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FEATURE FOCUS: CLOSING THE LEARNING GAP
Learning is a year-round activity: we need to stop thinking about education in terms of the school calendar
stressful exams. The six week breather is needed to balance out the hectic school terms with homework, exams and school runs. It is obvious that everyone needs a break from the structured routine of school and everything that goes with it, but what is less clear is whether children benefit from a protracted break in learning. As much as teenagers especially may look
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n our second feature this month looking at the importance of ensuring that learning
gains made in the summer term are retained over the summer holidays ready for the new school year, James Grant, Co-Founder and Managing Director at MyTutor, makes the case for a sensible, year-round approach to learning. The school holidays are a welcome chance for children and parents to unwind and recharge after a long academic year, particularly following
forward to a long summer break spending time with their friends, going on holiday or earning some pocket money with a seasonal job, the lengthy time out of the classroom can set children back when they return to school. This is particularly acute over the summer holidays, but can apply to all the weeks of the year that are not part of the academic calendar. The term ‘summer learning loss’ is used to describe the occurrence of children losing subject knowledge and understanding throughout the longer summer holiday. One study found that it takes an average of six
weeks in the autumn term for students to get back to the level they were at before the summer. On top of that, up to eleven weeks of maths skills can be lost over the holidays. That’s not to mention one month of learning across the other subjects that can also fall by the wayside. I am not advocating that children spend all
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their time out of school engaging in a constant roster of structured educational activities. Children need time to relax, enjoy the summer weather and pursue their own hobbies. However, with the educational disruption caused by the pandemic still causing ripples, it is a good time to examine any issues that could be contributing to widening the attainment gap, or to children not fulfilling their full potential. I believe that simply trying to fit learning in
during academic terms, throughout the school day, is an outdated way to approach education. To create more continuity between key stages, and year moves, children need to be supported to continue learning during school breaks on a more consistent basis. No child should have to spend the first few weeks of a new term going over things they have already learned in the previous one and no teacher should feel that planning refresher lessons is a key part of their autumn term preparation. Embracing all year round learning is a better
approach to dealing with learning loss than extending the school day, or even the school term, as it creates more learning opportunities for children overall. It also avoids the issues of putting more on the plates of overworked teaching staff and overstretching children who
July/August 2022
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