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      string(4896) "The youngest children at primary schools in England were the worst affected by learning loss after last year’s pandemic lockdown, with those aged six and seven most likely to fall behind in maths and writing, according to this report by Juniper.The report examined teacher assessment data from more than 6,000 primary schools representing 1.47 million pupils. It looks at the percentage of pupils achieving, or exceeding, what is expected for their age (age related expectations) for Years 1 through to 6 in reading, writing and maths, in comparison to pre-pandemic levels. It also examines what effect children’s return to school from September through to December 2020 had on their learning.It looks at the percentage of pupils achieving, or exceeding, what is expected for their age (age related expectations) for Years 1 through to 6 in reading, writing and maths, in comparison to pre-pandemic levels. It also examines what effect children’s return to school from September through to December 2020 had on their learning.The report reveals that although all year groups have struggled to reach age related expectations due to the pandemic, it is the youngest children whose learning has had the most significant drop. Prior to the pandemic 82% of Year 1 pupils achieved age related expectations in reading, 79% in writing and 83% in maths, By the summer term of 2020 these figures had dropped to 60%, 54%, and 59% of pupils respectively.The report is the latest evidence to suggest that the learning loss suffered by pupils during lockdown has been significant and may require more resources than the £1.3bn now allocated by the government for pupils in England.While there was an across-the-board fall of a quarter in the proportion of children working at a level consistent with their age, those pupils in year 1 in 2019-20 appear to have suffered the most significant losses.Before lockdown closed schools to most pupils from March last year, 82% of year 1 pupils had achieved age-related expectations in reading and 83% in maths. By the summer term of 2020, these figures had dropped to 60% and 59% respectively for the same group of children.Children in year 1 at the start of the pandemic, aged five and six, also fell behind in writing, from 79% working at their expected level to just 54% by summer 2020.The figures show that for pupils in year 6 – the final year of primary school, for children aged 10 and 11 – the amount of learning loss fell dramatically to just a few percentage points in writing, reading and maths.The impact on children from disadvantaged backgrounds was even more severe. The proportion of children on free school meals in year 1 doing maths at their appropriate age level fell by more than 30 percentage points, almost 10 percentage points more than among non-disadvantaged children.The report found steep falls in maths among disadvantaged children in most year groups, ‘with children in these groups missing the face-to-face support of their teachers in this subject. Another possible influence is that parents are often less confident in supporting their children in maths than in reading and writing,’ it noted.Further data collected after children returned to school last autumn showed that younger children, up to year 2, were slower to improve their performance than those in the years above.Key Findings:The number of children in Years 2 to 6 who were achieving at or above the standard expected for their age dropped by approximately one fifth between autumn 2019 and summer 2020.Mathematics was the subject most affected.The pandemic has disrupted the progress of Year 1 in 2019/20 more than any other pupil group, with the percentage of children achieving at or above expectations falling by around a quarter.There was a more pronounced drop in the proportion of disadvantaged pupils working to expected levels for their age than for their non-disadvantaged peers, with Year 1 2019/20 worst affected.Numbers of Year 1 children with SEN working at the expected levels for their age in maths and writing dropped by almost a third.Younger children have recovered more slowly. The increase in percentages of children in Key Stage 1 who were working at expected levels after the return to school in autumn 2020 was much smaller than for children in Key Stage 2.Fewer disadvantaged children had returned to working at expected levels than non-disadvantaged children after they were back in school in autumn 2020.In addition, fewer children with SEN had returned to working at expected levels than their peers by autumn 2020.Year 6 was the most resilient year group with a smaller drop in attainment and greater rates of recovery after the return to school.Link: National Dataset Report – The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Primary School Children’s Learning"
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Leadership

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Primary School Children’s Learning

15 Feb 2021

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      string(3976) "This research by the National Literacy Trust finds that playing video games can support young people’s literacy, creativity and empathy, while parents say communicating with family and friends through video games during lockdown has been helpful for their child’s mental wellbeing. These benefits were found to be strongest for boys and reluctant readers.A survey of 4,626 young people aged 11-16 in the UK found that video games can provide young people with a route into reading and improve confidence in reading skills. 4 in 5 (79%) young people who play video games read materials relating to video games, including in-game communications (40%), reviews and blogs (31%), books (22%) and fan fiction (19%); while 1 in 3 (35%) believe playing video games makes them better readers.What’s more, video games can encourage young people’s creativity through writing. 3 in 5 (63%) young people who play video games write something relating to video games, including video game scripts (28%), advice to help other players (22%), fan fiction (11%) and blogs or reviews (8%). What’s more, 3 in 5 (58%) young people would also like to write or design video games and more than 3 in 10 (31%) would like more opportunities to read and write about video games in school.Video games were also found to have potential benefits for increasing empathy, with two-thirds (65%) of young people saying that playing video games helped them imagine being someone else.The shared cultural experience of playing video games was also found to support positive communication with friends and family. Three-quarters (76%) of young people talk to their friends about video games compared with only 3 in 10 (29%) who discuss books. In addition, young people said that playing video games helps them to build social connections both ‘in real life’ and online.Many young people said that playing video games helps them either deal with, or escape from, stress and difficult emotions. The role of video games in supporting young people’s mental wellbeing was also key during lockdown. More than half (56%) of parents said their child had chatted with family and friends as part of playing a video game during lockdown and 3 in 5 (60%) felt that this communication had been helpful for their child’s mental wellbeing during this time.The benefits of playing video games for young people’s literacy were found to be strongest for boys and reluctant readers. Boys are much more likely to play video games than girls (96% vs 65%) and nearly twice as many boys than girls said they chatted with family and friends as part of playing a video game during lockdown (71% vs 40%). Video games were also found to be effective at engaging reluctant readers with stories, as 3 in 4 (73%) young people who don’t enjoy reading say playing video games helps them feel more part of a story than reading a book-based text. Main Findings:45.3% of parents said their child spent more time playing video games during lockdown than before lockdown. 40.9% of parents said their children played the same amount of video games before and during lockdown and 13.7% said they played less during lockdown. 55.6%of parents said their child had chatted with family and/or friends as part of playing a video game during lockdown. When young people were asked the same question, 51.7% said they had done so.  Boys were nearly twice as likely as girls (70.5% vs. 39.7%) to chat with friends and/orfamilyas part of playing a video game during lockdown; while the same was true for younger game players, with 54.8% of those aged 11 to 14, 45.2% of those aged 14 to 16 and 31.5% of those ages 16 to 18 agreeing. 59.6%of  parents believe that  communicating  with  friends and  family through  video  game playing during lockdown has been helpful for their child’s mental wellbeing.Link: Video Game Playing and Literacy During the COVID-19 Lockdown in 2020"
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Leadership

Video Game Playing and Literacy During the COVID-19 Lockdown in 2020

25 Aug 2020

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      string(314) "... in both reading and maths in autumn 2020 when compared to performance seen in Year 2 in the autumn term of 2017. This represents a Covid-19 gap of around two months ’progress for both reading and maths. It also shows that there is a large and concerning attainment gap ..."
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      string(3787) "This NFER interim report funded by the Education Endowment Foundation assesses the extent to which Year 2 pupils’ attainment in reading and maths were impacted by partial school closures during the first national Covid-19 lockdown, to identify common patterns, misconceptions and errors.The research finds that whilst on average all children achieved less well than the 2017 cohort, disadvantaged children performed worse on all questions across both subjects, and were less likely to attempt those towards the end of the assessments than their classmates.The analysis of reading assessment data indicates that disruption to schooling appears to have had the greatest effect on pupils still in the early stages of learning to read, with children across the cohort misinterpreting question words, struggling to make specific inferences, and failing to understand sequences of events in stories.The pupil performance in maths suggests that, in general, curriculum areas that children found challenging in 2020, such as money and fractions, were the same as those that pupils struggled with in 2017. The 2020 cohort also found multiplication and division calculations more difficult, especially when they were required to recall facts from multiplication tables. However, pupils mostly performed well on questions derived from the prior Year 1 curriculum material, such as number, addition, and subtraction— average performance in these topic areas was often at least as good as in 2017. This may be a result of consolidation in the autumn term of 2020 rather than the introduction of new material.As well as providing a detailed commentary of Key Stage 1 assessment data, this publication also considers potential implications for teacher practice, intended to complement and work in partnership with broader school efforts to support pupil wellbeing and ensure positive outcomes for children.The study confirms that children in this age group have fallen behind and that disadvantage gaps have widened and it quantifies the scale of this learning loss. It reinforces the importance of continuing to invest in catch-up activities to enable children to recover the learning they have lost.Key Findings:Year 2 pupils’ attainment in reading was significantly lower in autumn 2020 compared to a standardised sample from 2017; representing a Covid-19 gap of around two months’ progress.Year 2 pupils’ attainment in mathematics was significantly lower in autumn 2020 compared to a standardised sample from 2017; representing a Covid-19 gap of around two months’ progress.The disadvantage gap in reading is around seven months’ progress, which represents a widening as compared to Key Stage 1 in 2019.The disadvantage gap in mathematics is around seven months’ progress, which represents a widening as compared to Key Stage 1 in 2019.ConclusionThis study confirms that, following the disruption to schooling in the 2020 spring and summer terms, Year 2 pupils had significantly lower achievement in both reading and maths in autumn 2020 when compared to performance seen in Year 2 in the autumn term of 2017. This represents a Covid-19 gap of around two months ’progress for both reading and maths. It also shows that there is a large and concerning attainment gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged pupils: seven months for both reading and maths amongst Year 2 pupils. It seems that the disadvantage gap is wider than earlier estimates, and will likely be further exacerbated by school closures in early 2021.Link: Impact of School Closures and Subsequent Support Strategies on Attainment and Socio-Emotional Wellbeing in Key Stage 1"
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Leadership

Impact of School Closures and Subsequent Support Strategies on Attainment and Socio-Emotional Wellbeing in Key Stage 1

30 Mar 2021

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      string(3753) "This DFE analysis is based on the results achieved by pupils (across age groups) in the first half of the 2020/21 autumn term (up to and including 25 October 2020) in comparison to pupils in previous years.All year groups have experienced a learning loss in reading. In primary schools these were typically between 1.7 and 2.0 months. Schools with high levels of disadvantage have experienced higher levels of loss than other schools, particularly in secondary (2.2 months in schools with high rates of free school meal eligibility and 1.5 months in schools with low rates of free school meal eligibility).Main Findings:All year groups have experienced a learning loss in reading. In primary schools these were typically between 1.7 and 2.0 months, and in year 8 and year 9, 1.6 and 2.0 months respectively.It is pupils who have just started year 7 where we see the smallest learning loss at 0.9 months. One possible explanation for this is that this year group was out of school for less time than others. Schools were expected to be open to reception, year 1, year 2 and year 6 from 1 June 2020 – while others were still receiving remote education. Though it should be noted that the sample size for this group is lower than other year groups and these results may be adjusted with more detailed data available later in the year.The learning losses in mathematics were greater. We estimate that, on average, pupils in primary schools have experienced a learning loss of just over three months. It has not been possible to derive robust estimates for pupils in secondary school in mathematics.There appear to be some regional disparities in the level of learning loss in reading with pupils in the North East and in Yorkshire and the Humber seeing the greatest losses. However, the differences between regions are relatively small once we control for historic rates of progress in these areas and all regions have experienced losses.We also find schools with high levels of disadvantage have experienced higher levels of loss than other schools, particularly in secondary (2.2 months in schools with high rates of free school meal eligibility and 1.5 months in schools with low rates of free school meal eligibility).At this stage it is not possible to break down results by pupil characteristics, or to model the progress typically made in Star Assessments by different pupil groups, but this will be possible when the data are matched with information held in the National Pupil Database and will be included in our full report.Conclusion:This report represents our first assessment of the learning loss experienced by pupils in England as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.The degree of learning loss identified in this report is lower than has been reported by some other studies of pupils in England but is of a similar magnitude to those found by the EEF in an assessment of pupils in Year 2 and is of a similar magnitude to those found using Renaissance assessments in the United States. We find that all year groups have experienced a learning loss in reading, ranging from 1.6 months to 2.0 months. The learning losses in mathematics were greater, in primary schools learning losses averaged just over 3 months.All regions have, on average, experienced learning losses in reading, though the differences between regions are relatively small. We also find schools with high levels of disadvantage have experienced higher levels of loss than other schools particularly in secondary (2.2 months in schools with high free school meal eligibility and 1.5 months in schools with low free school meal eligibility).Link: Understanding Progress in the 2020/21 Academic Year"
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Leadership

Understanding Progress in the 2020/21 Academic Year

30 Mar 2021

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      string(3913) "This NFER study estimates the impact on attainment of pupils in Key Stage 1 in England following disruption to schooling during the spring and summer terms of 2020. It also aims to determine the parts of the curriculum that children are struggling with.It concludes that Primary school pupils in England have suffered “significant” learning loss during lockdown and school closures.The interim report assesses the extent to which Key Stage 1 pupils’ attainment in reading and maths were impacted by partial school closures during the first national Covid-19 lockdown, and particularly the effect on disadvantaged pupils.The paper focuses on the gap in attainment likely caused by March 2020 school closures (commonly called ‘learning loss’), and the disadvantage gap for Year 2 children as measured in autumn 2020. The results focus on assessments taken by Year 2 pupils (aged 6-7 and in their final year of Key Stage 1) in autumn term 2020 sat by nearly 6000 pupils in 168 schools.The findings suggest that primary-age pupils have significantly lower achievement in both reading and maths as a likely result of missed learning. In addition, there is a large and concerning attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and non-disadvantaged pupils.The NFER said its study confirmed that this represents a Covid-19 gap of around two months’ progress for both reading and maths. It also shows that there is a large and concerning attainment gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged pupils: seven months for both reading and maths amongst year 2 pupils. It seems that the disadvantage gap is wider than earlier estimates, and will likely be further exacerbated by school closures in early 2021.The NFER study involved nearly 6,000 year 2 pupils at 168 primary schools in England taking standardised tests in reading and maths, and comparing the results with those from tests taken by a sample of pupils in similar schools.Overall the interim results found that pupils were, on average, making two months’ slower progress in both subjects compared with the earlier sample. Worryingly, the study also found that “a very large number of pupils were unable to engage effectively with the tests”, suggesting that lockdown had created further difficulties for teachers.Key Findings:Year 2 pupils’ attainment in reading was significantly[1] lower in autumn 2020 compared to a standardised sample from 2017; representing a Covid-19 gap of around two months’ progress.Year 2 pupils’ attainment in mathematics was significantly lower in autumn 2020 compared to a standardised sample from 2017; representing a Covid-19 gap of around two months’ progress.The disadvantage gap in reading is around seven months’ progress, which represents a widening as compared to Key Stage 1 in 2019.The disadvantage gap in mathematics is around seven months’ progress, which represents a widening as compared to Key Stage 1 in 2019Conclusion:This study confirms that, following the disruption to schooling in the 2020 spring and summer terms, Year 2 pupils had significantly lower achievement in both reading and maths in autumn 2020 when compared to performance seen in Year 2 in the autumn term of 2017. This represents a Covid-19 gap of around two months’ progress for both reading and maths. It also shows that there is a large and concerning attainment gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged pupils: seven months for both reading and maths amongst Year 2 pupils. It seems that the disadvantage gap is wider than earlier estimates, and will likely be further exacerbated by school closures in early 2021Link: Impact of School Closures and Subsequent Support Strategies on Attainment and Socio-Emotional Wellbeing"
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Leadership

Impact of School Closures and Subsequent Support Strategies on Attainment and Socio-Emotional Wellbeing

3 Feb 2021

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