School starters born during pandemic lack communication skills, Ofsted says | Primary schools

Primary schools are having to teach infants how to communicate, as they struggle to make friends or cope with lessons because of speech and language difficulties, according to a report by Ofsted.

The research by Ofsted inspectors, based on visits to schools in England rated as good or outstanding, found that the Covid pandemic “is still having an impact on children’s behaviour and social skills”.

Schools told inspectors that the “consequences of lockdowns” meant that “children were starting reception with delayed communication and language, poor self-help skills and emotional difficulties”.

The inspectors said some schools were adapting their curriculum for four-year-olds in reception classes, “to provide extra help for children with speech, language and communication difficulties. Increasing numbers of children joining reception were experiencing these difficulties. This made it hard for them to express their wants and needs or to make friends and experience high-quality play.”

Martyn Oliver, Ofsted’s chief inspector, said: “It’s encouraging that there has been some good progress in improving the teaching of early reading and mathematics in primary schools. But schools are still having to navigate the impact of the pandemic, and many children are still catching up on lost learning.

“It is those children who are most vulnerable who benefit most from a strong start to their education.”

The report, based on visits to 20 primary schools in late 2023, is highly critical of how schools are applying the key stage one curriculum for children aged between four and seven, with some children missing out on “foundational knowledge” as teachers worked their way through topics.

“We saw year 1 children who were mostly silent and appeared withdrawn when the teacher directed questions to one child at a time. Some children appeared to give up because they had to wait so long for their turn to speak. Other children appeared not to understand what was being taught or what their peers were saying,” the report said.

When children were asked to write about their weekends or holidays, the inspectors noted: “For children with fewer opportunities and experiences in their home lives, there is little to tell.”

In response, teaching unions called for extra support for schools, so they can provide more specialist help to children at risk of falling behind their peers.

James Bowen, an assistant general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: “It’s important to remember that many children currently in key stage one will have missed out on important preschool experiences due to Covid and will have experienced major disruption to their early education.

“While curriculum choices made by teachers are obviously important, this is only one part of a much bigger picture. The previous government’s failure to invest properly in Covid recovery and the decimation of crucial early support services has meant that young children who need extra support often struggle to access it.”

The report was critical of schools that failed to demonstrate good behaviour to their youngest pupils, noting that children’s behaviour “deteriorated when they were not taught how to manage and care for toys and equipment. The classroom became chaotic.”

Even play-based learning often failed to convey valuable lessons in problem-solving, collaboration or persistence. “Such poorly planned play keeps children busy but does not support their development: their hands and bodies are active, but their minds are not,” the report said.