Like other parents, Carol Vorderman is all too familiar with the long summer break leaving children starved of learning development. Studies have emphasised that children lose English and Maths learning over the summer holidays, up to 2.6 months for the latter and the negative effect of summer on learning is said to increase with each school year.* Carol says: "The loss of maths learning for children over the summer break is a huge problem for children and teachers. Children will practise their English skills over the holidays without even realising it, simply by reading a book. However, with Maths there is far less opportunity to practice. So by September, many children will have reverted to the attainment they had back at Easter, instead of progressing forward.”
Carol Vorderman’s brand new Summer Schools, which launch this week, are great fun. There are seven Summer Schools, starting with Hedgehogs School for age 5-6, and Deer School and Otters School and many more for other ages, all set within an animated woodland camp and a Carol avatar is their guide.
Carol says "This is the best time for children to forge ahead with 15 minutes of fun practice a day, when they have little added pressure from anything else. We’ve made these internet Summer Schools absolutely beautiful to complete, with animations and interactive games, video lessons and virtual badges to collect. You can use the Summer Schools up until the end of September as often as you want, and for all that time and practice, it costs as much as only half an hour with a personal maths tutor.”
The learning loss over the summer can also increase during the transition from Primary to Secondary school. It is estimated that 30% of students make no gain in their level score, one year after the change. For maths in particular, there is a 30% dip in learning from Year 6 to Year 7. ** Carol says "This is a critically important time for all 11 year olds. In spite of SATs results, almost all state secondary schools will ask the new intake of 11 year olds in September to take a different Maths test, if they haven’t done so already during their "transition day”. Most will then be placed into their Maths sets on the basis of the results of these tests. That is why for these children it is doubly important to carry on with Maths during this summer break.”
At The Maths Factor, the Frogs and Owls Schools cater for the range of ability at age 11. Full details of what is included in each School are available now on the website.
Research has suggested the lack of development increases further for children from a poorer background, as they do not have the same access to educational material or out of school activities. Numerous schools and local education authorities have campaigned for an increased amount of terms throughout the year, breaking up the long summer holiday into shorter periods, but the local governments are yet to reach an amicable decision. Carol’s internet Maths school launched in March to huge acclaim and now has many thousands of children practising their maths on a daily basis.
Carol says "The results so far have been amazing and we are inundated with children and their parents saying just how much they now enjoy Maths and what fun the website is. It’s so rewarding to hear from children who said that they struggled with Maths before they joined us, and now they find it easy. Some children have learned their times tables with us in a matter of weeks.”
Themathsfactor.com Summer School opened July 12th and is available to buy until August 31st. The Schools close on 30th September