The impacts of the pandemic covid-19 and lockdowns in England’s education system will last until the mid-2030s, according to a study released Monday.
The report, commissioned by the British Association of School and College Leaders (ASCLin English), concluded that the effects of covid-19 are “deep, widespread and persistent” in schools.
She also warned that educational challenges will remain for the next five to ten years, as children who were affected by the pandemic at an early age complete the school year.
The author of the study and director of Research at the University of Cambridge, Tim Oates, said in a statement that dealing with the impact of the coronavirus on the school system “will require a long and exhausting effort”, as well as a strategic response and increased resources co-designed by schools, unions and the UK Government.
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The report also highlighted that the consequences of the pandemic affect children differently depending on the age group and recommended individual assessment and monitoring to see the effects on each student, as well as the use of debate to express feelings or the use of digital resources and strategies to improve the links between home and school.
On the one hand, secondary schools highlighted an increase in reading difficulties, as well as “poor personal organization and challenging interaction patterns” among students; while in primary schools they reported very serious problems in “language development, bathroom autonomy or anxiety in social spaces”, among others.
The Secretary General of the ASCLPepe Di’Iasio commented that although Covid-19 is no longer in the headlines, the impact on schools and children remains an everyday reality.
He also said the previous Conservative government had not only failed to address the problem but had also perhaps ignored the recommendations of its own Economic Recovery Commissioner.
Di’Iasio concluded by urging the new Labour Executive of Keir Starmer to work together on the “development of specific and well-funded policies that respond to the challenges described in the report.”
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