Our children’s education badly hit by Covid-19

Ed Hyslop of First Class Learning believes schools will require more assistance to help children catch-up on weeks and months of lost learning because of lockdown and social distancing.

Our children’s education badly hit by Covid-19

Ed Hyslop of First Class Learning believes schools will require more assistance to help children catch-up on weeks and months of lost learning because of lockdown and social distancing.

The on-going Coronavirus pandemic has had a detrimental effect on so many people’s lives and businesses over the past six to nine months. It has affected almost every sector of the economy, as well as the day-to-day lives of adults and children alike. Employment has been badly hit, while leisure habits have changed immeasurably.

Apart from the nation’s overall health, nothing is probably more important than giving the country’s children and teenagers a first-rate education from the ages of four or five, through to leaving secondary school at 16, 17 or 18. But when Covid-19 struck, it turned the entire education system upside down. Right from the start of lockdown in March, education has been one of the most pressing issues facing the UK Government.

Schools were closed to most pupils, although children of key workers could still attend – but had to sit yards apart from each other. Learning went online and it wasn’t until six months later were schools able to re-open again – but the ‘new normal’ was completely different to what had gone before. Social distancing meant a new way of living with many schools having to operate a ‘relay-system’, with staggered start times for some classes. 

The Government spent most of the summer trying to find a solution to the problem and Ed Hyslop, the chief executive of First Class Learning, says it is important for all children to catch up on the education they have missed since lockdown was imposed in early Spring. He says First Class Learning, a leading tuition franchise specialising in maths and English, has embraced change since the pandemic took hold.

He explains: “When the Coronavirus hit us, it was clear that our existing model, based on physical centres, would not be viable during lockdown so we put systems in place to digitally support our students, parents and franchisees. Now, more than ever, children need tuition support and, in some ways, we are in a fortunate position compared to other businesses. We have developed an online learning platform so that our franchisees can continue to support their students remotely. 

“Our model is to help children in small groups, and we have achieved this via Microsoft Teams. Our tutors have been coming up with innovative ways to keep children motivated and engaged. We have also started a fund to help franchisees who may have lost business and are struggling financially.” 

With schools across the UK recently re-opening post lockdown, many parents and teachers are still trying to get to grips with the ‘new rules’. Nothing is going to be the same for some time, and especially while social distancing measures are in place. Homework is likely to be done online from now on, while school bags may be banned from entering the classroom. 

Ed realises the ongoing disruption and uncertainty is having a massive impact on children, parents and teachers, but added: “What is most important is that we keep giving our young people the tools they need to catch up after the damage of the last few months. We are now living in completely different times, with Covid-19 impacting on every person, family and business across the globe. Put simply, things will not go back to normal anytime soon, so we all need to learn, adapt and innovate moving forward.    

“Schools have been forced to change how they operate, putting cleanliness and the safety of pupils and staff above all else. The downside of this very necessary practice is that it will impact greatly on the provision of education, as even the sharing of reading books and textbooks will no longer be the same. What is crystal clear to me is that schools will need help. This terrible disruption has been inflicted on a whole generation of pupils, all of which means extra support has to be given to enable our children to catch up.

“Children in the UK have lost valuable teaching time and there’s a lot of catching up to do. Having a good education underpins their chances in the future and shapes the career choices of the next generation. I believe parents will increasingly be searching for private tuition resources to help their children, as we come out of this crisis. We, at First Class Learning, with our network of 300 franchisees across the UK are extremely well placed to benefit from this surge in demand. Our unique maths and English programmes are aligned with the National Curriculum.”

For more information please visit: https:/www.firstclasslearning.co.uk/own-a-franchise

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Andy Swales
Andy Swales
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