Covid 19, The Impact On Student Learning

We as individuals find it much easier to learn when we are in a safe, creative and positive environment. This is something which is heightened for students especially children that attend primary. At such a young age we require a routine and structure to our day. We enjoy playtime with our friends and doing well academically and especially look forward to assembly and star of the week. Unfortunately, there has been a disruption to our usual status quo due to the current Covid-19 pandemic. We as adults are in a state of confusion and this is only worse for our children. The absence of knowing when they will return to school, see their family and lastly the chance to play with their friends, has been said by many to create turmoil within students lives (as said in a TES article written by Kai Vacher talking about 4 reasons pre-recorded lessons are your best option).

The current issue started with parents and teachers not having a clear understanding of how children were going to remain educated throughout the lockdown period. Recent articles (written in TES: such as Dan Worth on BBC bitesize materials and, Catherine Lough speaking on the topic of Online SEND Curriculum) have spoken about the positive impact online/virtual learning has on students and the ability to make it easier for parents to teach and understand. However, fast forward 6 weeks we are now being informed that selective year groups are able to attend school again. Namely, EYFS, Year 1 and Year 6. This poses several concerns amongst the teaching and parent community. An article written by (Catherine Lough on the topic off overcrowded classrooms) has found that amongst primary teachers there has been a 62% consensus that classrooms are overcrowded. This is an issue even in an ideal world let alone a world dealing with a pandemic. Now as the general public, we begin to question the safety of our children due to the fact they are able to attend school yet are limited to overcrowded classrooms. Speaking on this again is Ms Lough who poses the question how effectively will schools be able to maintain social distancing?

With this in mind it can be said that online/virtual learning may be the way forward until the end of this pandemic. Through online learning children are in the safety of their own home and are able to receive an education and complete a number of activities that stimulate their minds. However, this has been met with some drawbacks as some are afraid that parents may teach children in a dictorial and more traditional fashion whereas schools have now moved on from this and teach students through interaction and creativity (again speaking on this was Ms Lough in separate article about online/virtual learning). With a recent article in the Guardian by Mr Dickens stating that the DfE is suggesting that those learning at home may suffer, begs the question what do parents do?

Some have said that academic learning for students can take a backseat during this traumatic time as there has been a discussion into the mental health of children as a result of Covid 19 (such as an article written by Grianne Hallahan speaking on whether social distancing rules will affect the children s mental health and whether they will be able to remain at a distance from their peers without adding to their trauma of feeling neglected by the education system and the adults around them). Therefore, as suggested by (Ms Lough), parents should try and focus on supporting their children emotionally over the coming weeks with their learning becoming a second priority. This is emphasised for those living in more deprived and poorer areas as latest government statistics have shown that the poorer London boroughs such as Newham have been affected the most with the highest mortality rate as a result of Covid-19. Bleak news such as this requires children s mental state and emotions to be the main priority. Additionally, more deprived areas have limited access to technology and therefore those students will be unable to gain access to online/virtual learning. This may add to their stress and trauma as they may feel they are falling behind on their work. For some, education is their only escape and they truly enjoy learning new things, this may be especially hard on those students.

In my opinion schools are in dire need of the governments support to help with the transition periods for students, as this has been greatly impacted by Covid-19. Students have been unable to attend school during the crucial transition period into the new academic year. Children attending school prematurely without the understanding of social distancing can result in the virus spreading and ultimately mean we will have to take a step backwards and children will miss out on even more of their education.