Recent school closures have sadly meant that many children missed out on essential elements of their education.
Evidence shows that it is particularly children from more disadvantaged backgrounds who have suffered.
Some children will not have had access to the technology needed to benefit from online learning.
We were delighted to be able to help schools where children need more digital devices to keep up with their learning. https://t.co/yhz9FQMi2W
— Every Child Our Future (@Everychildjsy) July 15, 2020
In other cases, children living in low-income households may be living in overcrowded accommodation, with parents working shifts and unable to focus on school learning at home, which can lead to some children have falling behind fellow pupils who have been able to access these lessons.
Every Child Our Future (ECOF) is now looking to give some of these local children the extra help to fill the gaps in their learning left by the extensive school closures.
Through the Jersey Funders’ Group, and the help of The One Foundation, the Sir James Knott Trust and the Roy Overland Trust, the charity is supporting Summer Schools for a total of around 200 children at Janvrin Primary School and at Haute Vallée Secondary School.
Pictured: Volunteers helping out at the Summer Schools will be giving one-to-one reading sessions.
The schools will be run by teachers, including a specialist ECOF Reading Recovery teacher. There are also around 30 ECOF volunteers helping out at the Summer Schools, who will be providing one-to-one reading sessions.
ECOF Director Gillian Arthur said: “We are very grateful to our donors who so readily recognised the educational damage due to covid-19 and so quickly appreciated how summer schools can help children whose learning has been the hardest-hit.
“But Summer Schools are just one initiative in the context of addressing the concerning gap in learning caused by school closures. Schools did their best but we would welcome a more detailed response for the coming few months from the Government of Jersey.”
Pictured: Gillian Arthur, Director of Every Child Our Future.
She added: “Every Child Our Future, along with its volunteers and other supporters across the wider island community, could then use its resource to complement those interventions.
“In this way, with concerted effort, Jersey’s children will stand an even better chance of getting back on track and will confidently reassume their expected academic trajectory.”
Iain George, Head Teacher at Janvrin School said: “Janvrin School is running a four-week ‘Recovery Teaching’ programme for our Year 1 and some Year 2 pupils over the summer holiday.
Pictured: Iain George, Head Teacher at Janvrin School.
“This has been focussed and structured towards our most vulnerable learners and those that may have had the biggest negative impact on their learning and progress over the school closure period.
“This provision could not have been developed without the impressive support of the ECOF Trust. Their dedication in supporting children’s learning needs is well established and highly valued at Janvrin and in many, many schools across the Island.”
