Parents want cut in summer holidays to make up for a lost Covid year
SHORTENING school holidays and prolonging the school day could help children catch up on ‘a lost year of ‘ education’, the National Parents Council Post Primary has said.
The council says both proposals are on the table in its discussions with the Department of Education over how to help school children recover lost time.
It comes as secondary schools in England are to be funded to run summer schools under plans to help children catch up on lost learning. Some of that schooling will be undertaken by private education firms.
Paul Rolston, of the National Parents Council Post Primary (NPCPP), says they have raised similar proposals in discussions with the Department of Education and would ‘continue to raise them’.
‘Everything has to be on the table because we’re so aware of how much catching up children need to do. This is especially true of children from disadvantaged backgrounds,’ he said.
‘But it’s not only those children. All children have been affected by this and all have some catching up to do.
‘It’s widely acknowledged that the lockdowns have had a devastating effect on education. The psychological knock-ons have been huge too.’
Teachers unions have already indicated that any shortening of school holidays or lengthening of school days would be bitterly opposed by its members.
‘We don’t have the resources in terms of private education firms that other European countries do. But if they can play a role here, that would be very beneficial.
‘That’s something we’d encourage the Department to look at,’ said Mr Rolston.
A report from the University of Bristol has concluded that even a third of the school year spent in remote learning causes lasting damage to pupils’ education.
Irish children have endured the longest education lockdown in Europe, missing up to seven months of face-to-face schooling.
Simon Burgess, an economics professor and the author of the Bristol report, says average lifetime earnings could be lowered by up to 3% if pupils are not given opportunities to catch up.
A Dutch study completed late last year found that children who missed eight weeks of school during lockdown were still a full eight weeks behind when later tested.
It also found that disadvantaged children had gone backwards, losing 12 weeks’ progress.
This is despite the fact that the Netherlands has some of the best internet access in the world
The Labour Party has now called for a €100m investment programme to help children here catch up. Its education spokesman Aodhán Ó Ríordáin says that the Government ‘hasn’t even thought about assessing the damage’ caused to schoolchildren because of lockdown.
‘The department continues just to react to events, there is no longterm vision at all,’ he said. ‘No vision of what we can do to help these children make up for lost time. We’re calling for an immediate assessment of the impact that reduced timetables and prolonged school closures have had on children in Ireland.
‘We’re also calling for the creation of a dedicated €100m fund to help make up for class-time lost over the last 12 months.’
Mr Ó Ríordáin says supports must be targeted at vulnerable and marginalised children, such as those with special educational needs, disabilities, in poverty, in homelessness, in Direct Provision and Traveller children.
In the UK, prime minister Boris Johnson has pledged an extra £400m of funding – on top of the £300m announced in January – as part of an education recovery plan.
Summer classes will be introduced for pupils who need it the most, such as incoming first year secondary school pupils, while oneto-one and small group tutoring schemes will be expanded.
Last week Education Minister Norma Foley moved to rule out the prospect of school holidays being reduced for teachers to make up for the absence of face-to-face time with pupils.
The issue was raised by Fine Gael TD Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, who asked the minister if she had considered a restructuring of school holidays to ensure children received more in-person learning.
However, Ms Foley told the Irish Mail on Sunday that there were no plans to change the school year in terms of holidays.
A department spokesman told the MoS this week that disadvantaged children would be able to avail of extra teaching: ‘It is the intention of the department to support an expanded summer programme in 2021 to support these children. ‘There will be extensive engagement with stakeholders in the coming months on this issue. The key focus for now needs to remain on the safe return to school for all students, re-establishing routines and supporting students and their families.’
‘Psychological knock-ons have been huge too’
‘We’re calling for the creation of €100m fund’