Top marks for Lancashire's home-schooling lessons - but teachers might still have to make up for lost time

Lancashire’s primary school pupils are likely to have some catching up to do whenever they return to the classroom after lockdown – but they should have a head start after the county’s home-schooling programme got a gold star from local parents and national education bosses.
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Some of the specialist resources developed in-house by Lancashire County Council to help keep teaching on track have won recognition from the Department of Education, after being praised in a survey about the experience of families since schools closed to most pupils.

Lee Pimlott, the authority’s senior adviser for primary and nursery education, is full of praise for the teachers who created the lessons – and the parents and carers unexpectedly thrust into a new role as leaders of their children’s learning.

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However, he warns that the hiatus caused by the virus will leave many youngsters having to make up for lost time.

Lee Pimlott, senior adviser for nursery and primary education at Lancashire County CouncilLee Pimlott, senior adviser for nursery and primary education at Lancashire County Council
Lee Pimlott, senior adviser for nursery and primary education at Lancashire County Council

“Inevitably, schools will have to think about programmes of work that will allow children to catch up.

Parents are doing a fantastic job, but at the end of the day - no matter how much work has been sent home - it’s not been a teacher directing that learning. Schools will have to identify any gaps in [understanding] – and they will do that on an individual child basis,” Lee explains.

He also cautions that an extended absence from the classroom might not be the biggest hurdle which some pupils will have to overcome.

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“The first work that schools will be doing with children when they come back is on their social and emotional development.

Most of Lancashire's schoolchildren have been learning from home during the lockdownMost of Lancashire's schoolchildren have been learning from home during the lockdown
Most of Lancashire's schoolchildren have been learning from home during the lockdown

“These children have gone through such a traumatic time. Adults have been telling them not to go near anybody and then all of a sudden they will be back in class with their friends again.

“There will be some children who’ll sail through it and others who will really struggle – while some may appear to be coping well, but may present with some sort of [related] behaviour a few months down the line.”

As debate now rages over when schools should gradually start to readmit their pupils - a decision which the county council has said should be made by individual headteachers - the focus of educationalists at the authority over the last two months has been on how to smooth the sudden shift of the classroom to the front room.

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County Hall’s “read and response” literacy programme for primary-aged children has now been made available in other council areas, after its reading-based activities captured the imaginations of education professionals – as well as Lancashire’s youngsters.

“It has been designed to maintain and foster a love of reading, so that when children do come back to school, teachers don’t have to start all over again in trying to re-engage them,” says Lee.

“For instance, some of the activities have been to design a menu for a family meal or create a quiz based on something they have just learned.

“It has all been linked to the national curriculum, so it’s been about them having a nice time – but with a purpose.”

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Themed weekly units of work for other subject areas have also been made available to schools, along with guidance for parents-turned-teachers about what to expect. One-to-one support has also been offered to families of children with special educational needs.

County Cllr Phillippa Williamson, cabinet member for children, young people and schools, says that all ages and abilities have been catered for – with a particular focus on ensuring that no child has been left disadvantaged by a lack of access to digital technology.

“The whole point is that it’s not just about sitting in front of a screen anyway – but some of the material has been adapted for those who haven’t got online access or even a computer. So parents have been able to collect [hard copies] of what they need.

“There are also packs for families with multiple children, who will obviously have different learning requirements – because it must be difficult for any family trying to manage all of that. There is often a [single] theme, which brings the household together, but tailored for different age groups.

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“The schools department have really put themselves in the position of families stuck at home in this situation,” County Cllr Williamson adds.

BACK TO SCHOOL BLUES?

For Euxton father Phil Preston, the spread of his children’s ages - from five to 15 – has given him and his wife a varied home-schooling challenge.

“You can’t just set a five-year-old a task and say come back in two hours when you’ve done it. It’s also more time-consuming in terms of ensuring their social skills develop as well,” Phil explains.

“Those of secondary school age can be more unsupervised – but they still need guidance. It may actually have created a discipline for them, because there is the temptation to be looking at their phone or watching Netflix, which they wouldn’t be able to do in a normal classroom.”

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Phil also expects that the experience of getting backing to school – whenever it comes – will be very different depending on age.

“The older ones are desperate to get back to the social structure, but it will be more difficult for our five-year-old.

“She only started school last September and has now had two and a half months away. So we’ve gone through the whole process of embedding her into school and breaking the parental link – and then since the schools shut, she has been back with both of us 24/7.

“As a five-year-old, you get very used to that and then suddenly we’re going to cut the cord and send her back out for thirty hours a week.”

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Phil says he appreciates the care teachers have shown his children while they have been away from the classroom – "there have been regular welfare calls” – but warns of the potential difficulties ahead.

“They have got a bit of a challenge to adapt the schools so that safety can be maintained – and that will be necessary to keep the goodwill of the parents. So they’ve done a great job, but I think they are probably only halfway through their battle.”