Surely, repeating this school year is the only way?

[YardleyX]

In what world would it ever have been thought an option to just finish school for the year in March, and then carry on to the next year as though nothing’s happened?!??

Some schools have worked exceptionally hard to continue educating during the pandemic, but official line from the government is that the “curriculum is suspended”.

Therefore, unless the entire curriculum is being re-written, all the way up to and including A level, how can there possibly be an expectation for every child in the country to just ‘move on’ in September?

Year 11 and Year 13 could move on. Impact would therefore be no schools have a Year 11 this year, and some provision needs to be made in order to accommodate this years Reception intake.

Hardly ideal, but better than an entire generation of children falling so far behind, and in lots of cases probably never catching up.

I pointed out to a friend that when the NHS looked like it was going to be overwhelmed, the government forced private hospitals to take NHS patients. Obviously this isn't a matter of life and death.

Anyway, I have one that has thrived in lockdown, completed all tasks and received amazing feedback from teachers - including comments that they have realised their potential in the absence of a disruptive classroom environment. I hadn't thought of the idea of flexi-schooling Frokni but I may just follow that up. The other goes into meltdown at the suggestion of any structured work - so I see both sides.

I just can't believe that schools have been providing nothing during this time for senior schools. All I have seen on MN are posts saying how hard teachers are working, and that is certainly my experience with my DCs school so I just find it hard to believe.

I know this isn't a popular opinion on here but I do think schools/LAs have to take some responsibility here. I understand the issues re devices etc but there are solutions that have been offered regarding this and if they are not suitable solutions the government needs to sort it. It seems all of a sudden some of the schools local to us who haven't been doing so much have suddenly decided they are able to provide online learning after all and have been trialling it tis last couple of weeks, feels like a couple of months too late!

There is no solution that won't disadvantage some children in some way.
I am very concerned about my year 12 son. Being out of school for a fifth of his A level course has certainly harmed him. But so would repeating the year. Assuming year 11 move up as normal, there would effectively be 2 year 12s. That would probably be workable for schools next year as there would still be about the same number of pupils in the 6th form overall. But what would happen the year after when there were 2 year 13s and a new year 12? Our school is a net importer of pupils into 6th form, with year groups being bigger than those further down the school. There isn't physical space for an extra year never mind enough A level teachers. Universities would have a much reduced intake that year and may as a result be unable to run all courses, but the year after there would be double the numbers applying. How would that work? Double that university year or have twice the numbers competing for the same places? Either way, the same cohort that is disadvantaged again now would be disadvantaged again. Then a few years later there would be a year when there were virtually no graduates entering the job market followed by another with a glut. Again,the current year 11 and 12 lose out potentially. The knock on into professions like medicine that require a constant stream of graduates entering at the bottom of the career ladder would be significant.
The only way I can see repeating a year would work is if everyone did it. So year 11 would have to redo another GCSE year and year 13 another A level year. This year's graduates would need to spend another year at University and everyone would have to stay where they were in career terms - so all those people woukd be disadvantaged. Those in big exam years may not have physically sat their exams but most of them would have more or less finished their syllabi, University students will have completed dissertations etc - why should they have to mark time for a year?
No, ot sounds like a good idea in principle but I don't think it is workable in reality. My son, like most of his year group is resigned to the fact that they are just going to have work as hard as possible at home and try to catch up on missed work once they return. My year 9 son should have started GCSE syllabi in the core subjects this term but obviously hasn't and is also stressing about how he is going to manage the practical component of his GCSE PE when neither of his main sports are looking like getting back to normal any time soon. But those are bridges that we will have to cross, with many others, when the time comes.

@DobbyTheHouseElk

It’s not one term. It’s been slightly more than one and a half.

They finished 2 weeks before Easter. So they missed 2 weeks then the summer term.

Where are you getting it's more than one and a half?

From Reception to Year 13, children attend school for a total of 42 terms. For children in most year groups, missing one term is not going to be the end of the world.

If one child misses a term of school, they will be be behind their peers and may struggle to catch up. Since all children have missed a term, they will all be in much the same boat and teachers will have to adjust the curriculum accordingly.

It is more of a problem for children in the critical years 10 and 12. Perhaps it might be necessary to reduce the syllabus content and/or adjust grade boundaries for these year groups. Not, however, an insurmountable problem.

It's a term and a half out of 14 years of education. Exams will be adapted for the current years 10 and 12. Everyone else will catch up.

@countessfrog I hate the idea of exams a month late le it will gain them not very much at all and I can't see many teachers wanting to g back in August and as we will maybe finally able to have a holiday or break people have these booked ( yes I know education is important ) my son is year 10 and if school is back to normal sept with all the extras school normally offer then I think he could cope with exams as normal but as we don't know if they will be back sept or virus will still be around so exams could be affected again it would be safer I think to do assessments again for another year , with a hope to returning to normal exams following year

100% agree OP!
Is there a petition anywhere about this?

Reception kids could start a year later - which would probably be good for them (so proves the whole of Scandanavia!) and everyone else could catch up what they missed. Really couldn't be that bloody hard?!?! 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

It's looking like they won't be back properly until December. So that's basically 9 months!!! Fucking ridiculous 🙈🙈🙈

I think we need to trust teachers and wait until they have a chance from Sept onwards to assess where the kids are at with their education. Some kids will have been ok throughout this time and some will have missed a lot of education so decisions can’t really be made until those with the expertise in education have a chance to work with kids. It’s a huge unknown but if kids are happy and not stressed (which is what schools could prioritise in Sept) they will generally learn well. I think we need to think less about “falling behind” and “catching up” as the goal posts have been drastically moved this year. Alterations to the curriculum may be considered, who knows. It could have a positive outcome.

Some countries do allow kids to be held back, but that's individuals not everyone and it's far rarer to do these days - evidence strongly suggests that it's far more detrimental than adjusting the work to their ability level. The US, where it's still practiced in some areas, has had issues with graduating classes where the oldest is nearly two years older than the youngest due to both the practice of holding kids back and the wide difference in cut-off ages between districts and kids then moving around.

Year 10s will struggle, my son is one. Having worked with provision that helps kids including those that lost out years of school, it's more supported to focus on less work (fewer GCSEs, focused on English Language & Maths and subjects they want to do going forward) than to place them lower years. I imagine different schools will do different options, but I'm hoping there will be the extra support for those to who want/need to do a full load, and consideration that some students may benefit from a reduced workload.

Also, alongside the reception, we'd have to consider other kids who would be in new school come September - those who've moved during this (there is an uptick in rentals) or who for whatever reason don't have a place where they're currently at but have one for September. We could leave kids in limbo for longer.

My year 13 daughter would love to repeat a year as she has lost a lot of training (studying a vocational course). But it would be disastrous for my Year 11 son. For a year now he has been biding time until he can go to college. Having to repeat year 11 at school would cause a totalbreakdown.

I think we need to trust teachers and wait until they have a chance from Sept onwards to assess where the kids are at with their education.

Have teachers agreed they'll go back to work in September?

In an ideal world the children would repeat a year but they can't really. Where will this year's reception children go? The vast majority of preschoolers are already bored with nursery by the summer term and ready for school.It's cruel to delay that for another year. Also if children can't move up.at nursery what are parents going to do when they need their babies to attend nursery?
I agree that all secondary schools pupils have been badly affected by this. I can also see if children aren't back by September it'll be very unfair on children doing exams next summer. There is no easy answer but that's what happens when you put children at the bottom of the pile and have a government too pathetic to tell the schools they need to go back

I have a DD in year 10 her school have been rubbish throughout. We haven’t had a call nor has she. In English for example she has three teachers but another English teacher is setting the work online. So all four English teachers are sending her long winded emails (which she hasn’t the time or patience to sift through), all her subject teachers are using a whole range of different platforms to set work. Some is online, some where the kids have to take photos of every page of exercise books and load it onto the school system (which takes ages). They have been dreadful.

Some teachers are better than others (but she’s fallen behind) goodness what her feedback is like as it’s sent direct to her school email address and I have no access to this. She is stressed, overwhelmed with school work and despondent. She is supposed to go back 22nd June for only half a day a week. I really don’t think she can cope for very much longer with no schooling and no socialisation. She has only met one friend once since lock down. Its horrendous the damage this is doing to our young people. I have contacted the school but it has had little impact. I/we have tried to talk to her but she is either very quiet and withdrawn or very moody, shouty and irrational.

My yr 10 back next week for for 4 hrs a day

Sorry I know all children are affected by this but the younger ones about to start school will know no different compared to my DD who knows her year have had a very raw deal and they are struggling on to catch up from their bedrooms at home with teachers throwing work out to them left right and centre. Some teachers email 4 or 5 pieces of work at once with a two day turnaround time, other teachers seem to email it in dribs and drabs with little or no guidance and give them a fortnight to complete it (with kids referring back and forth to different platforms and sifting through two or three emails) instead of it all being in the same place class X where all the work set should be.

Germany cut down grammar school schooling from 9 to 8 years and they are doing fine. seriously - missing 4 months isn't that big a deal.

Surely curriculum expectations will be adapted for a little while until all children have caught up, eg writing in complex sentences will move from year 3 back to year 4 where it used to be. As the years go on this will eventually go back to year 3. Everything children learn in primary school are building blocks, so they will learn abd build up their curriculum again.

My yr 10 is in for 3hrs once a fortnight from next week. They have ASD and have done zero schoolwork at home. My yr4 isn’t going back until September, again no schoolwork done..........I am concerned but do not think repeating the year is the answer

what I do think this shows is the fining parents for taking their kids on holidays during term time is a crock of s**t

@Kazzyhoward

I think we need to trust teachers and wait until they have a chance from Sept onwards to assess where the kids are at with their education.

Have teachers agreed they'll go back to work in September?

Don't be fucking pathetic.

Most of us are at work now. What planet are you on?

Reception kids could start a year later - which would probably be good for them (so proves the whole of Scandanavia!) and everyone else could catch up what they missed.

I do think (and always have ) that 4 is too young to be starting school, so this idea in my opinion is a great one.

I Know I would be furious if my child was doing his GCSE year and the remote teaching wasn't adequate enough. I would expect him to be able to resist his year and have a fair chance to meet his potential

It just such a difficult time our government had left us in.

If anyone finds a petition could they post it on here as I would be keen to sign it, as would many I know.

I'll repeat what's been asked numerous times before, if the children due to start reception this year don't start, where do they go for another year and who's going to pay for it?!