If you’ve been considering transitioning your child from mainstream school to online school, you’re not alone. 2020 was one of the most tumultuous and unpredictable years in recent history. As the threat of the pandemic continues in 2021, parents are putting their children’s safety and well-being first.
Unlike older students, primary international school online children require special attention and care. Their critical development stage calls for an assiduous, empathetic, exuberant, and accommodating teaching approach.
Online school creates a healthy, interactive, engaging, and wholesome learning environment. While mainstream school presents a risk of school bullying and/or harassment, these concerns are quickly dispelled with online learning.
Online classes are carefully moderated by experienced and adept teachers who make children feel comfortable, excited, and eager to learn. By getting the one-on-one attention they need, 8 to 10 year olds can grow academically and cultivate key personal development skills.
While online primary schooling offers a plethora of benefits, some parents are still sceptical about making the switch, and understandably so. This isn’t a decision that should be taken lightly. If you’re struggling to determine whether you’re making the right decision for your child’s future, we’ll make things a tad easier.
In this blog, we’ll walk you through the benefits of choosing online primary schooling for your child. By the end of it, you’ll have a strong grasp on whether online school is right for your child. Continue reading.
1. Safety
Safety is inarguably the most important reason why parents are making the switch to online learning. While the pandemic is gradually showing signs of abating, it may take several months or years before we reach herd immunity.
The timeline has been largely affected by the increase in vaccine hesitancy across the UK. As the anti-vaccination movement continues to gain traction, millions of people are putting others at risk.
According to a recent study, one in six people would refuse the vaccine in the UK. As unvaccinated parents send their kids to school, vaccinated children could potentially bear the brunt of the former’s recklessness. Keeping these circumstances in mind, parents have a razor-sharp focus on protecting their children’s health.
Online primary schooling is a great way to nip potential fears in the bud. In addition to ensuring their children’s physical safety, parents can also keep a check on their progress. Most parents have been working from home, and checking in on their kids between meetings and chores. This gives them a chance to oversee their child’s learning experience.
By sending their kids to traditional school, parents let go of the freedom to check in on their child, and ensure everything’s on track. This unregulated period can be extremely challenging for a child’s academic and personal development.
In your absence, your child may fall victim to school bullying, aggressive teaching methods, peer pressure among young kids, excessive pressure and stress induced by teachers, or self-doubt. Unfortunately, these challenges only scratch the surface.
By making the switch to online school, you can occasionally keep an eye on your child’s progress. This goes a long way in helping parents gain peace of mind.
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2. Academic Growth
As Primary school children between the ages of 8 and 10 are in an active learning phase. They’re able to absorb and retain knowledge at a fast pace, and develop academically. By switching to an esteemed online primary school, you can help your child become a creative, critical, and perceptive thinker.
At Cambridge Home School, we have an independent curriculum in place for students who attend our Primary Prep School. Instead of overwhelming children with complex concepts from the get-go, we gradually build on their previous knowledge. This helps children understand and retain skills and concepts more effectively and intently.
Our curriculum covers a wide range of subjects, including Maths, Science, English, Topic, Languages and Cultures, and Art. By providing a well-rounded, holistic education to primary school children, we help them explore their interests in different topics and subtopics.
Our students have a keen interest in multiple subjects owing to their exposure to a variety of themes. By expanding their knowledge, we help them progress to Lower School and high school online learning with a strong academic foundation in place. In essence, we give them the head start they need to succeed on their academic journey in the upcoming years.
By choosing the right online primary school for your child, you can rest assured that they’ll receive a quality education.
At Cambridge Home School, we have a team of MA/PhD qualified subject specialist teachers on board. They proactively create an enriching and stimulating online learning experience for each child. Not only will your child grow academically, but they’ll also remain engrossed in the lessons.
As the learning environment becomes mundane and unengaging in traditional schools, children often lose interest, and become restless. We leverage cutting-edge technology, animations, software, and resources to keep children immersed in the classes through and through. Parents can expect their child to progress at a consistent and healthy pace.
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3. Personal Development
While focusing on your child’s academic growth is important, it’s not enough. In many cases, mainstream schools specifically focus on helping children develop key hard skills like mathematical rapidity, reading, writing, language fluency, vocabulary building, etc. However, they fail to work on children’s soft skills.
This imbalance can be detrimental to a child’s personal development. While your child may grow academically, they could potentially struggle in other aspects of their life.
For instance, teamwork is one of the most important soft skills in children. Despite hitting their academic targets, your child may have trouble working in groups, coordinating with their peers, or sharing responsibilities. This could stem from a lack of focus on building teamwork in your child during their primary learning stage.
Our curriculum is carefully designed to instil hard and soft skills in children. By keeping the classroom size small (8 to 10 pupils per group), we ensure each child receives one-on-one attention from their teachers and peers. This enhances interactivity and engagement on the whole. As children engage in skill-building activities with their peers, they’re able to attentively develop new skills.
In traditional schools, children seldom receive the same level of attention. As a result, they lose interest in developing soft skills.
At Cambridge Home School, we keep children engaged, and use unique strategies, practices, games, and activities to build essential soft skills. These include listening, sharing, teamwork, critical thinking, creative thinking, empathy, self-confidence, time management, compassion, and adaptability, among countless others.
In addition, we focus on instilling core values, moral beliefs, and ethical responsibilities in children, including integrity, respect, equality, gratitude, and more. By focusing on a child’s personal development and growth, we help them care about the people around them, themselves, and the environment.
4. Healthy Interaction with Other Children
When making the switch to online primary schooling, parents often worry about the lack of interaction with other children. It’s important to note that online schooling doesn’t eliminate these interactions; it simply modifies them. Instead of interacting in person, children can engage with each other in a healthy, moderated, and supportive online environment.
At Cambridge Home School, we leverage a wide range of resources and tools to facilitate healthy interaction among children. As stated earlier, we keep the classroom size small. This goes a long way in helping children get to know each other on a personal level, and establish close friendships.
While each class facilitates a lot of cheery, lively, and high-spirited engagement between children, theyalso have the opportunity to meet outside of class. Many parents set up play dates among children—both virtual and in-person—on the weekends.
In addition to enhancing your child’s academic life, we also work assiduously to strengthen their social life. If you make the switch to online school, you can rest assured that your child will establish healthy connections with their peers and teachers.
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5. Sense of Responsibility
As one of the most important values in children, a strong sense of responsibility comes in handy during any stage of their life. Whether they’re tackling a chore at home, preparing for their exams, or making a promise to a friend, responsibility helps children value themselves, and others.
Online school plays a big role in instilling the importance of responsibility in young kids. Unlike traditional school, online school offers a ton of flexibility, which can be great. However, it can also be misused.
At Cambridge Home School, we’re very careful about navigating this dynamic. We understand that parents can’t possibly keep an eye on their kids as much as they’d like to. As they manage their businesses, many parents struggle to check in on their kids from time to time.
In addition to shouldering the responsibility of keeping children engaged in the class, our teachers also work towards developing a strong sense of responsibility in them. By communicating the importance of responsibility, and demonstrating it via activities, they help children stay attentive during class. As children pick up on the essence of responsibility, they become more accountable, mindful, and honest in their personal life as well.
6. Study-Play Balance
As stated earlier, online primary and secondary school online study is extremely beneficial for children because of the tremendous flexibility it has to offer. Children who attend traditional school often feel exhausted, fatigued, and overwhelmed by the time they reach home. They’re unable to build on new interests, explore new hobbies, and engage in healthy activities. There’s little to no room for skill-building outside of school, except on the weekends.
By switching to online school, parents can create a healthier study-play balance for their kids. Take your time, and create a schedule that works well for your child and yourself. It may take a while before you find the right pattern. We recommend making changes along the way based on how your child responds to their new routine.
Remember, ensure ample flexibility. For instance, if your child performs exceptionally well during class, reward them for their attentiveness. You can offer them extra playtime, or even treat them to a fun activity. This is a great way to help children realise the importance of staying focused and responsive during class.
A flexible schedule will help you avoid being strict or micromanaging your child. You’ll manage to give them the leeway they deserve while retaining the overall structure of the day. A win-win!
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7. Mental Health
Online learning eliminates a lot of the stress that accompanies traditional learning. As the nature of traditional schooling becomes increasingly competitive, children’s mental health is largely suffering. Academic anxiety, peer pressure, and overwhelming stress caused by teachers can take a toll on your child’s personal development and growth. By making the switch to online school, you can dispel a lot of these fears.
At Cambridge Home School, we have a team of empathetic, compassionate, supportive, and reassuring teachers on board. Instead of overwhelming children with impossibly high expectations, they take things slow, and gradually acclimatise children to a comfortable pace.
Contrary to popular belief, children can thrive academically without being thrust into an uber-competitive learning environment. In fact, they perform better as they feel content, confident, and comfortable. By putting children’s mental health first, we ensure they have a healthy and wholesome online learning experience.
Recommended Read: How Homeschooling at Online School Can Help Children with Anxiety
If you think online primary schooling is right for your child, find out more about our admissions process. At Cambridge Home School, we provide a quality British education to students aged 8 to 19. Click here for a closer look at what parents and older students have to say about our institution.
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FAQ
Why should I consider switching my child to online primary schooling?
Switching to online primary school primarily enhances your child’s safety, especially given the ongoing pandemic and vaccine hesitancy. It also allows you to closely monitor their academic and personal development.
How does online schooling benefit my child academically?
Online primary schooling offers a structured curriculum that focuses on holistic education. It covers subjects like Maths, Science, English, and more, providing a well-rounded academic foundation for your child.
Does online schooling also focus on personal development?
Yes, online schooling prioritises both hard and soft skills. The curriculum includes various activities and strategies to develop soft skills such as teamwork, critical thinking, and empathy.
Will my child still interact with peers in online schooling?
Absolutely, online schooling does not eliminate social interaction but transforms it. Your child will have a chance to interact in a moderated, healthy, online environment, allowing them to build close friendships.
What about my child’s sense of responsibility?
Online schooling can actually foster a strong sense of responsibility in your child. The flexible structure of online classes helps them understand the value of being accountable and mindful.