It was the morning of March 23rd 2020 when Year 7 pupils woke up to the welcomed news that every day was going to be a fun day for the foreseeable future!
School was out for spring! And in parts, for summer and occasionally through winter, as the story later unfurled.
But how this in turn was going to impact on every child up and down the country, was something that no-one could have quite predicted.
The Beginning:
Ultimately these pupils were observing the downfall of society as their little worlds were turned upside down.
Although no school at first meant no work… No school also soon meant no friends, no friends meant no fun, no fun meant no holidays and no holidays generally meant no grandparents – but this little year 7 group wouldn’t realise this yet because it was all SO exciting.
School was closed! Parents’ worst nightmares had manifested themselves in a horror story that not even Mary Shelley (no relation!) could write.
The Present:
Fast forward to January 2022.
These once Year 7’s are current Year 9 pupils and they really haven’t had a fulfilling KS3 secondary education.
It has been a perpetual pandemic related educational state of emergency for the most part! As a result, these pupils are now underprepared to make the right subject choices for their GCSE courses, which for the majority begin in September of this year.
So, what can we do to fill the huge gaps in knowledge that have appeared as a result of schools and academies tussling with online learning and Covid-19 isolation absences?
Disengagement – every teachers nemesis:
Researchers from the NSW Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation (CESE) have found that historically in year 9 the tolerance for disengagement is higher, so how do we re-engage these pupils?
More importantly, the bigger issue is whether as a result of their disengagement, will these Year 9’s receive the same amount of sympathy as the current Year 11’s when sitting their exams?
I fear not.
So the onus is now on parents and schools to work together to make sure the disparity between year group achievements does not exist.
So, have we solved the case?
The Pandemic has been a shapeshifter, and because of this, we cannot solve ‘The Case of the Missing Education’ without attaching the modern horror stories (both personal and professional) that have touched us all in some way.
Perhaps the truth is that educationally this current Year 9 group will always struggle to fill the holes in their educational lives where there was once plenty.
Share this post
Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on twitter
Twitter
Share on linkedin
LinkedIn
Share on email
Email
Leave a Reply