Primary schools in England have to assist preschoolers in catching up on language and speech to cope with lessons.
According to an Ofsted report, preschoolers struggle to cope with lessons or make friends because of language and speech difficulties, and elementary schools must teach them how to communicate.
A study conducted by Ofsted inspectors based on visits to schools in England rated as good or outstanding disclosed that the Covid pandemic “is still having an impact on children’s behaviour and social skills”.
The schools informed inspectors that the “consequences of lockdowns” meant that “children were starting reception with delayed communication and language, poor self-help skills, and emotional difficulties.”
According to the inspectors, some schools were adapting their curriculum for four-year-olds in reception classes “to provide extra help for children with speech, language and communication difficulties. Increasing numbers of children joining reception were experiencing these difficulties. This made it hard for them to express their wants and needs or to make friends and experience high-quality play.”
Ofsted’s chief inspector, Martyn Oliver, stated: “It’s encouraging that there has been some good progress in improving the teaching of early reading and mathematics in primary schools. However, schools still have to navigate the impact of the pandemic, and many children are still catching up on lost learning.
“It is those children who are most vulnerable who benefit most from a strong start to their education.”
The report was compiled based on visits to 20 primary schools in late 2023. It is highly critical that primary schools apply the key stage one curriculum for preschoolers between four and seven years old, with some children lacking “foundational knowledge” as teachers work their way through topics.
The report stated: “We saw year 1 children who were mostly silent and appeared withdrawn when the teacher directed questions to one child at a time. Some children appeared to give up because they had to wait so long for their turn to speak. Other children appeared not to understand what was being taught or what their peers were saying.”
When pupils were assigned to write about their weekends or holidays, the inspectors realized that “for children with fewer opportunities and experiences in their home lives, there is little to tell.”
Teaching unions called for extra school support in response to children with fewer opportunities and experiences. They can offer more specialist help to children at risk of falling behind their colleagues.
The assistant general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, James Bowen, stated: “It’s important to remember that many children currently in key stage one will have missed out on important preschool experiences due to Covid and will have experienced major disruption to their early education.
“While curriculum choices made by teachers are obviously important, this is only one part of a much bigger picture. The previous government’s failure to invest properly in Covid recovery and the decimation of crucial early support services has meant that young children who need extra support often struggle to access it.”
The study was critical of schools failing to exhibit good behaviour to their young students, noting that pupils’ behaviour “deteriorated when they were not taught how to manage and care for toys and equipment. The classroom became chaotic.”
Even play-based learning regularly failed to convey valuable lessons in problem-solving, collaboration or persistence.
The report stated: “Such poorly planned play keeps children busy but does not support their development: their hands and bodies are active, but their minds are not.”
