Repeat the year

Assuming that schools will not be able to return to normal in August for the next academic year due to the need to keep some form of social distancing and the acknowledgement that until a vaccine is available to all there will be no return to 'normal'. Consideration should be made that the children can repeat their current school year. I do realise that this would have a huge and lasting impact but by the time we have a vaccine in place the children may well have missed being in school for whole academic year.

With the assumption that in the new academic year, in August we will have a mix of home and face to face learning which could continue for the whole of the next academic year children will miss many of the social interactions so important in school which are so important for their development. Rather than add to stress for both children and parents by starting new academic content they could continue to build on their existing level and when in face to face situations could focus on social interaction and stress reduction. Anxiety will have increased for many children so a repeat of the year could be beneficial to many and help to reduce concerns about gaps in attainment depending on home environments.
The Primary 1 starts due to begin in August could be deferred for a year and all children currently at school could return to repeat their current year. This could allow more focus on ensuring key workers and vulnerable children were offered face to face places, this would help to reduce any attainment gap. For those secondary school pupils at the other end of the school system, for those that had not excelled in prelims and were unhappy with their given grades without all of their course work being included and no exams they could also repeat their year. For those happy with the qualifications they were awarded, they could be allowed to make their own decision on whether they wanted to stay at school or leave to pursue their next steps. This would of course mean that from now on children would be a year older when they start school but this is something that many have suggested would be a good thing for Scottish education.