Pupils who spent their final years of primary school in lockdown will find the step up to secondary school “extraordinarily challenging”, with many unlikely to make the transition smoothly, school leaders have warned.
In new research published today, almost four-fifths (79 per cent) of teachers are concerned that pupils leaving primary school this year won’t be emotionally or socially ready for secondary school, while three-quarters of teachers (75 per cent) are worried that incoming Year 7 students will be unprepared academically.
The research, which was carried out by YouGov and commissioned by GL Assessment, surveyed more than 1,000 primary and secondary school teachers across England.
More on Sats:
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said the findings show school leaders and teachers, in both phases, have “deep concerns for pupils making the transition this year” in terms of the “disruption to their learning” and their “emotional and social preparedness”.
Mr Barton said this reflected what ASCL members had been telling the union, “particularly in relation to the pastoral support that leaders are finding huge demand for across all key stages”.
Addressing the gaps
However, schools are doing what they can to address this, with the survey reporting that more than seven in 10 schools (71 per cent) are taking steps to put a “programme of measures” in place to address the “gaps in learning and basic classroom skills”.
Meanwhile, just under half of teachers surveyed (46 per cent) said their schools are planning to offer more pastoral or emotional support, and a third (33 per cent) plan to implement a more comprehensive reading programme.
And more than a quarter (26 per cent) are looking to widen the curriculum to plug any gaps in students’ knowledge.
Crispin Chatterton, director of education at GL Assessment, added while it was clear schools are going “above and beyond” to address any “lingering consequences of the pandemic” the sector should not be “under any illusions that this year’s transition to secondary school will be anything other than extraordinarily challenging for many students and teachers”.
‘Yet more evidence’ against Sats
The survey also revealed that teachers think that disruption to the education system will affect pupil performance in this year’s key stage 2 Sats with almost two-thirds (65 per cent) saying this year’s Sats will be “less reliable” than in pre-pandemic years.
Conversely, only one in five (19 per cent) think this year’s results will be as reliable as before.
Commenting on the findings that two-thirds of teachers doubt the reliability of this year’s Sats, a spokesperson for campaign group More Than A Score said the research had provided “yet more evidence” that this year’s Sats “should not have gone ahead”.
The spokesperson added that the time spent on Sats could have been spent “supporting children through the many difficulties created by the pandemic” but was instead “wasted on cramming and practice test papers”.
They added that the data that Sats produce will “paper over the cracks of the effects of Covid on pupils’ learning” and “will never provide a detailed picture of a school’s performance”.
In March, the DfE revealed that this year’s Sats results will be used by Ofsted to judge schools’ curriculum delivery.
While the department said inspectors will be aware that the 2021-22 data is not comparable with other years, there were concerns over a lack of “level playing field”.
