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The Government is ready to announce this afternoon how children will be able to catch up on the learning they have lost during the confinement.
With schools closed for two closures, students have missed months of face-to-face teaching.
And since many are unable to access computers or the Internet to participate in online lessons, millions are being left behind.
Reports suggest that secondary schools in England will receive funding to help them run summer schools to help children who need it most, such as pupils entering the seventh grade.
It is also planned to expand individual and small group tutoring plans, but at the moment no other proposals to catch up with learning are expected, such as longer school days and shorter summer holidays.
Here school teachers give their opinion on these and other proposals so that the education of the students does not suffer …
Summer schools
For students who have lost significant learning in the past year, the six-week summer vacation could be an opportunity to make up for some of the time lost.
And summer schools for kids who have fallen further behind are likely to be a central part of Johnson’s recovery plans.
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Schools in England will get an additional £ 200 million to pay teachers to attend classes, which may include sports and other activities according to reports.
But the summer sessions will not be mandatory and it will be up to the schools to decide how and if they run the summer schools, how long they will last, and which students will be invited to attend.
Faye Burley, Rugby Elementary School Teacher, Warks, supports the idea of summer school workshops.
She says: “Long vacations can take their toll on children who thrive on routine or those who find themselves in vulnerable or difficult situations.
“This would allow the children to enjoy their summer vacation, but it would also address the areas that were missed during the spring term.”
What is your opinion? Give your opinion in the comment section.
(Image: Jon Corken / Grimsby Live)
But Zane Powles, a director at Grimsby, says the proposal could actually do more harm than good.
He says, “You don’t see how it’s going to work if it’s not mandatory.
“The children who show up will be from those families that put a lot of emphasis on education, they will arrive and they will do very well, and the children who missed education and did not participate in learning as much as others, won’t show up. Therefore, the gaps will be even greater. I really don’t get it.
“And it’s the teachers’ vacation, how is it going to work? I’m pretty sure most people in other professions wouldn’t be happy if someone said, ‘We’re taking half of your vacation from you. I hope you do not mind “.
Extra tutoring
After the first lockdown, the government launched its £ 350 million National Tutoring Program (NTP) in England, offering individual and small group subsidized tuition to disadvantaged children.
More than 100,000 disadvantaged students have accessed the service since it began in November, with individual enrollment by university students.
(Image: PA)
The Government’s £ 720 million education support package for England will include an additional £ 200 million to expand the program for primary and secondary school students and an expanded tuition fund for 16-19 year olds.
Four UK studies have found that weekly sessions can help a student make three to six months of academic progress, with particularly significant gains in literacy and numeracy among primary school pupils.
Benrose School in Derby has found another way to provide additional instruction to students who have struggled during the lockdown: by holding classes on Saturdays.
Principal Neil Wilkinson said, “Approximately 40-50% of our students do not have access to a device or the Internet. We needed to find a way and a means to engage these students so that they were not left behind. “
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But Zane Powles worries the plan won’t benefit kids who have more to catch up on.
He said, “Sounds great, but it’s only going to appeal to kids who want to get a better education.
“What about those who live in underprivileged families, whose parents don’t emphasize education? They will still be left behind.”
Extending the school year
English schools are currently due to end summer break on July 23. But some are asking for a two-week extension to the academic year, which would delay its closure until early August.
Classrooms could be instructed to keep doors and windows open in an attempt to reduce the risk of spreading the coronavirus.
The Welsh government has already indicated that it could extend the school year.
(Image: Getty Images / iStockphoto)
Grimsby principal Zane Powles says continuing classes over summer break will only work if it’s required for all students.
He said: “Otherwise kids who already have a good attitude towards learning, and those who have gaps in their learning, whose parents don’t put as much emphasis on education, won’t show up.
“At the same time, teachers have the same right to a vacation as everyone else, the government cannot just take two weeks off from them.”
Helen Morris, principal of Worthing, Sussex, says she does not believe that having students continue their lessons over summer break “will do anything to enrich a generation of students who have experienced a pandemic.
“This summer, if possible, they need to have freedom, meet their friends outside, laugh and enjoy a summer not spoiled by fear and illness.
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“They don’t need more time in school; two weeks won’t add anything positive to a year online.
“Many of our disgruntled young people will disengage and disengage further from education. Staff can also break down and resign.
“The teachers who know them and care about them best will return renewed in September and together we will rise up and make sure no one is left behind.”
Longer school days
Ministers are considering lengthening the school day to help children catch up.
Plans could include extracurricular activities and after-hours classes held at baby charities and volunteers, and teachers are not necessarily asked to stay late.
Sir Kevan Collins said the additional hours could be used to address broader needs than just the additional study.
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He said: “I think we should think about overtime not just for learning, but for children to be together, to play, to get involved in competitive sports, for music, for theater because these are critical areas that have been lost in their developing “.
Principal Zane Powles believes that longer school hours might be the best option “because the kids are already in school, so you already have them.”
But unions have resisted the move, saying it is “superficially attractive.”
Paul Whiteman, secretary general of the National Association of Teacher Directors, said Friday: “Research evidence shows that there are better ways to help students than to extend the school day.”
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Elementary school teacher Faye Burley agrees: “Extending the school day could be counterproductive. Give them a sense of normalcy for a while and allow them to process what has been a year in which their lives have turned upside down. “
Repeating the year
There are calls so that students who have lost significant learning time due to the pandemic can do it again all year.
The Education Policy Institute (EPI) argued that certain students should have the right to repeat a school year if their parents or caregivers agree.
They would include students with limited access to digital devices and some with special educational needs who have struggled with remote learning from home.
Geoff Barton, secretary general of the Association of School and University Leaders, said the proposal is worth considering, but cautioned that it could only be open to a small number of students “otherwise it would create a bottleneck in the system that would leave schools with more students than they could accommodate. “
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However, principal Zane Powles believes the proposal would only work if all the children repeated the year.
He said: “It seems like a great idea if every year they did it. If you let people choose, it won’t work. No kid is going to say, ‘I’ll have another year at school, leave me for that.’
“So you have the problem that the children from the nursery go to the reception, there will be no places for the new children to start school.”
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