Children were affected by “an epidemic” of demotivation while they were out of school during the coronavirus lockdowns, the head of Ofsted has said.
Chief inspector for England Amanda Spielman told headteachers that a “significant minority of children just haven’t been engaging” when the majority saw their teaching move online from the start of the year, The Guardian reports.
She said: “With the best will in the world, schools haven’t been able to avert an epidemic of demotivated children. Heads have told us that even the hardest-working pupils lost enthusiasm as time went on.
“Remote education requires great self-discipline – and that’s something that home-working adults struggle with, let alone children.”
Speaking to the national conference of the ASCL school leaders’ association, Spielman said that extending schooling into the weekends or summer holidays to allow pupils to catch up risked making matters worse.
