Here we go again. We thought we would never see another lockdown after 2020 with predictions of it would be economically ruinous, psychologically damaging, ineffective etc. However, here we are again. No school. No social interaction. Life just on a daily auto-pilot for so many.
This time around things are a little different in the at primary schools seem to have grown in confidence with the provision of their online provisions. However, as with the last lockdown, this provision varies hugely. Some schools are providing daily live lessons, others a selection of worksheets. Whichever the provision, there is one thing that is more certain that Borus not brushing his hair before a national broadcast; parents are once again faced with becoming teachers...as well as working.
This dual role is not easy. In fact, it can be downright exhausting. Teaching is seen as one of the most draining roles. Parenting...well...nothing more needs to be said about this 24/7, 365 days a year job. Combining the both needs to really be added to the list of things like 'lighting a match off a bar of soap' or 'turning water into gold'....i.e impossible.
To support, we have once again extended our tutoring provision across Wirral to offer live lessons every day of the week. We start each day with a live assembly to give children the chance to talk, socialise and ultimately, have a structured start to their days. Following this we offer an 11+ course for Year 5 students and live lessons for Year 3/4. These lessons cover maths, English, verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, computing and creative writing.
During the lessons we aim to build students confidence but also give them the opportunity to work with other young people as school is just as imporant for social skills as it is for academic development.
Hopefully this lockdown will not prove as challenging or as longlived as the previous one with vaccines coming out daily.
However, whatever happens, we will continue to work to provide as many opportunities for live lessons as we are able to.