Classroom behind the check-outs

Classroom behind the check-outs

By Justin Parkinson
BBC News Online education staff

Bill Mills wants to change the world of learning

Standing at the front of a supermarket, behind a glass partition, it looks like a crèche or a day-care centre.

But the children at the Sainsbury's in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, are not playing with building bricks, dolls and crayons while their parents shop.

They are solving mathematics, English and science problems on a computer.

Sophisticated software tailors learning programmes to the needs of individual children aged six to 13 and takes them through tasks, step-by-step.

Regular visits will become an addition to mainstream schooling for thousands of families very soon, according to Bill Mills, the founder of Explore Learning.

'Works for the child'

The 35-year-old Cambridge mathematics graduate sees the learning centres as a cheaper and more enjoyable alternative to private tuition.

He said: "The whole idea is about helping. We try to put together a programme which works for the child.

"It is designed to be complementary to school. It isn't a replacement or in competition with it."

The first Explore Learning centre opened at a Sainsbury's in Colchester, Essex, 15 months ago.

Since then, four more have sprung up, attracting 900 members. There are plans for a further seven.

Ideally, children take part in two one-and-a-half-hour sessions each week.

Bill is quick to counter suggestions the centres are just drop-off points for shoppers who need a break from their children.

'Fun'

He said: "I always had a belief that everybody cared deeply about their children's education but the options available weren't that good.

"A lot of people pay for their children to have private tutoring. Often that's a depressing experience, more a punishment than something that's fun.

"It seems to knock children's confidence, rather than helping to build it.

Children are given supervision during computerised tests

"There's no point having a kid leaving school at 3.30 and coming in and thinking he or she is at school again."

Mr Mills came up with the idea of learning centres when he was working in the United States.

He said: "I was in Chicago when I saw centres similar to the ones we've set up. They seemed to be somewhere children relished going.

"So I came back with the idea, but it took me a long time to drum up enough support to start any here. The whole concept was alien, so most people weren't interested."

Eventually Mr Mills reached a deal with Sainsbury's, allowing him to set up centres in supermarkets without paying the full overheads.

The centres compile reports on the children's progress every eight weeks. They are also inspected by the government's education watchdog Ofsted.

'Fully interactive'

Membership costs between £50 and £75 a month, which works out at about £7.50 to £10 a session if customers bring their children in twice a week,

Discounts of up to 70% are available for out-of-work parents.

It may be cheaper than private tuition, but is sitting children in front of screens healthiest way to teach them?

Mr Mills said: "Our software is fully interactive. It doesn't just ask the questions but makes them come up in an interesting way and looks at how children are doing.

Rebecca McCafferty brings son Cameron every week

"It's very sophisticated in the way it guides the level. It can also develop different skills to those required by the national curriculum.

"But by far and away our biggest asset is our staff. They work one-to-one with children and that's much more important than any computer programme could be."

A typical session would involve the child solving problems on a computer for 55 minutes, with the help of the staff.

They would then spend the rest of the time in the Surf Club section of the centre, which provides computer activities like games and picture-drawing.

Even the play on the SuccessMaker system, designed by the software firm RM, has an educational bent.

One of the most popular games - Roller Coaster Tycoon - involves setting up and running a theme park, giving a basic lesson in principles of economics.

'Confidence'

However, unlike schools, the centres give points rewards for successfully completed tasks.

These are traded in for prizes. For example, 10 points entitle children to a poster and 100 to a mini-skateboard.

Mr Mills admits this is "bribery" but stresses that it fits in with the sense of learning as "fun".

Rebecca McCafferty makes two hour-long round-trips each week to the Beaconsfield store from her home in Hillingdon with her children Cameron, five, and Elizabeth, eight.

She said: "The danger of learning in schools at the moment is if you are not average on every score it can hit your confidence.

"It's also good that the computer can look after children of different ages at the same time.

"The children get excited by it. They don't consider it the same as doing their homework."