Children are going back to school this week and it’s never been a more uncertain time for their generation, after much of the previous school year was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
This will be a particularly challenging time for migrant, asylum-seeking and refugee children who use English as an additional language (EAL). These children received very little support both with their English language and school work during lockdowns and school closures. They may not have had the chance to speak English regularly and their confidence could be very low going back to school.
A teacher at one of our partner schools told us last term "due to school closures, many of our EAL learners are no longer immersed in the English language at school. We have definitely noticed when speaking to the children, their English has been massively affected.” Over two thirds of teachers surveyed by the Bell Foundation in March 2021 reported a negative impact on the English language skills of children who use EAL following the disruption to their education caused by Covid-19.
Never has there been a greater need for extra tuition to help children get back on track with their education. Even just one hour a week of extra English tuition can have a significant benefit to a child’s confidence and potential to achieve.
How Jacari is supporting children with EAL
During the last year, our volunteer tutors completed over 2000 online lessons and supported 160 children with EAL. They’ve helped their pupils practise English, keep up with school work and deal with some of the stresses and isolation caused by the pandemic.
We are now busy recruiting volunteer tutors in Oxford and Bristol to support children over the next academic year, for both in-person and online tuition.
None of this would be possible without your support.
How you can help disadvantaged children going back to school this week
Donate today so we can continue providing regular, one-to-one tuition to children who use English as an additional language. Your donation will make a vital contribution towards helping children going back to school in September get back on track with their education.
Thank you from everyone at Jacari for your support.