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 am a teacher and my students have been continuing with the courses throughout lockdown. They are more or less where they should be at the moment. They and their parents would be furious if they were compelled to repeat the whole year, I would think.

Similarly, DS has continued with his lessons throughout, as have all the children in his school.

Insisting that every child repeats the year regardless of their circumstances is not a practical solution to the problem. As others have said - are you going to double the size of the reception intake and double the size of Year 12? And with no Year 13s, what will the knock-on effect be on the universities in September 2021? Barely any first year students then followed by a massive intake to be accommodated in 2022?

One year without students entering university.

Teachers are miracle workers.

Awesome. I don’t know what anyone is worried about then

They'll be able to catch up. They have plenty of time. My daughter is in year 10 and yes it's a bit scary as they have the least time of everyone but as long as they are doing their work (and more with some revision maybe) then they will manage it. All other year groups have years to catch up. Tbh my children have been doing full days of school work within 3 hours. Eldest says they spend most of their day waiting for others or having things they've already done gone over. I think she's making more progress (with guidance from the teachers) doing a couple of hours a day at home

"I like the way most people who are confident their children have received a decent education during lockdown don’t seem bothered about what happens to the ones that haven’t."

No-one seems to be saying that. It is being pointed out that whilst you have put a solution forward, it is an unworkable one. That does not mean that posters aren't bothered about the fate of children/YP who have not been educated or supported be that via school, parental support/disengagement , lack of access to computing equipment to access learning, personal circumstances, abusive home life etc. I think (and hope) the majority are, but everyone is experiencing this through their own lens and may. It appreciate/understand the impact this has on wider society - doesn't make them not bothered, just means they are unaware (in the same way you were unaware of the implications of your idea in your op) and need to be shown the other side of their experience

if we believed in equality in education, we would have no such thing as grammar school in this country.

The refusal of parents to step up and get involved in this country is unbelievable. Screams at the idea of buying books or uniforms, or pay for school trips, screams even louder at the mention of school work and actually doing something with your children.

What needs to change is that attitude and think you do enough by dropping your kids at school in the morning and pick them up in the evening.

There are not many workers in this country who have been working 7 days a week 12 hours a day and have truly been unable to get involved with schooling. I am sure there are a few, but the majority of working parents could find the time.

It's completely anecdotal and proves nothing, but when I look at the "outstanding work" published by the school of my youngest children, (the work far exceeding expectations they send) they came from families with working parents.

So, in a nutshell:

The government can declare the national curriculum suspended, but those that ‘can’ continue to work and learn will continue.

Leaving those that actually believed the curriculum was suspended to flounder behind and face the struggle to catch up (which many will never achieve)

**I am a teacher and my students have been continuing with the courses throughout lockdown. They are more or less where they should be at the moment. They and their parents would be furious if they were compelled to repeat the whole year, I would think.

Similarly, DS has continued with his lessons throughout, as have all the children in his school.

Insisting that every child repeats the year regardless of their circumstances is not a practical solution to the problem. As others have said - are you going to double the size of the reception intake and double the size of Year 12? And with no Year 13s, what will the knock-on effect be on the universities in September 2021? Barely any first year students then followed by a massive intake to be accommodated in 2022?**

@TheOnlyLivingBoyInNewCross

With all due respect, I find that hard to believe (if it is then it’s likely to be highly unusual).

So all of your students (say 25-30) have all been handing in their work and are where they should be now?

From what I’ve read on here and listening to other people and my own experience, I think your experiences is very much the exception and not the norm.

Think it through-the repercussions are immense, as has been pointed out repeatedly when people have suggested this.

DH is a teacher and his idea was that rather than having whole years in, the government should have started with the lowest 20% by attainment. Then the kids who most needed would get extra time with their own teacher and catch up with the others. The higher attainers are more likely to be able to catch up later on their own/ be coping with work sent.

This idea of repeating a year won't work. We have a DC who is due to start school in September. The school has no capacity for an extra class so would this year start late? Some of these kids are reading and writing already (mine and a friend's September born DC). If I was a teenager who had actually been working I would be enraged at having to repeat a year and delay leaving home because some hadn't.

One possibility would be to move to a german- style system where pupils have to pass a certain level or repeat a year. Another would be to have exams in July rather than April- June which would give a few more months of preparation.

OP - why do you keep saying that the government suspended the curriculum?

The government said that physical school buildings were closed other than to children of keyworkers and those who were vulnerable.

There has been no "suspension of the curriculum".

Even if there had been, why should children have to repeat the year? Why not just shuffle the school year a term onwards and repeat summer term? (yes, I know this equally doesn't work for a number of reasons, but don't understand why repeating a year for the sake of a term does either).

Most learning happens in the first two terms. Plus school is naturally inefficient. I don't see catching up being a problem. Ideally Y10 and Y12 would go back asap, but they are old enough to distance learn.

That said I think schools should be aiming to get 50% of classes back before the summer. This cannot drag on beyond the summer. Kids are low risk and it is easier to bring them back while the weather is good.

Some of the responses on here make a total mockery of the idea that education is centred around the needs of the child. Of course a lot of the solutions need extra money which is out of the hands of many schools, but the idea that for a large cohort of children the solutions to a gap in their education where just a bit too complicated for adults to solve is utterly crap.

Children have missed one term out of three this year and most have done some learning. I don’t think a whole year needs to be repeated.

I like the way most people who are confident their children have received a decent education during lockdown don’t seem bothered about what happens to the ones that haven’t.

some of us haven't waited to be inconvenienced ourselves to try to be involved in campaigning and trying to make a difference to the dreadful state of our (state) schools...

I can't quite see how it would work in a primary school. It might work in secondary because those who are leaving for college or university or work in year 13 would leave 'slack' in the system - even if they have to sit exams they were almost at the point of sitting the exams when we shut down so most of our upper sixth form were revising, revising, revising in March. So, although no-one moves into year 13, the classrooms/teachers/equipment etc is still available - the classes just don't change name or curriculum for a year.

But where's the slack in the primary if they all resit their year? You have year six blocking because they can't move up and, if we don't have enough classrooms or teachers to split classes, where do we find them to take in another class (or even 3 in some schools) at the reception year?

The younger kids will catch up. It is year 10s and 12s I worry about. I work in a high school that is making no effort to open to them before september. They'll probably just be expected to stay for extra revision classes after school, which most of them won't want to do.

the idea that education is centred around the needs of the child.

sadly that's an idea that many posters on here disagree with anyway, just read the threads about "school is not childcare" and the endless complaints about school holidays.

@RedskyAtnight The government hasn't done that, but some schools have effectively done so. My oldest (secondary aged) is being taught properly. Our local primary sent home iPads with all the kids at Easter that gives them access to literacy and numeracy apps and they set some work on it daily. Not a huge amount, but there is work to do every morning. My nieces and nephews are at primary schools which have set no work at all and, although they are providing childcare for key workers, they are not providing any educational activities at school at all. It has been very disappointing because the parents are at work so cannot teach them at home.

I also think we have to be realistic.
Primary kids should be able to catch up. Other countries don't start until later but manage to teach their kids the same as we do.

Secondary exam year will be affected but that has to be reflected in the exams themselves and lower pass marks, amendments to work for exams in 2021.

The Govt suspended the Curriculum in March.
It has not yet re-started, and won't until September.
And then, possibly not full time.

My Y10, SN and SEN (yet no EHCp, but that's another battle) is screwed.

They won't repeat the year.
There isn't ROOM to add in a whole terms missed work next year.

The only answer is to reduce exam content / change grade barriers / just give predicted grades NOW.

But the Govt wont'. They will press on, and to hell with those 'left behind'.

I realise that, in theory, all of the children are in the same boat - although, in practice, there will be a vast difference in parent availability and engagement, number of siblings and resources - fast broadband provision and own laptop/shared laptop/no laptop; not to mention the distractions of having siblings in the same house rather than having a baby and toddler-free classroom to learn and concentrate in.

However, we're constantly told that missing a day here or there - even just a couple of hours for a medical appointment - will impact extremely negatively on a child's education, with the strong implication that it will have a lasting negative impact on the child's education.

I'm not saying that it's anybody's fault or that the schools could have stayed open, all thing considered - but surely, by extrapolation, this is a clear government admission that these months off school will irreparably damage the education and prospects of a whole generation of children and young adults. Are they planning on doing anything to remedy this, or simply saying "Tough: as you were" ?

So all of your students (say 25-30) have all been handing in their work and are where they should be now?

Secondary teacher, so several different sets, but yes.

Reading the first few posts here, brings back all the reasons that we paid for all bar three years of education. The three we didn't pay for were a waste of time during which academic progress was reversed.

The UK (or whatever part of the UK you are in) is not a bubble. Dumbing down the exams will not help anyone long term, it makes a mockery of qualifications and it disadvantage our kids too much.

Do we really want UK exams to be worth nothing and not recognised anywhere?