Year 10 to 11 summer break work

[copella]

I have two sons. One took GCSEs when there was course work, the other has just taken his this summer. Neither was asked to do any work over the summer. The youngest who is at a grammar school was explicitly told to relax over the summer. The only extra work he has been asked to do was this year when the biology maternity cover was a disaster but the school did all the hard work, getting the children to go in for extra lessons to make up for this.

I would contact the school as soon as it opens in Sept to get them to explain what the problem is and how they are going to support rather than burden pupils.

[fairyelephant]

Thanks all. Reassuring to know my instincts are right, I'm going to make sure she has a complete break now and does the bare minimum when we get back from hols.
ToadMum you are right, DD is at a selective indie, but its not perceived as a very academic school and so the most academic DDs/most ambitious DPs, wouldn't choose it. Still, they shouldn't be behind. I think G55 is right they are panicking, and I'm not happy about that.

[Reading Mum]

My DD will only be doing Art GCSE work as she has to finish her first piece of coursework and have made a start on the sketchbook for her second piece. Nothing else set/expected.
We have had a week away in Barcelona looking at lots of whacky art for inspiration, and now she is on her DofE silver expedition in the Isle of Man. There will be a week in Devon with friends, a bit of hockey camp and 2 1/2 weeks of downtime as she was exhausted by the end of term.

[KS10]

DD has some exam-related work for music and drama, but when I told her about this thread she said she had some history reading to do so that they could go through it more efficiently in September (I'm paraphrasing). She needs to go over things several times and says she's glad she's been given the extra history to do as she feels it will take some of the pressure off. I also think that little and often is better than trying to cram things in. I guess it depends on the child.

[Surferfish]

"Summer learning loss" is a recognized problem where children of all ages tend to regress academically over the summer holidays. (article based on US research but presumably would apply everywhere)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_learning_loss" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

So while its important that they have a break from the pressures of school its probably not a bad idea IMO to have just a small amount of school work to do over the holidays just to keep things ticking over particularly in subjects like maths where constant practice is important. Couple of hours a week maybe?

Also summer learning loss seems to be more pronounced for children of working class families compared to middle class ones, presumably because the middle class kids do more reading and other intellectual activities at home during the summer.

[KB]

Most educators would recognise the summer learning loss phenomenon and in exam years there is good reason to try to avoid it being too significant. However a total break of a couple of weeks has positive mental health benefits.

It doesn't sound as if the OP is work being set to keep young brains active so much as heaping on work, some of which is undirected.

For younger ones it should be possible to set work that is different from that undertaken in the classroom but that still keeps maths and reading skills and languages for secondary schoolers, going.

In households where adults didn't have a great experience of education themselves it can be helpful to send home guidance for summer 'work'.

The library based summer reading scheme was a great idea and my DCs loved it when younger.

[Surferfish]

It doesn't sound as if the OP is work being set to keep young brains active so much as heaping on work, some of which is undirected.

For younger ones it should be possible to set work that is different from that undertaken in the classroom but that still keeps maths and reading skills and languages for secondary schoolers, going.

Yes agreed, I was talking about the problem of children doing no academic work whatsoever (including reading) for 6 weeks and then falling behind. The OP's situation does sound far too much though. Possibly the school have fallen behind on what they should have taught and are expecting the pupils to catch up over the summer which is unfair.

[Amber]

Weird how this 'summer learning loss' didn't afflict those of us who went to school in the olden days. It appears to be a recent phenomenon linked to the also new idea that children's progress must be measured at every step of the way; be demonstrated to be linear; and to require remedial action if it doesn't follow a steady upward trajectory.

Perhaps today's children have differently wired brains from us older people and they need to be constantly refreshed, like the Ticketmaster queuing page. For my part I would rather let them run wild for 6 weeks, and seek out their own entertainment when bored, than make them do anything academic. I never did; they never have. I would rather challenge this kind of nonsense before it becomes yet more pressure on this poor generation of the pushed and stretched.

And children who are in poverty and aren't achieving because of it, and whose parents are not on this forum for sure, need more than a couple of decent books and a worksheet to address the issues of their inequality.

You are right fairy elephant.

[Surferfish]

For my part I would rather let them run wild for 6 weeks

Through fields of wheat? How naughty!

And children who are in poverty and aren't achieving because of it, and whose parents are not on this forum for sure, need more than a couple of decent books and a worksheet to address the issues of their inequality.

Schools getting children to read a couple of decent books over the summer won't resolve all the inequalities in the world but it might mean less privileged children don't fall quite so far behind their better supported peers over the 6 week break. You never know, some of them might even find they enjoy it!

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/s ... 978b13296f" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[KB]

Summer learning loss is not a new idea. It was certainly recognised by teachers in the late 60s.
Whether it matters or not is a matter of opinion.

I wasn't advocating children not getting a carefree summer holiday. It's also recognised that the summer break is a valuable time for physical and emotional development.

However, it can provide an opportunity for more 'academic' focussed learning outside the classroom. It's not just about what is learned from reading a couple of books and carrying out a few investigations ( hopefully teachers are rather more creative than setting a 'work sheet'). Good guidance can be a first step for families to start helpful habits. Finding a library ( assuming there is still one nearby!) and getting familiar with it and enjoying books together can make a real difference. As can getting children and parents to see their environment as somewhere to be explored, to start getting children to ask questions about the world around them.
It's not going to fix all the inequality but getting parents and pupils to engage in their education as a whole can make a real difference and this is one small way of trying to do that.