@BabyT1
What about those who haven't been able to attend? For many reasons, No laptops, Poor or no Internet connections. Is it their fault that they can't keep up? Or should we just forget about them and only concentrate on the ones that are lucky enough to be able to attend🤦🏽♀️😔
Target any catch up. In school.
If enforced repetition of years or extra sessions in holidays is negatively going to impact on some kids you can't make it mandatory. Especially, to be blunt about it, if the parents of the kids doing ok are better off. They simply won't tolerate it. These are parents with influence and who vote.
The flip to that is catch up outside normal school hours will also far too often not benefit those who need it most. The reality is that some parents in this situation wont want to bother. Cos education just isn't something they value nor think important.
People want a holiday. People need a holiday.
By all means look at holiday catch up being available in areas most in need but its not needed everywhere. Tbh areas which need catch up most, need long term real investment in schools more than catch up lessons anyway. If you have a situation where teachers are buying basic supplies from their own pocket, you are on a loser to begin with. There is arguably a case to be made for limiting class sizes to say 20 or under in areas of deprivation and historic poor attainment levels until there is a marked improvement. That might mean building extra classrooms or schools.
Make a real difference to the educational opportunities kids have by recognising the problem relates to chronic inequality issues rather than a temporary issue. Otherwise you end up with catchup sessions really being about giving a boost to the children of middle class working parents with guilt about how they don't have time to home school rather than addressing issues where kids live in overcrowded homes without wifi, laptops and sufficient room to work. Cos if you dont have these things in normal times your ability to do homework and study is impaired permanently not just affected by covid.
Why are we need discussing the need for 'study rooms' or sessions after school that kids can attend for this reason? We know this is a resourcing issue and one that all ready stretched teachers can not provide. It needs additional staffing and funding.
The demand for catch up lessons really rather misses the point and ignores the structural issues here. Its about making sure that middle class kids don't lose out rather than those who actually have been disadvantaged most during the pandemic.
Repeating a year doesn't change this either. Indeed if we added an extra year to compulsory schooling that has an economic impact on the poorest families most. And it doesn't really solve the long term issues here. You are also more likely to end up with behavioual issues or distress in the kids doing well through boredom and frustration at not actually learning anything.
The problem is inequality in education. Think about it in those terms properly.
It is ultimately not loss of education in one year.