The need
In response of National Lockdowns, many children in our community suffered from the closure of schools. Lakenham already had a poor level of education, with only 40% of children at Lakenham Primary achieving expected levels of progress, and, overall, 66.7% are amongst the most deprived in the domain of education.
What we offer
We run a free weekly club which began by supporting struggling parents during Lockdown 2021, and has grown to offer homework support even now the schools are open. We aim to work in support of the schools, to help the children to grow in confidence and suppliment the teaching they recieve during the day.
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The children begin with their individual Maths and English workbooks, based on their own level of ability. This allows them to gain confidence and progress at their own speed without becoming discouraged by the progression of other children of the same age. For those who finish their work quickly, there are a variety of maths games which help with number recognition, multiplication and division practise.
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A study by Martin Guhn from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, has proven that Music classes contibute to attaining better grades in other lessons. To stimulate this, we run a Rhythm class to begin with the basics of music theory, learning the names of the different note values and how to play the different rhythms.
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After the music lesson, we close with a chapter of a book read aloud. This is shown to contribute to the development of the children's imagination, improve vocabulary as they listen to books beyond the level of their own reading ability, and expose the children to genres and books they may not necessarily be drawn to.
