‘Teachers must run summer schools to help pupils to catch up’

[DNAshelicase]

...said the children’s commissioner. Uhmm no hun. I’m a teacher and have already worked through Easter and half term for free, contrary to popular belief we are not paid for holidays. If I’ll be paid handsomely for overtime I’d consider it but tbh I need a break. Wouldn’t get into the profession if we didn’t care about the kids but they aren’t more important than our own kids, the suggestion is a piss take.

Fair enough too.

Children’s commissioner doesn’t have a clue! I’m friendly with a couple of teachers and I take my hat of to them with the way they had to hit the ground running when lockdown started-they had no more notice than the rest of us, yet had to come up with a whole new way of teaching, and as per usual parental expectations are high.
There’s no way on earth I’d expect teachers to run summer schools, I can only think they’ll need their summer break more than ever this year

Absolutely. Teachers need the break to recharge and be with their own family’s. It’s an extremely tiring and challenging job which you bring home many nights. Will be outraged if they ask teachers this

I agree, and what I find concerning is the assumption that children can and should "catch up". I think it would be better for both staff and children if we accept that children going to school in September are not going to be where you normally would expect, and are going to need both revision of previously taught stuff and teaching of what should have been covered in the summer term. We should spend a couple of years making up that gap, not try and cram it into a few weeks IMO

Agree with Penguin. We need to accept that this is going to take a long time to catch up.

The students who have engaged with me appear, looking at their work, to be up to date with expected progress. Those who just haven’t engaged are never (in my opinion) going to catch up.

Can’t see pupils who haven’t been engaging now will engage in Summer school. If Summer school does run it will probably be filled with pupils who have already engaged and will then get further ahead.

Unfortunately there will be some Y10s who haven’t been able to engage for reasons outside their control and they won’t have time to catch up before their GCSEs, but not sure what the answer is.

With you all the way. The children need a break too. Who wants a tired stressed teacher to be teaching their children.

Ha! I'm a teacher and I will not be volunteering to do this. I love my pupils but I want the summer holidays with my own children. Even if it's only in my garden.

I haven't heard ANY parents actually saying they want their kids to go to school in summer. Hot, sticky classrooms, half the kids missing for holidays, that feeling of having been cheated out of summer after having been cheated out of most of 2020 already. No way. It won't happen.

As a parent I think my kids will need the break.

And the teachers at our school are working incredibly hard.

Its been pretty intense for us supporting the kids learning.

Teachers are doing a lot of preparation and we are juggling work and house to support them.

We were all pretty shattered and last week was a dream just not having to do school work. I still had to work much of the time but it was a joy!!

What about those teachers who haven’t taught a thing since 20th March volunteering for this?

What about them? The clue is in the word "volunteering." No one should have to do this if they don't want to.

Are there any teachers who haven't taught a thing since 20th March? Even the ones I know who have been shielding have been preparing online work, making phone calls to the families etc.

Of course they have, mondaynoon, but unfortunately that doesn't fit with chocolatecard's narrative.

@ChocolateCard

What about those teachers who haven’t taught a thing since 20th March volunteering for this?

Who are these teachers? Genuine question. All the teachers at my school have worked incredibly hard. Same for my son's school and all my other teacher friends.

I agree with you (parent not a teacher). You are looking after our most precious things and we need you on top form. Our teachers have been working ridiculously hard (they work so hard anyway) and they need a break.

Primary School in Bridgend, South Wales.

Literally not taught a thing to their Year 5’s since 20th March.

I’m a parent and I know our teachers worked all Easter preparing for on line learning and all half term getting ready for children to return this week. I think they’ve more than earned their Summer holiday.

Plus my DC have had full days of online lessons since lockdown, they too need their Summer break.

The teacher’s at my daughter’s school haven’t been teaching either - we just get a print out of links each week.

Also if there’s no play schemes open then it’s another long 6 weeks of many people not working at a time when we desperately need them to be. The economy needs all our help to prosper

Of course it should be voluntary. But you do get paid for holidays, teachers are on a 52 week contract. It’s support staff who aren’t paid for the whole year, they are normally on 39 working weeks contract plus 6 weeks paid holidays.

Contentious. I worked up until Easter, volunteered in the Easter holidays and then was furloughed. Not my choice - I would rather work. But not in the holidays when my child will be off as they are Primary, and when I need to be planning for next year....

Makes me so sad for my kids when I hear about how hard other teachers have been striving to continue offering an education.

And makes me feel even worse about the fact that I’ve had to continue working full-time throughout, in order to put a roof over their heads.

If I didn’t have to work, I’d have thrown my heart & soul into doing all the teaching myself

Not just the teachers, but the kids too - many of them have been working really hard with their homeschooling, some keyworker children have been in school everyday including over the Easter hols and half term - yes it’s been a more casual, but still hardly a holiday. Kids need a break from all this madness too.

@WoollyMollyMonkey

Of course it should be voluntary. But you do get paid for holidays, teachers are on a 52 week contract. It’s support staff who aren’t paid for the whole year, they are normally on 39 working weeks contract plus 6 weeks paid holidays.

I'm not paid for the holidays. My pay is term time and then divided over 52 weeks.