Fears over pupils’ readiness for school

TEACHERS HAVE raised serious concerns about Year 6 pupils’ readiness for secondary school because of the pandemic, according to a new survey.

Eight in 10 teachers are warning that incoming Year 7 pupils will be unprepared for secondary school, citing fears over pupils’ 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.

More than 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 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.

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

The polling of 1,006 primary and secondary teachers also found that two thirds of respondents said they doubted the reliability of the 2022 SATs tests in primary schools.

Four-fifths said that pupil performance would be impacted by the disruptions of the pandemic.