Virus will further highlight the education gap between middle class & others....

[peppersneezes000]

Read an article that said the middle class children will not suffer during the extended school break at all & would continue to thrive at home. Disadvantaged children will suffer more both socially & educationally especially those in receipt of free school meals.
Dh argues many middle class parents will be working from home with deadlines to meet etc so the middle class children are also at a disadvantage.
I'll try to find the link.

I’m sure the education of kids from disadvantaged backgrounds is set back by the 6 week summer holiday (might have to look that up though).

So I wouldn’t be at all surprised if disadvantaged kids lose out more than middle class kids due to lockdown.

Children with parents willing and able to help, be it with resources and/or time will do ok.

Children with disinterested parents, or parents who struggle with academic work (including those whom English is not the first language) will not have the same experience over the next few months.

I think 11+ results this year could be very skewed.

I'm trying to find the link, these kids can't catch a break

It really won’t surprise me. As an ex teacher I knew what all the research said but in the year I taught every child a subject they were setting in the reality of the impact of class really set in. Cultural capital has a huge impact on education.

There's a big difference between middle class and disadvantaged though. Disadvantaged children seldom do well at school either. How will this affect normal working class families is a better question.

Yep. Completely. I know mine are going to be hugely disadvantaged by this. I can’t teach. The stuff they learn now is so different and it’s been so long.
Meanwhile a couple of my children's friends parents are actual teachers.

We live in a leafy catchment area but there is one village which probably constitutes about 10-15% of the school’s students that is particularly affluent. Year on year, when results come out, a guaranteed 90% of the ‘highlighted’ top scorers are from this village. IMO it is proof that demographic has a massive influence on grades. Even if the parents are ‘absent’ they will still be more aspirational and pushier.

I agree with the pp though - we are not disadvantaged but DH and I are both working full time from home. The attention DS1 is getting in terms of his work is pretty scanty.

@hopeishere but even you prompting him to do it at all is an advantage over many children.

I totally agree. I’m a teacher and still working full time from home but I had enough of an inkling beforehand to spend £30 on workbooks from Amazon, and to borrow mini whiteboards and pens etc from work to use at home. They also lent me a chromebook so DC can access Education City etc while I’m working. I have an easel with whiteboard, the kids have a tablet each, I already limited screen time and we have a big garden with play equipment.

I am organised and well-resourced and DC have no issues sticking to a timetable or sitting down and writing for half an hour on their own while I work. They can read well independently so can do a page of maths exercises with minimal help. I have a range of children’s books and am prepared and confident enough to read aloud and set them English work based on books we’ve read. Although I’ve had to be slack at times I’d say overall the focused learning work they do is probably equivalent to a school day (taking into account the naturally “wasted” time during a day at school).

But this all comes very naturally to me. A day without activities would be alien. It’s in my nature to make tasks into educational activities and my children are immensely privileged because of this. As am I because working from home means full pay so a lack of the stress many families are feeling. I’d say maybe 20% of families have the means and ability to homeschool to that degree. Probably another 30% are doing a damn good job although less confidently. Another 30% muddling through without enough technology and lack of space and resources. And 20% basically unable to access learning in any meaningful way.

I think it will make a difference. Although I don't think it matters how much actual school work is done and how much time parents have to spend with their children as the main factors.

To me the differences will come from some children being put in front of the tv all day and either not fed enough or fed continuous junk food. Whilst in some instances being in an atmosphere of worry for example parents who may be worried about money. These children are not going to thrive and will miss the benefits of being in school, for many this may be their safe place where they don't have to worry about food and have access to educational materials such as books and paper and pencils.

Other children may have two parents working at home but be more likely to have gardens to play in, craft/science kits to do even with minimal guidance and still be in front of the tv more than usual but also be encouraged to spend some time reading, baking, gardening etc. Parents will find time to feed children nutritional meals. These parents in the current climate may still be experiencing some stress about money/job security but probably not to the same extent, maybe having savings or relatives to fall back on. These children may be missing their friends and family but are far more likely to be seeing this time as an extended holiday and enjoying more time outside and more screen time as a result!

I wondered if access to outdoor space will be a factor too. We don't all have a garden.

It will certainly highlight existing inequalities.

@Michaelbaubles it sounds like you are doing a great job and your kids are indeed very fortunate. But I found your post interesting because I keep hearing that this is very stressful for teachers and that they are working harder than ever. Clearly that can’t be the case for some if you are able to devote so much time and planning to your own children that you feel they have a major advantage.

My kids attend a private school that is expensive but not all of the families are wealthy. Quite a few scrimp and save to pay 5K per term. We are being told our fees will only be reduced by 10% as they must pay the teachers their full salary. Meanwhile my DH, who has a normally very secure white collar job, has had a 25% pay cut (in theory the work is reduced but that’s not happening for him.) I work part time on an hourly basis and though I can work from home a lot of it has dried up, plus it requires sustained focus so it is near impossible for me to get anything done with my kids around. LOTS of people are in similar situations. Yes we chose the school knowing it was expensive but we never dreamed something like this would happen. We are making it work but the school fees are a huge burden right now. Our teachers are providing some educational provision but even with planning and prepping there’s no way they are working more than 75% of normal, and as you said they are very lucky that their jobs allow them to look after their own children so skillfully. I don’t think it would be unfair to expect teachers to take a 10-15% pay cut. As a former teacher myself I really value the work the teachers are doing, but the fact is we are getting a fraction of the usual provision and for younger kids especially it requires a large amount of parent attention, which means I can’t earn as much.

Sorry to hijack but your post really stood out to me.

Yes, of course this is the case. MC will be playing games with their families, cooking, reading, being read to, doing Lego, jigsaws, some school work, just like they probably do every school holidays too. It's a well known fact that disadvantaged DC lose skills over the long summer break, so with months off school what the hell does anyone think is going to happen? Same with domestic violence, mental health problems, physical health problems - they will all get worse the longer we're confined to our homes.

Those that don't have access to a laptop each and decent WiFi are at a huge disadvantage at secondary school. Many schools expect the DC to be online 9-3 and interactive throughout the day...

Our broadband isn't hoping with DH and I WFH and we have to work office hours!

My kids attend a private school that is expensive but not all of the families are wealthy. Quite a few scrimp and save to pay 5K per term.

Fleamaker I think you’ll find there’s quite a divide between your definition of ‘poor’ and that of most others’ . Besides it’s not just money that we’re talking here; it’s values. If parents are prepared to make such huge sacrifices for their children’s’ education then that speaks volumes in itself regarding attitude at home. There are plenty of mega wealthy people I know who seem to send their dc to private school in order to ‘farm out’ responsibility. If they aren’t being tutored online through structured lessons then they too could be falling between the cracks. Despite having the latest MacBooks.

@Fleamaker123, yes, it sounds ridiculous but I know what she means.
I know a family where both parents earn around 35k a year. Instead of then living off a combined salary of 70k, they opt to live off the one salary of 35k staying in a small house and having caravan holidays etc to allow them to spend the other 30k privately educating 2 children. I certainly wouldn’t call them wealthy; bonkers maybe but not wealthy. Maybe BFCD’s school has lots of parents making those choices.

Every school is taking a different approach as well which doesnt help. My childrens school for example have stated that after taking into consideration the needs of its children and the community, whilst it will be setting some activities there is no expectation at all for the children to complete them - says it all really... After 6 months of no school and no expectations to do any work, moving into the next year group in 6 months time is going to pose a whole different set of chiallenges to the teachers in terms of learning gaps.

Sorry @Fleamaker123 I didn’t realise you were quoting someone else!

Yes I agree it's all relative. I obviously move in different circles! And I agree parents' attitudes play a big part... I see some of the poorest families who value education very highly.

I think it’s a bit hopeful to say that they won’t suffer at all but I would agree that this will highlight existing inequalities. I think there’s a lot of different circumstances that will make some children do better than others due to parents working from home, other siblings, space at home, the ability of parents to teach, resources at home. I’ve noticed that the pressure to take your children lots of places to “create memories” has been replaced by the pressure to do amazing educational craft activities.

And my eldest is Y8 and has an almost full timetable. She needs to register first thing and when it’s PE they’re expected to do something outside for 30-40mins. We have a basketball net on the outside wall but also a climbing frame for the younger 2 and a large 2 person swing attached to a tree at the bottom of the garden. My 3 can play rounders, football, badminton etc in between lessons. Many kids don’t even have the benefit of outdoor space at all. We have whiteboards, pens, paper and enough devices for all. We have numerous board games and the house is overflowing with books. We are told that as everyone is doing it then all families are in the same position. That simply is not true and this is a massively negative experience for many, many young people.

Dh argues many middle class parents will be working from home with deadlines to meet etc so the middle class children are also at a disadvantage.

Obviously all children are disadvantaged by 6 months off school.

But the gap between those who had the resources to access online work/education programs and also those who had parents who cared enough about education to ensure that children accessed it regularly in those 6 months (this won’t necessarily be split neatly on class/income) will be huge.

Well there's wealthy.and there's wealthy isn't there @BigFatChuckieDoll if your on minimum wage it doesn't matter how much you scrimp.and scrape its very ,very unlikely you will.be able to.afford £5000/ term