One of the biggest worries parents have is their child falling behind in primary school. Sometimes it feels like they are on a slippery slope…
A recent study concluded that primary school children reaching expected levels has fallen sharply due to the global pandemic. All year groups are affected – from reception up to GCSE students.
At reception and year 1 level, teachers report that five and six year olds now display anxiety about failing. Awful, don’t you agree?
Reasons why a child might fall behind
Often, the reason why a year 1 or 2 child struggles to read and write independently is because they’ve not grasped phonics.
When a child struggles to understand the different sounds that letter combinations make, it affects their writing.
Other reasons might be:
- A short attention span
- They’ve missed school
- They are a summer baby
- Temporary hearing loss
- Speech or language difficulty
- A learning issue such as dyslexia or ADHD
Of course, because the curriculum is designed to propel children forward, it is frustrating when your child feels stuck.
For many parents, it can be soul destroying when your child lags behind in KS1 and you’re unsure how to help. All is not lost…
What you can do today to turn the tide
- Take a look at the KS1 reading assessments to see the sort of questions that are asked. This is helpful as you can build in similar questions when you read with your son or daughter at home.
- Break down learning into chunks. A 10 minute phonics game, followed by a memory game, and then writing sentences with perhaps a phonic focus. Expected spelling information is right here.
- Speak to your child’s class teacher to see how they are doing in class and what you can help with at home.
- Have a break between activities. Five minutes play outside perhaps with a ball, a Simon Says game, or just running about the garden can help your child be ready to sit down again. If your child’s attention span is low, insisting they sit for a whole 30 minutes or an hour never works.
- Get online to discover all sorts of DIY resources from Maths to Literacy.
Need more support?
Struggling to make any headway? Whatever the reason, reach out for support. Here at 121 Home Tutors, our tuition team work with young people of all ages.
Whether your child is pre-school or facing KS1 assessments, studying GCSEs or A Levels, we have a friendly tutor who can step in.
*Image courtesy of Today’s Parent .com
Tags: A levels, GCSEs, KS1, learning difficulty, literacy, maths, phonics