Why should you enrol your primary school child in summer school?
The summer holidays still feel a little way off and therefore the idea of enrolling your child for some summer school tuition may not be front of mind yet. But actually, if you want your child to get off to the best possible start in the new school year, summer tuition is something you need to start thinking about now. Here’s why:
The summer term
The summer term is pretty full on. Your child may have tests which they are revising for, or there may be school trips, sports days and all sorts of other activities. This may be of concern if your child is struggling with their schoolwork or if they have low confidence. The impact of those lost learning hours is also cumulative and needs to be taken into context with lost learning over the summer holidays.
Lost summer learning
We’ve written before about what is known as summer learning loss. There is a large body of research and evidence that shows that children can lose a significant amount of their learning over the long summer holidays. So much so that it can take them weeks and sometimes months of the autumn term to catch up to where they were before the summer holidays. Fortunately, it doesn’t take much work over the summer to not only prevent this loss but to make sure your child actually progresses.
The autumn term
The autumn term is an important one, but it’s also long and tiring, and a new school year often brings additional challenges. Your child may be starting high school, or secondary school (and sitting CATs) or it may be the year they take Key Stage tests. Either way, it’s a pivotal term for learning and can be daunting. You want them to start in the best possible position.
How can our summer programme help?
The first thing to realise about summer tuition is that it doesn’t mean your child won’t get the well-earned summer break that they deserve. Far from it. With our summer programmes, we make them fun so that they don’t intrude into your summer holidays. They also take the pressure off you so you’re not constantly trying to battle with your child to do some “school work” or think up new and creative ways to teach them.
Our holiday programme also provides a smaller, more relaxed learning environment where students can ask questions, revisit difficult topics, and improve at their own pace. It can also help children develop socially by meeting new people, collaborating on tasks, and participating in small-group activities geared towards improving communication skills. This extra support can make a huge difference to confidence levels before the new term begins.
Developing reasoning
As part of our summer programme, your child will work on their verbal, non-verbal and mathematical reasoning. Our workshops use a wide range of written and hands-on activities to help your child develop their logical thinking and learn how to find ‘rules’ and patterns where these exist. These are skills that are now needed in every school year and are essential building blocks when it comes to the curriculum.
At home, we continue to develop your child’s core skills, but with worksheets that look different to what they would normally see, either in MagiKats or at school. This helps them feel that they are ‘doing something different’ whilst still using their brains and maintaining learning momentum, ready for the new school year.
With our Summer Programmes, MagiKats students don’t just maintain their standards but make progress over the summer months. It’s not like regular tuition though – MagiKats students get to enjoy our varied programmes designed to balance work with fun!
Enrol them today or get in touch with us for more information.