As schools remain closed in the UK for the moment, the government has been considering different ways to initiate a so-called ‘covid catch-up’ plan.

Despite families' best homeschooling efforts, many students have had a serious reduction in the amount of content covered due to remote learning.

Primary school children will no doubt have suffered most at the hands of the pandemic. Parents who have not had the opportunity to take time off work to aid with the homeschooling effort have been left to choose between work and their child's education, or have at least been trying to achieve a balance of the two. 

It is clear that for the majority of students, learning remotely has led to a significant reduction in both the quality and quantity of academic topics covered. Homeschooling in many ways has allowed children to skim over topics they don’t like or find difficult, leading to traceable gaps in their subject knowledge.

On top of this, many children have not even had consistent access to internet connection or devices that are required to ‘learn remotely’. This digital divide has created yet another gap for disadvantaged children to bridge post-lockdown. 

Extending School Days

Since the third national lockdown has been put in place, the government has been floating ideas about how to tackle this growing educational gap for school’s covid classrooms.

The idea of extending the school day to compensate for lost time is one that keeps resurfacing. Many believe that by extending the school day for a couple of extra hours, children will gradually be able to make up the time lost to lockdowns and ultimately ‘catch-up’ to the standard of previous years.

However, while this appears to be a logical idea on the surface, the reality of longer school days is riddled with issues. 

Firstly, it’s important to consider that more time might not be the answer. If school days were extended, and pupils and teachers had to spend more time at school, this does not automatically mean that students will be able to retain more information. If anything children may struggle with a longer school day, not to mention the teachers. 

Information absorption is limited by three main things: motivation, attention span and effort. Children may not be able to summon more energy to cover more topics just because more lesson time is squished into a school day. 

Shorter Break Times

There has also been a call for shorten break-times, again, to make up for the lost time. This is not only sad news for children but also potentially damaging to the whole purpose of a 'covid-catchup' plan.

It will come as no surprise to hear that children love their break times. It's a chance to blow off some steam, socialise and refresh before heading back into the classroom for the next round of lessons. These frequent breaks serve to replenish energy and motivation, two key components to effective learning. 

If break times were shortened, both students and teachers would likely suffer as a result. Break times are beneficial for everybody’s mental and physical health. If shorter break times are promoted in combination with an extended school day, teacher and student burn-out may very well become a common problem. 

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Historical Evidence 

If these facts aren’t reason enough to protest against the extension of school days, historical evidence just might be. 

The idea of extending the school day is not just a result of covid. Other countries have dabbled with the concept previously too. 

A 2009 study looked at the long term effects of the class of 1971 when the Argentinian government ordered that half of public primary schools ran longer school days in Buenos Aires. 

When pupils were compared to those that had the regular school day, evidence suggested that those who spent longer in school were no better off financially or academically than those who spent less time in school. 

Similar experiments have been conducted in both the US and Indonesia, and whilst there are some benefits to speak of; namely, students performing better in basic skills, and having a better chance in getting into graduate school, longer school days did not directly correlate to improved exam performance.

Quality > Quantity

If improved exam performance is the goal it is perhaps a better idea to review the quality of teaching rather than increasing the quantity of school time to combat educational gaps. 

It's easy to forget that most schools have actually stayed open during lockdown. Children of key workers and children with exceptional educational needs have been permitted to attend school throughout the pandemic. As a result, class sizes have drastically reduced meaning that children are able to receive more teacher attention. It’s no secret that smaller class sizes reap better results for most children: private schools limit their yearly intake for this very reason. 

Typically public school class sizes hold 30 students per 1 teacher. Discounting the pandemic, many children have suffered as a result of increased class sizes over the years. 

A study run by London-based tuition site Tutor House found that ¼ of students across the UK have used private tuition to supplement their school education. With reports such as this, it may not be too far-fetched to suggest that the UK public school system is overstretched and unable to provide the educational support necessary for each student.

With this in mind, shouldn’t the most effective teaching methods: smaller class sizes and supplemented private tuition, be implemented as a priority in a 'covid catch-up' plan?

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Benefits of private tuition

Smaller class sizes are of course the more likely answer to the 'covid-catch up' plan as the government is likely to resist the idea of mass supplementation of private tuition. At best those most affected by the pandemic would be given access to private tuition for a period of time. 

With more teacher attention students are more likely to feel comfortable enough to ask questions and voice their opinions. Teachers are more likely to be able to get to know their students, learn their strengths and weaknesses and offer a more tailored teaching approach. 

Additionally, private tuition, and to an extent smaller class sizes, has long been known to reduce student anxiety; serving to build confidence and independent thinking skills. 

By taking into account the importance of quality of teaching over the quantity of lesson time, student’s would be in a better position to overcome learning losses without the drain of longer school days.