Manchester schools pioneer new approach to help children in deprived areas catch up after Covid

The additional help will focus on children from three to five-years-old. Credit: PA

Ten primary schools in Manchester are taking part in a new project to help children in deprived areas of the city catch up on their education after the pandemic.

The schools have been assigned an intensive support worker and given access to speech and language therapists and an assistant educational psychologist, to help early years learning for pupils.

It is aimed at children between three and five years old, with delayed skills development due to missing out on school during lockdown.

Neil Jones, an intensive support teaching assistant at Haveley Hey Community Primary School in Wythenshawe, said: "The pandemic was really hard on young children and their families - and it all contributed to some children just not being able to pick up speech and writing skills.

"To put that in context, we know that children have the biggest learning and development growth between the ages of three to five.

"Children at that age during the pandemic are now in our Year 1 and some of them may not have had a sibling or people to play with during isolation and that contributes to missing development milestones.

"If we can help children catch up on skills it has benefits in all other areas of learning, behaviour and self-esteem and how they then relate to the rest of their classmates throughout school life."

The 12 month project is costing £1 million and is funded by Manchester City Council. It operates in schools in Clayton and Openshaw, Gorton and Abbey Hey, Hulme, Sharston, and Moss Side.

The council says the project is unique to Manchester and part of a broader five-year action plan called Making Manchester Fairer, which aims to address inequalities in the city.

Councillor Garry Bridges, executive member for Children's Services at Manchester City Council, said: "Children are still dealing with the aftermath of the pandemic and lockdowns which had a greater impact in Manchester than other parts of the country, due to longer periods of disruption and underlying inequalities."

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