What do students want from school catch-up plans?

It’s unknown what the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic will be on the world, and one area where people fear the most losses could have occurred is in education where children through to young adults have had to miss out on face-to-face learning and instead, school themselves in their own homes.

In order to make up for this, the government has been discussing plans to offer grants to schools in England to help intimate so-called “catch-up” schemes which can help any of those who have felt like they may have fallen behind catch up. Part of these talks have included suggestions for how this catch-up might take place, including longer school days and shorter holidays. But what do students think?

A recent BBC article spoke to a group of sixth form students to find out what it is they want to be put in place after the pandemic

Clarity

In fact, it’s not longer school days or increased access to online learning they are asking for. It’s not actually anything that schools can do at all, these sixth form students are asking for clarity from the government over everything else.

A-Level student Catherine explains to the BBC: “The most important thing the government could give us as students is clarity. And clarity early on and not just a few months before we're due to take the exams.”

Giving students this clarity early on means that better plans can be put in place to help them progress. Also, there is no doubt that having so many rule changes (masks on, masks off, for example) can’t help any already apprehensive students from worrying even more.

Normality

Another main desire of the students spoken to was to be back in the classroom and enjoying face-to-face learning again. Online catch-up is a suggestion that’s been made but, for many students, they feel this won’t offer the solution they want as they miss the engaging and social nature of classroom learning.

Katelan says: “Every student wanted to be back in the classroom. When it's in-person it's just so more enjoyable. If you're learning off a PowerPoint, it's just very 2-D and not interesting”. Pavni agrees, furthering: “It's also the social side, the teachers say something, and you've cracked a joke about it and you remember it.”

Quality

One of the main suggestions for combating the catch-up is longer school days, which are being widely trialled as a way to help students who have fallen behind during the pandemic. However, this isn’t something that the students spoken to want, instead, saying they’d prefer quality over quantity and worry that having long days could instead leave them fatigued and lethargic.

The route back to normal education isn’t a simple one, and, for students who have been negatively affected by the pandemic, there will be no blanket solution. It goes to show from the students in this article that, more than what the plan actually is, knowing there is a plan in place is the most important aspect of the catch-up scheme.

For those who feel their children may have missed out, at Beauchamp Partners nanny agency we can help match you with some home help, giving your children face-to-face assistance or helping to take care of younger children whilst you spend time aiding older students with revision

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