Education Today Education Today Magazine
As schools become more reliant on technology to guide their lessons, there’s been a noticeable pattern appearing, one that’s hard to ignore. Students are becoming less connected, classrooms become increasingly digital, and concern is growing about the decline in face-to-face interaction among pupils. Research shows the shift is measurable: 80% of teachers say the attention span of pupils worsened in the last 5 years.*
Prolonged screen use is associated with weaker social skills and difficulty interpreting body language and tone. These challenges are prompting schools to reassess the role of physical resources, particularly print.
How Print Supports Social Development and Learning
Teachers consistently observe that printed worksheets change classroom behaviour. Simple routines such as handing out work encourage cooperation, verbal communication and shared responsibility. These moments matter: psychologists highlight that real-world interactions are critical for developing empathy, active listening and conflict-resolution skills.
Print plays an important role in supporting pupils with additional needs. Colour-coded worksheets, visual prompts and tactile printed materials help learners with SEND process information more clearly, reduce cognitive load and support sensory regulation in ways digital formats can’t reliably match.
Inspiring children using coloured printed materials can help increase engagement in class as various studies conducted demonstrate, using colour to enhance learning contributes to the development of the brain, creativity, productivity and learning in children.
Important Interactions
Suppliers and consumers have become too focused on the financials of printing – cost per page, ink usage, service intervals – and started treating it like a utility. But we risk missing the human bits. The ones that only show up in classrooms.
When printing works, teaching flows. When the printer breaks, so does the rhythm of the day. And when a student gets to stand up and help hand out the work, they’re participating in something real and shared. Print supports pace and structure. When devices or networks fail, lessons stall. When print is reliable, teaching maintains its rhythm.
Why It Matters
The government has committed over £10 million to ensure every state primary school in England has a library by the end of the current Parliament. An investment grounded in the need for physical literacy experiences, not just digital access, because print provides benefits digital platforms can’t replicate:
- Encourages meaningful peer interaction
- Reduces screen reliance in overstimulated learning environments
- Supports concentration and clear transitions between tasks
- Creates shared, real-world learning moments
As schools work to rebuild social confidence and communication skills, print continues to offer a practical, human dimension to classroom learning. A real, authentic experience for your students that can’t be replicated digitally.
With over 30 years of experience working alongside schools, RISO understands the pressures and practical demands of the education sector, providing affordable print solutions that keep classrooms running smoothly.
For more information
020 8236 5800
info@riso.co.uk
https://www.riso.co.uk
*https://www.tes.com/magazine/news/primary/pupil-behaviour-attentionworse-pandemic
