While testing a group of grade R learners for 2021 admission into grade 1, I was alarmed to find a significant decrease in their level of school readiness when compared to the previous year’s group.
I concluded that the main reason for this was the more than a hundred days that were sacrificed as a result of the pandemic.
While interviewing the parents during the feedback sessions, it seemed that they had struggled to help their child keep up with the work that was being submitted online by the school during the Covid break.
As a result, many of them fell behind with their schoolwork, lost interest in learning, and spent far too much time watching TV or playing games on various electronic devices.
I was able to give these parents some insight as to the importance of their role as a parent in order for their child to reach the required developmental levels that would be necessary to enter grade 1.
Subsequent to the feedback interview, the parents that were prepared to take responsibility and parent according to the structures of the Smartchoiceparenting programme (SCPP) that were given to them, a noticeable improvement was observed by the school, in the learners who had not performed well in the school readiness assessment.
The parent’s role
I believe that parents of grade 1 and grade R learners are going to have to play a key role in ensuring that their child is able to bridge the gap that was created in their learning during their time at home during the Covid pandemic.
I have found that many young learners who are not school ready for grade 1 have no interest in learning, especially if they have been overprotected or molly-coddled
The Smartchoiceparenting programme (SCPP) has proven to be effective in equipping parents with the tools and structures needed so that they are able to understand their role as both teachers and parents during the times that their child is at home during a pandemic.
By understanding the importance of their role as a parent, they can ensure that their child will be at the appropriate developmental level which will enable them to cope with grade 1 without a fuss.
What makes this program and approach so effective is that it helps the parents and teachers realise that being school ready isn’t only about ability and superior cognitive functioning.
It is also about a child being able to motivate themselves internally and independently to want to learn, and that’s the key role the parents play before anything done in the classroom will be of any benefit to the child.
