Head of Professor Chris Witty’s former Sussex school says home-learning is detrimental to many children

Ben Evans, head of Windlesham House School - where Government chief medical officer Chris Witty was a pupil - says ‘on screen’ remote learning places children under additional pressures and erodes confidence.

Windlesham House, at Washington, is Britain’s oldest prep school.

Former pupil Professor Witty is one of the top advisors to the Government on what actions should be taken to try and stem the pandemic - such as school closures.

Ben Evans said: “Questions around low self-esteem and reduced confidence have always been areas of anxiety for some adolescent children, but what we are noticing right now, is how much this has been exacerbated by the impact of long term school closures.

“When children are at school, they are able to manage their interactions with their peers more easily. They choose the friends they want to spend time with and the way they present themselves to others is more natural.”

He added: “For those children who suffer with confidence issues, it may also be the case that they achieve success and with it, a greater sense of self-belief in certain areas of school life that are currently not available to them while being home schooled.

“The worry is that this then has a knock on effect, when they do eventually return to school.”

The headmaster also feels that the onset of largely ‘on screen’ remote learning places children under additional pressures linked to how they are perceived by their friends on screen.

“The current lockdown and remote learning provision means many schools are running predominantly live lessons. This does present a new set of challenges for schools and children.

“Children may well feel that they are under the spotlight for long periods of time when on screen, in a way that they don’t when they are in class.”

He urges parents to encourage their children to become ‘camera savvy’ by using their camera for the start of the lesson and then periodically throughout but to allow some time ‘off screen’ to limit anxiety.

He said once children become engaged in a lesson, they worry less about their image or how they are coming across to others.

Parents should also, he said, ensure their children take regular breaks away from their screens and talk to teachers about how their children are feeling.

Windlesham House is the UK’s first ever prep school. After attending there Professor Witty went on to Malvern College and Oxford.