How do students now catch up on missed school time?
With the national lockdown in the United Kingdom now starting to unwind, most students are in the midst of transitioning from learning at home back to the school environment. For many parents this will represent something of a relief to have students back in the classroom under the supervision of qualified teaching staff, rather than in the home where they have had to help their children to learn. The question now is how to help ensure that students do not suffer from missed schooling and inconsistent learning.
The Government are currently looking at ways to help students to catch up on missed school time and missed content, with ideas such as shorter summer holidays and longer school days being discussed. Whilst these ideas may help in assisting some students, there are others who may be left behind with this approach – and, as schooling is often referred to as the “spiral curriculum” with learning based on reminding students of what they have already learned and then building upon that content, that could lead to long-lasting deficits for students.
Another notion that is being explored is that of summer schools, with classes potentially being offered over the summer period to students who need the support most – such as those moving into Year 7. This, of course, requires staffing from teachers who are already feeling stretched, with the Chief Executive of the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) stating: “Staffing summer schools will be a challenge because of burnout among teachers.”
When it comes to closing the gap on missed content and missed schooldays, small group and private tuition is arguably the best solution. Weekly sessions could help a student make three to six months of academic progress, with particularly large gains in literacy and numeracy among primary-school pupils, according to four recent UK studies. With the government utilising the National Tutoring Programme to deliver some private tuition, there have been criticisms as many of the tutors being used are not professionals with many being university students.
The tuition which we provide at Arlen Education could be the simple answer to ensure that your children make the academic progress that they require to be successful this year and beyond. Our students have gained entry into some of the most competitive schools and universities around the country, with our tutors being professionals who are tried-and-tested tutors with outstanding track records. We offer a plethora of group online lessons which combine the best parts of one-to-one learning and group tuition, to provide focused and interactive teaching which students respond extremely well to.
If you would like to try one of our group lessons, then you can trial any of our lessons free of charge – please see a full timetable below. If it is private tuition, which is of interest to you then please feel free to contact us on enquiries@arleneducation.com and we will be able to assist you.