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Why can private schools manage it?

103 replies

Mymymydelilahwhywhywhydeliah · 02/05/2020 16:47

I am aware there has been a lot of teacher bashing going on so I will ask for no teacher bashing or generalisations of a whole profession. But I wanted to ask with regards to teaching via zoom or similar specifically about the safeguarding element , I am aware not every child has access to the internet etc, why private schools manage to teach via zoom with no issues why there is such a safeguarding risk doing it with state schools? Genuine question.

OP posts:
ListeningQuietly · 02/05/2020 18:21

And yet Universities are still charging students their fees
and landlords are still getting their rent
when the provision of teaching is utterly shite

fake lab data emailed through is NOT a replacement for practicals
online tutorials with no feedback are useless
the library being shut is a mick take
and many thousands of students fund themselves through Uni via the hospitality industry
and yet the loans clock up interest at 6% before the kids even graduate

and when they graduate - what awaits them ???

Schools are doing FAR FAR better than Universities.

mmgirish · 02/05/2020 18:21

How it works at the private international school I work at:

  • every child from year 2 up has an iPad that the school provided them with.
  • all the other children year 1 and lower were told that they needed a tablet. So those who didn't have one bought one
  • secondary students had to bring their own laptop to school so they all already had a laptop to work on
  • we live in a city with good wifi. The children needed WiFi for their homework before lockdown
  • we don't use zoom because it's not appropriate for schools
  • we use google meet. Children are not allowed to have their cameras on
  • all staff are working full time to hold on to our students - our jobs rely on students keeping up
  • parents are motivated to get their children online at the correct time as they are paying for tuition
Hercwasonaroll · 02/05/2020 18:26

@tarararara

Videos can be good. It's far better to use one that is pre prepared though. I need to upload a 6 minute one. This took almost 5 hours to record, edit, upload etc. That's not feasible for every lesson or even once per week.

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CraftyGin · 02/05/2020 18:27

We use Google Hangouts. We did a full risk assessment beforehand.

Our protocols that is no one works in their bedroom, and everyone is dressed. Parents should be in earshot of their child; no one should be in a teacher's hangout. We have to record 1-2-1 meetings, but can record any.

I don't really get why anyone is fragile about these arrangements. If you don't want to be seen, then turn your camera off.

All our students have school chromebooks.

We've now had 3 weeks of online lessons, running to the normal school timetable, and it is going really well.

W00t · 02/05/2020 18:34

@Mymymydelilahwhywhywhydeliah What sanctions do you think state schools can put in place for pupils that zoombomb lessons? That capture their classmates or teachers' images and alter them then post them online? That expose themselves? That disrupt the live classes?

How do you think state school teachers can manage to organise 30+ pupils instead of 16 or 18 without them all butting in, muting each other, spamming the chat channel constantly?

How can there be live lessons for pupils that share one device between four, five, or more children?

In my family we have enough computers for all of us to work simultaneously, fibre broadband, a separate room for each person to work undisturbed.
My school has 30% pupil premium pupils, which is well below the authority average. We have a significantly large group of pupils with no broadband, no computer/laptop at home. A significant chunk are doing school work on smartphones only, as a parent needs the only laptop to work from home. How bad do you think that is for their eyes and hands?
My school cannot afford laptops for all staff, it's too costly, and many of us have declined to have ours renewed as we have machines at home we can use. Obviously no-one realised we would all be mostly working from home, so some are deeply regretting that now their children need a machine at home too.

Every child in DS' class has access to a device and broadband, and there are only 16 to co-ordinate for the teacher. Whilst the teachers are in school (for the 25% of pupils that are key workers' children and are still in every day) they are also using pre-recorded lessons that they somehow have found time to prepare, but this is only possible because they are all subject specialists in primary, so have higher staffing levels than in state schools.

It comes down to money, pure and simple, that is how fee-paying schools can do it.

Aesopfable · 02/05/2020 18:35

My sister’s kids are at a private school and have some google meet sessions but not whole lessons or all subjects. They had to sign agreements at the end of term regarding no screenshots, no videoing, wearing appropriate clothes etc. I guess as a private school they could be expelled if not followed.

Fees are spoken about as if the schools are being greedy but without money coming in (and parents of course want to see some return for the thousands they are spending) the schools could easily fold. Many private schools operate a financial tightrope, and have no buffer for times like this. They are bound to lose children after the summer as parents can no longer afford them. Most private schools are not in the position of Harrow or Eton.

My daughter is at a state primary - they have some google meet sessions too but only a couple a week. One so they can basically just see each other, and another with a small group. I can’t see how teaching would work in primary level with any more than half a dozen or so because of the need to be interactive.

Stellamboscha · 02/05/2020 18:52

I am teaching a full timetable (indie secondary) teach part of every lesson on Zoom (the explanation/ modelling) then close the meeting and they do the set tasks and upload them. The mark online, return online and so they are getting feedback much faster than normal and is less work for me. 90-100% turn out for every lesson. Kids have settled into the touring now. We also have tutor time every day via Zoom. We have buckled down every parameter so it is as as safe a it can be and definitely better that not having live lessons. I was sceptical at first and posted a thread about my fears. But it is proving to be very positive and crucially children are retaining he learning habit and making much better progress than I anticipated.

ChiaraRimini · 02/05/2020 18:58

Some (mostly Private) schools are finding ways around the tech problems, some aren't.
I know a primary near us that is sending home lessons day by day that the kids can follow without parents standing over them, ie with pre-recorded videos by teacher+ task for kids to do + Zoom self-marking/Q&A
DDs school is giving us very little in comparison- two A4 pages of instructions sent out each week which require the parents to fully supervise all work. It is totally inadequate. We have gone our own way, using workbooks from Amazon and common sense. It is much less stressful as I can plan in advance rather than waiting until Sunday night to find out what I am meant to "teach" the following week.

ChiaraRimini · 02/05/2020 18:59

@Stellamboscha that sounds like a good approach

TSSDNCOP · 02/05/2020 19:07

Stella that last part is a bloody godsend. I realise that is absolutely not the case for many, many DC. I feel my DC is extremely lucky. This school year is going to have a knock on effect for many years I think.

MrsAvocet · 02/05/2020 19:07

What about children who don't have a parent at home CraftyGin?
Or whose parents are working from home and cannot listen in to their children's classes? Were it not for the fact that I am currently ill and off work as a result, that would be the situation in our house as I would still be going out to work and my husband is working from home, often videoconferencing for hours in end. Our LEA has specifically asked that even key workers only send their children into schools if there is absolutely no alternative ie there isn't an adult in the house and they are too young to be left alone. My teenagers would therefore left largely unsupervised for most of the day if I was currently well enough to go to work. There must be loads of families in similar situations. It simply can't be assumed that every child has parents who are able to provide supervision.
Mind you, I am quite relieved that my children aren't having live lessons as there is no way our broadband would be able to accommodate their lessons and DH's work. We are fairly comfortably off and everyone in the house has access to a computer but we don't have superfast broadband. What we currently have is normally fine, but we never expected a houseload of people to be online at once, including livestreaming video and uploading large documents. We periodically get yelled at to all get off the internet as DH has lost either sound or video from his online meetings as it is. Yesterday we had a stand off when 2 members of the family needed to upload videos simultaneously and I am getting up in the middle of the night to upload stuff for the voluntary group I'm involved with. It is the only time I can do it without disturbing anyone else and when it doesn't take 8 hours to upload a video . We are better resourced than many as DH works from home quite a lot normally. So if we are finding it hard, I can imagine that lots are finding it much harder. It really isn't all as simple as some posters seem to think.

borntobequiet · 02/05/2020 19:32

I’m really surprised you have to ask.
I’m in FE and “managing” it. Not by teaching Zoom lessons though, that would be pointless.

Querlouse · 02/05/2020 21:35

Our private school doesn't need parents to supervise. I'm working from home and crack on with that. I did sit on on dds French lesson for the first two weeks (I'm fluent and wanted to see what the level was). Otherwise they get on with it (yr 9 and 12)

Jimdandy · 02/05/2020 22:36

@LightAndDarkshadows your friend isn’t teaching at a school beginning with B, in a vial he beginning with C in the East Midlands is she?

Our small independent school is teaching via Zoom. Kids have a pack with worksheets in, they are then taught/corrected in the live lessons.

The rules are the children have to be appropriately dressed (no nightwear). I don’t see a safe guarding issue in this specific circumstance. There are 4 children in the class.

If someone hacked in they would et a recording of my DD colouring a sheet or writing. The risk of someone hacking to show porn etc is so slim co pared to how much work they’ll miss without the teacher is worth it to me.

ListeningQuietly · 03/05/2020 16:14

There are 4 children in the class.
and back in the real world

simonisnotme · 03/05/2020 17:05

the school near me have started making 'sway' lessons, available on twitter. teachers are filming/uploading a 'sway' a day with various components ie maths , english , quizzes the children then email / send pictures to their class teacher

Jimdandy · 03/05/2020 17:09

@ListeningQuietly why the spite? I was merely talking about my personal experience with Zoom lessons.

If you’d like to take a swipe please at least tag me next time!!

Querlouse · 03/05/2020 17:09

4 children in the class Shock

I'd check the balance sheet if I were you!

Jimdandy · 03/05/2020 17:46

Balance sheet?

The OP has asked how private school’s are teaching zoom lessons and I’ve answered.

Not sure why there’s such a problem with that!!

MarthasGinYard · 03/05/2020 18:05

DS used to only have 4 in class at prep. It closed down.

Querlouse · 03/05/2020 18:51

It's a shockingly tiny number to have in a class! Nothing to do with the online teaching!

Jimdandy · 03/05/2020 19:24

It’s quite a unique school. It’s extremely small and independent. When there was that kerfuffle about labour trying to abolish private school this one would not be affected. A private owner set it up in early 2000’s, it’s not one of the historical ones that is somehow funded in part by a charity (or something along those lines). There are no financial issues at the moment. The school is self sufficient.

The maximum class size is 12, our year cohort is just particularly small for some reason!

Hearhoovesthinkzebras · 03/05/2020 19:29

why there is such a safeguarding risk doing it with state schools? Genuine question.

Standard safeguarding concerns - things going on in homes that whole class exposed to, students recording teachers and then editing clips, misbehaving and clowning about. I've also been looking at the app Tik Tok (I know, don't judge me). There are hundreds of incidents on there - I really understand why it's a bad idea. Students playing various pranks on the teacher, recording the screen which shows every students face and then uploading it to tik tok. I can understand teachers being concerned.

Querlouse · 03/05/2020 20:04

I'd hate 4 in a class but I understand that is totally irrelevant!

Jimdandy · 03/05/2020 20:59

It is a little small, but the whole school is so small that all the year groups play together.

I really like the school and the before and after school provision is really good so it suits us.