School readiness: Signs your child might be falling behind
The pandemic has had an impact on literacy, numeracy and social outcomes for some children.
By Helena Williams-Johnson, National Director of SmartPlay Early Learning
The first five years of a child’s life are critical for laying the foundations to healthy development. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on important literacy, numeracy and social outcomes for children. Research suggests that if children don’t master important pre-reading, writing and numeracy skills, they’re at risk of falling behind in later years.
The 2021 Australian Early Development Census has revealed a small but significant increase in the percentage of children who were developmentally vulnerable, rising from 21.7 per cent in 2018 to 22 per cent in 2021.
Setting young children up for present and future success is more critical than ever before since the current cohort of early learners experienced COVID-19 lockdowns and may not have been socialised or educated like those before them.
Curriculum-based learning will be key in preventing children from falling behind. Following a curriculum in the years before starting kindergarten promotes the holistic development (physical, social, emotional, cognitive and creative) of a child and supports a broad range of literacy and numeracy skills.
We call this ‘school readiness’ – a state where children have been exposed in school-like activities such as assemblies and sporting activities and have also learnt to follow the robust measures of critical thinking curriculum.
SmartPlay Early Learners specifically enjoy literacy and numeracy sessions, art and music sessions, play-based and exploratory learning, including imaginative and creative activities.
However, children do fall behind.
The pandemic has had an impact with some children not socialised or educated like those before them.
Signs your child might be falling behind…
1. Look for patterns
Does your child often seem uneasy about going to their early learning centre? Are they unsure of what they learnt during the day? Do they look for ways to avoid discussion? These might be common threads that you are noticing that signify that you child may be withdrawn from the learning activities and is instead looking elsewhere for stimulation.
2. Share what you’re seeing with the teacher
Your local centre director or room teacher will likely be seeing the same trends in your child that you are. I’d recommend making a time to speak with the teacher and work together to identify strategies to bring your child back up to speed with the rest of the cohort. This can be intimidating but the sooner you speak to them, the sooner you can create a game plan.
Worried your preschooler is falling behind? Talk to the teacher and set a plan in place.
3. Be open and passionate about schooling in the home
Whilst children are taking many of their educational cues from their early learning centre, their greatest influencers are their family and the people around them. Continuing to foster excitement and energy around learning will be key in a situation where your child may be falling behind.
I encourage you to be patient with the process and remind yourself of the values you are instilling with a life-long love of education.
