FEATURE FOCUS: SUMMER LEARNING LOSS
with balancing work commitments and childcare, and it’s easy to see why some parents don’t force the issue.
That being said, it’s reported that children across the UK spend an average of 3 hours and 16 minutes watching television every day - something that will inevitably increase outside of term time. It’s common for parents to feel guilty about this, however, watching TV could actually work wonders in reducing the ‘summer slide’ if the subtitles are turned on.
Research has found that turning on the subtitles for the full year would amount to the same number of words being read that are in all of the Harry Potter series, the Narnia saga, the Lord of the Rings trilogy and Roald Dahl’s entire collection, combined.
This is a message that TOTS (turn on the subtitles) has been promoting since the COVID-19 pandemic, hoping to influence as many children, parents and schools as possible. With support from Hollywood legend Jack Black, Stephen Fry, Sandi Toksvig and Lenny Henry, as well as other leading academics and influencers, the campaign has already helped thousands of children improve their literacy around the world.
Leverage technology
There’s also a number of educational apps and websites that learners can use outside of the classroom environment, allowing them to access curriculum content should they wish to do so. The fact that these can be downloaded on a mobile device also means that young people can
July/August 2024
continue to enjoy time outside or with friends, rather than being tied to a desk or having to carry around a big pile of heavy textbooks. During term time, some of these apps might be used to set revision or practice exam-style questions across a range of key subjects, from science and maths, to history and geography. Access GCSEPod is a digital learning solution that breaks down learning into easily-digestible units and lessons, with a mix of audio-visual learning and formative assessment. All Access GCSEPod content has been developed to engage learners in 3-5 minute bursts of high quality audio-visual learning. These short ‘pods’ allow learners to either work through the content independently during the summer holiday, without straying away from the curriculum. Educators might also set assignments before the end of the academic year, recommend content in areas where learners might be struggling or that they will be covering in September, and provide digital feedback at the start of the autumn term. Even if a learner does this 1-2 times a week, it can improve their confidence and maintain some form of connection with their studies.
Parental involvement
Of course, none of this is possible without buy- in from parents and guardians. Schools could consider organising workshops before the end of term to ensure parents feel supported in overseeing homework during the summer holiday, or prepare homework packs that families
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can work through.
The most important thing to remember is that the summer holiday is a time for educators and learners to relax and enjoy a break, with the impact of the summer slide often forgotten a few weeks into the new academic year when learners are back in a regular routine.
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