If your child is in Y8 or Y9, what is their school doing?

[Bookridden]

Looking to make some comparisons to manage my expectations.

Y8 DD's school provides 3 lessons a day of PowerPoint sessions on the Microsoft Teams platform. The children mark the work themselves. No phone calls from the school, but 3 emails from her tutor to check in with her. No online lessons or feedback on the work. The work takes her about 2.5 hours a day.

I want to gauge if this is excellent, normal or less than average. I tend to feel happy with the content of the PowerPoint lessons, but a bit concerned about the lack of feedback for DD. However, I understand that teachers are busy looking after vulnerable kids etc, so it might be that I'm expecting too much. Hence my reasons for asking

DS in in Y9. His teachers are proving comments & feedback via email and Show My Homework (now called Satchel One).

There's a curriculum of about 3 - 4 hours a day, PP presentations, live lessons, links to other learning. Some teachers have done a mix of work and fun stuff like watching the Theatre Royal plays, Blue Planet, virtual zoo tours etc.

No emails from his teachers directly, but the head sends them to parents.

He's not finding it too onerous and is enjoying the mix. He doesn't need to do homework now for lessons he's not doing for GCSE.

One in year 8, one in year 9. School is putting work online in various ways, not getting feedback as far as I can tell, just left to get on with it. Which suits us fine! I give them two 2 hours slots a day in which to do some academic work, reading and music practice. I check they have been doing a balance of subjects rather than just the ones they like, but otherwise leave them to it. They're happy, I'm happy, that's the important thing!

DD is in Yr 9.

She's been set a lot of work to do, from what I've seen on the learning platform. She says that she's probably been given more than they would normally have done in class.

I can't fault the teachers at all though. They've responded to any queries she's had (by school email) and extended deadlines where appropriate. She's also been given feedback and grades for the work done.

I think they've got the balance about right. Plenty to do but with flexibility and feedback.

DS is in Y8, he has been in fully timetabled lessons via Teams since the first week of lockdown. I'm so impressed with how his school have handled the move to online lessons.

He has to sign in to the teams classroom for each lesson, and interact with his teacher and classmates and download all the resources and work to be completed in the lesson.

He still has prep each night too and has to hand that in electronically, following his usual instructions about timeframes for completion etc.

@Bookridden - it's probably worth specifying whether you're talking about state or private schools tbh.

ChequerBoard's school sounds amazing but I would imagine its fee paying and doesn't have a host of vulnerable and key worker children to teach

DS is in y9 at a private school. He has a full timetable which is a mix of live lessons on zoom and independent work. They’ve been allowed to drop subjects if they are not continuing to gcse but they still have homework. There was some initial teething issues but it’s working ok.

State secondary - year 7. All students at the school have fully timetabled online lessons through teams. Lessons happen at the same time as they would at school. Work is uploaded through teams or emailed to the teacher. Registration at form time every morning (which will be changing from a team chat to a live online one from next week) Registration for every lesson recorded on sims app. It's been fantastic. The school was very well set up for this already - all the students are expected to have their own device which they take to school every day.

It sounds the same as @ChequerBoard - shows that it's not just independent schools giving students this experience!

Perhaps we can change the title to what are your children doing in state school? I'm interested in that but I really don't give a shiny shit about private school.

Isn't there a separate board?

Are your teachers not texting very vulnerable and key worker children popfan? I'm amazed at any state school being able to offer a full time timetable.

We don't live in a middle class area though.

State secondary, Home Counties town, year 8. DD has a full day, 9-3. She has to sign into each lesson with the teacher who's usually there remotely if she has a question about work set on Google Classroom.
They have quite a lot of Hangouts with classmates and teachers too through the week. The odd piece of homework to do post-three pm but rarely. For me this is the correct amount of pressure/expectation. She comes downstairs at 3 and goes for her walk with me, watches tv or goes on her phone!

She's following the same timetable as pre-lockdown. I think feedback is less than normal but generally I'm extremely pleased with the way her school has kept the pace up on the whole. She seems happy enough.

My elder child is in Y8. They have daily written work set via Show My Homework, but this is not submitted or marked. No online teaching.

We've had no phone calls, which TBH I think schools should be doing, just to maintain a bit of a connection. One email from form tutor sent to me, which arrived the day after I returned a survey saying I thought it was a bit of a poor show that kids had been at home for 6 weeks and no-one had called or emailed to check they were ok. There are 4 key worker kids in the school, so they are not inundated on that front.

Yr8. Working to their normal timetable. Some lessons via Teams video, others on chat. Teachers of subject always available in lessons periods for questions. Work submitted and marked.

The teachers have been absolutely amazing. I’m very grateful!

Oh and daily mails from pastoral team, and weekly calls with various members of staff.

State school y8. Work is set Monday at 12 handed in Friday at 10. Activity or lesson for each area. Feedback though showbie and other apps and in the VLE for non completed and well completed. Getting a fairly large amount does 3 pieces a day and probably from 11 - 4 I would say. But very conscientious so probably doing more than needed. Teachers contacted via email and will call parents if work not being completed and if any additional needs or vulnerable. PE still not popular here 😂 interestingly DD doesn't feel like she is learning anything - her words just completing activities so if it was a longer term thing I think there would need to be other virtual school elements considered for science/maths and English as a priority. School have been amazing, brilliant communication and clear instructions. 🤞🏻 For September she wants to go back.

Very similar, although we have four lessons a day but it takes a similar amount of time to complete, excluding the time to complain about the unfairness of life and near endless trips to the fridge.

Yr 8 child. Work is set per day per lesson. But up to the child when they do it. No interaction with teachers. Child has received ad hoc feedback from
Some teachers.
I'm a little disappointed tbh. No phone calls or personal emails to check how they are getting on. No google hangouts or zoom lessons.
Work is being set but it's not taxing at all. Normally takes about two hours to do 4 lessons and that's really dragging it out

State secondary year 9. DS has his normal timetable in MS Teams. All videos and microphones are switched off, but the teacher checks everyone's attendance at the start and is available on the chat function throughout the lesson. The work is set and submitted through Teams, I'm not quite sure how much feedback he's getting. A few lessons are off Teams (eg PE, reading) and he's obviously meant to do something active for PE and read a book for reading.

I'm really pleased with it.

DS2 is year 9. Before half term, he was being set work more or less as if he was in class - an hour a day for each of his five lessons he would normally do. It was very hard to get through and hard to keep him going. Mix of Google classroom and Show My Homework. Most work had to be turned in via SMH or google classroom. Parent and child feedback means that they now all have a new timetable, with an expectation of max four hours a day. They have week a and week b timetables as they would at school And all the work for the week is set at the beginning of the week. The teachers are given guidance on how much to put out. They have the week’s work first thing Monday, due by Sunday. Not everything has to be submitted. Some of the subjects give an hour over to reading/catching up. It is a much more relaxed pace, which is good for all of us. Work is a mix of videos/PowerPoint/material written by the teachers. His only live lesson is his drum lesson, which is provided by a third party, via the school.

Free school (state). DS is Yr 8

Full timetable delivered via Google classrooms supported by teachers on video calls

Attendance and work quality/quantity monitored by teachers and fed back to parents

Regular phone calls home to check in

Very impressed.

Y7 and Y9. Full lessons online at the correct lesson times. Tutor group call twice a week. Mixture of videos, zoom lessons, google classroom. A few free periods for library, PE etc.

All lessons are also marked and given back via google classroom with feedback.

It is a small independent school but not selective or anything. I guess they have no choice to provide something of a decent quality really though if they expect parents to pay.

For all those jumping to conclusions, following my post about my DS13's school and the excellent online learning facilities they have provided, so sorry to disappoint, but it is very much a state comprehensive school.

It sounds very much like yours @popfan, wonder if we are at the same school?