Pupils lack basic skills when schooling starts

CHILDREN in reception classes tap books like ipads, teachers say.

In a survey of 1,000 teachers, 82 per cent said that at least one child in their reception class had attempted to swipe or tap a book as if they were using an electronic device. The findings emerged as part of research by Kindred, a charity that has warned teachers have to spend on average 2.5 hours of their day helping children who are developmentally behind before they start school.

Four in 10 teachers said one reason children were not ready for school was that they were spending two hours or more each day using electronic devices. Teachers also blamed parents not reading to their children and spending more time on electronic devices than with children. The survey also found a quarter of four- and five-year-olds lack basic language skills and two fifths are unable to hold a pencil.

One in four children were not toilet trained before they start school, the teachers surveyed in the study said.

Felicity Gillespie, director of Kindred said: “The shocking findings in this year’s report should be a watershed moment for schools and parents because we know that children who are behind before they begin reception are more likely to struggle throughout life.”

She added: “In our focus groups, teachers were talking about the new phenomenon of children who don’t know how to use a picture book and when given one try and swipe it to see what’s inside. The preoccupation with mobile phones is also something that teachers and parents are very aware of and is of increasing concern.”

The study also asked the views of 1,000 parents of reception children. It found that only half of parents think they are solely responsible for toilet training. Less than half of parents said they believed their child should be able to use books correctly before starting reception. Nine in 10 parents said their child was ready for school when they started reception in Sept 2023. However, teachers reported that more than a third of children were not ready by their standards.

One teacher, who took part in a focus group, said: “I feel like we’re not teaching as much in the first year now as we used to. It’s more babysitting.”

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders union, said: “It’s concerning that more children appear to be starting primary school without the basic life skills they need.”