Year 6 pupils face ‘extraordinary challenges’ at secondary school

LOCKDOWN has left Year 6 pupils socially and emotionally unprepared for secondary school, say eight in 10 teachers. When they arrive in Year 7, pupils will be unready, teachers have warned, citing fears over behaviour, ability to focus and maths and English skills.

The survey of more than 1,000 teachers, commissioned by GL Assessment and carried out by Yougov, found 75 per cent were concerned that current Year 6 pupils would not be academically prepared for secondary school.

Most teachers – 79 per cent – said they thought Year 6 pupils would not be socially or emotionally ready to start secondary school, and seven in 10 teachers said their school was organising extra support for new Year 7 pupils to address learning gaps.

Over a fifth said their school would spend more time on classroom and behavioural skills, and a third said that their school would develop a more comprehensive reading programme for the new intake. Nearly half – 46 per cent – said their school was planning to offer more pastoral and emotional support.

Six in 10 teachers said they were most concerned about pupils’ basic classroom skills, such as focusing on a task and following instructions.

Over half – 54 per cent – were most worried about behaviour, while 38 per cent were anxious about numeracy, and 52 per cent about pupils’ literacy skills.

The polling of 1,006 primary and secondary teachers also found that twothirds doubted the reliability of the 2022 SATS tests in primary schools.

Four-fifths (82 per cent) said that pupil performance would be affected by the disruptions of the pandemic with just one in five saying they thought the 2022 results would be as reliable as in pre-pandemic years.

Primary teachers were more concerned than secondary school teachers, with 71 per cent reporting that SATS would be less reliable compared with 58 per cent of secondary teachers. A fifth of headteachers were considering recruiting specialist or primary experts to help pupils address learning gaps.

Geoff Barton, general secretary at the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “School leaders and teachers, in both phases, have deep concerns for pupils making the transition this year, both in terms of the impact of the disruption to their learning and their emotional and social preparedness.

“The [research] reflects what our own members have been telling us, particularly in relation to the pastoral support that leaders are finding huge demand for across all key stages.”

Crispin Chatterton, education director at GL Assessment, said: “Schools are going above and beyond to tackle [the] consequences of the pandemic.

“But we shouldn’t be under any illusions that this year’s transition to secondary school will be anything other than extraordinarily challenging for many students and teachers.”