that feeling anxious is okay.

Friendships can be a challenge when moving to secondary school. You’re likely to see your child’s friendships transition and change and this can be hard for parents, especially as we won’t necessarily know their new friends. This is part of their increasing independence as they move into the teen years.

Parents and carers are ideally placed to help navigate the move to secondary school. Practical preparations, as well as conversations which help your child remember times when they may have felt nervous before and managed it well, can also help them see that they can feel anxious but still have a good experience. There will be tough times ahead, but also fun times too as you watch your child grow in independence and confidence and find their feet.

Try to keep your own focus on the opportunities rather than the challenges and help your child face any potential issues by equipping them with the understanding of what they can do to build resourcefulness and resilience.

Remember that it can take your child a while to settle in at their new school and that the school is there to deal with concerns. Encourage your child to take worries or issues to their form teacher in the first instance. Many issues can be easily resolved in this way.