Leeds schools in university study to learn lessons from lockdown class closures

Researchers are recruiting primary schools in the city to examine the impact of coronavirus-related class closures and remote learning.

The team is carrying out the first detailed study of how the numeracy, literacy and language development of four to five-year-olds has been affected by the on-going pandemic.

By comparing pupils’ progress since the March lockdown with recent teachers’ assessments, the researchers aim to provide guidance for a national strategy in case of further lockdowns.

Dr Hannah Nash, a developmental psychologist at Leeds’ School of Psychology, is leading the study.

She said: “We urgently need data on children’s experiences and abilities before, during, and after their return to school.

"Although children have now returned to their lessons, they missed more than a term of normal teaching.

"When children are in reception they learn skills that lay the foundation for later success. However, during COVID-19 school closures, children had different learning experiences.

"As a result, some children may have made good progress in learning while other children’s learning may have slowed down or they may have lost skills they had already learned."

The researchers, funded by UK Research and Innovation, will use information provided by schools to track children’s progress, including data from just before the national lockdown and the results of more recent assessments or class tests.

They will analyse factors like home-learning provided by schools, whether parents had the time and resources to help with home learning, and if pupils - such as the children of key workers or those classed as vulnerable - remained in school.

Nationally, there are almost five million primary school pupils.

Almost half of secondary schools in England sent home one or more pupils because of Covid incidents last week, the latest attendance figures show.

It meant pupils having to isolate in 46 per cent of secondary and 16 per cent of primary schools.

Dr Nash said: “We hope that by taking part in the study, schools will get a better understanding of which children need extra support and in what areas of learning.

“In the longer term, our findings will contribute to national strategies aimed at reducing the negative impact of COVID-19 and provide key information in the event of any future school closures.”

Schools interested in taking part in the study - Information about the Impact of Covid-19 on Key Learning and Education (ICKLE) - are asked to contact [email protected]