Helping Students Catch Up, Not Just Keep Up
There’s been a lot of talk lately about helping children “keep up” in school, especially after the chaos of the past few years. And yes, keeping up sounds good on paper, doesn’t it? We’re talking about progress, structure, and ticking boxes. But not every child is in a place where keeping up is even possible right now. Some are still trying to catch up from way back, and honestly, that’s a whole different story.
Some Children Are Already Behind Before the Race Begins
The truth is, not everyone is starting from the same spot. Some children weren’t already behind before the covid-19 lockdowns, before family changes, before school even became a regular thing. And when we say “keep up”, it can feel a bit like asking someone to run when their shoes are still untied. They’re not slow. They’re just not quite ready to sprint yet.
It’s easy to miss that in a busy classroom, especially when the pressure is on to move through the curriculum. But for the children who are struggling, who are nodding along but not quite understanding, it’s not about keeping up with everyone else. It’s about catching up to a place where learning feels possible again.
Catching Up is Messy, And That’s Alright
There’s no neat path for catching up. It doesn’t happen in a week or even a term. It’s slow going, full of repetition and backtracking and those moments where you think, “Hang on, didn’t we already cover this?” (Spoiler: you probably did, but they needed to hear it again.)
And progress doesn’t always look dramatic. Sometimes it’s a quiet “Ohhh” in the middle of a maths lesson. Or a child finally reading out loud when they’d usually shrink away. These little wins matter. They’re easy to overlook, but they’re often the first signs that things are shifting.
Support At Home Makes a Big Difference
And then there’s home. Or whatever “home” looks like for that child. Support doesn’t have to mean hours of tutoring or perfect routines. It can be as simple as someone showing up, listening, and noticing when they’re having a rough day.
Many foster carers fostering in Somerset and elsewhere often find that many of the children who come to them are behind academically. It makes sense, really, given everything they’ve been through. But what’s lovely is that in long-term placements, where there’s a bit of calm and consistency, you start to see children catch their breath. You see them begin to believe they can do it. And that belief? That’s where real progress starts.
Maybe what children need most isn’t pressure to keep up, but permission to slow down. Permission to revisit the basics without feeling embarrassed. To learn in their own time, on their own terms, with someone cheering them on quietly in the background. Because when a child feels safe, supported, and unhurried, they don’t just catch up; they grow. And really, isn’t that what we’re all hoping for?
