On the day children in England return to school "Fresh ways to support families to be involved in their children’s education may be the most beneficial, but perhaps most overlooked, outcome of lockdown learning in 2021", says Dr Mark Pulsford of Education Studies at the University of Warwick:

"As all pupils return to school, there’s a lot of talk about ‘lost learning’ and ‘catching up’. The almost inevitable answer to this apparent problem is longer school days or shortened summer holidays, solutions that have been widely reported. But this suggests a narrow, limited idea of learning and the role of school; such a focus doesn’t do justice to what most schools will be focusing on in the coming weeks: belonging, friendship, settling back in, maybe even healing.

"The idea of being ‘behind’ only piles more stress on to pupils, parents and teachers who have been managing as best they can during the most difficult year in education and work that most of us have experienced. The majority of pupils won’t be far ‘behind’ anyway. For the pupils that are, longer days, extra tuition and shorter school holidays are unlikely to get to the heart of the problem.

"The hope is that from the most recent period of remote learning, when schools and teachers worked extremely hard to connect with pupils and families with clarity, creativity and warmth, new and stronger home-school partnerships can emerge. Fresh ways to support families to be involved in their children’s education may be the most beneficial, but perhaps most overlooked, outcome of lockdown learning in 2021."

8 March 2021