Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Aibu to think private school provision at home can be done in state schools too?

609 replies

Namechangedforthisreply7 · 24/03/2020 23:14

Just that. Private schools are doing active live teaching via zoom, FaceTime and Skype. Full school days. Teaching via video link, then sending kids off to do work which they send back and gets marked, then another lesson. full school days of work. Even pe online! Parents don’t need to do anything and can get on with work.

State sector get home learning packs. No info about how to do bus stop division or similar technical stuff. Not heard from anyone at school since Friday, no information at all bar work timetable on website. Where are the teachers? Why are can state sector teachers not actively teach online and stay in touch with the kids? Why not more engagement? We are all having to work at home alongside our kids, why aren’t teachers doing this too?

OP posts:
Beachmummy23 · 26/03/2020 21:38

My daughter goes to a state school and is having virtual online learning all day via teams

mumeemoo · 26/03/2020 21:42

My daughter is getting live teaching for her a levels from a state school. Dont know if other years are.

Rainbo83 · 26/03/2020 21:44

My DS state secondary is doing exactly this. He has a full schedule on Microsoft Teams which we have on his phone as our laptop is ancient.
He is basically doing school work at home. I am very impressed with his school. He is yr7

maxybrown · 26/03/2020 21:47

My husband is definitely not on holiday ffs. In fact he's in next week too, during the school holidays. He has had a couple of days at home this week and he has worked at home and emailed children etc etc the best part of the day and helped them. So no, he's not at home having a bloody party with his feet up Hmm he also has our autistic son. We are both key workers (I care for a lady one to one in her home) so are entity to send him to school, but A. He wouldn't cope with it with lack of routine and B. We are trying to keep the pressure off for school staff.

My son's school is in touch daily and I have even had an email from a support ta to check we are ok.

Agree flumposie you can never win. No matter what, teachers are always accused of the cushy job - funny how they're not all lining up to do it!

gingganggooleywotsit · 26/03/2020 21:47

isn't it obvious? They want the parents to keep paying fees, they have to deliver!

Beebie2 · 26/03/2020 22:10

@threatmatrix
“Is it because they will get paid regardless whereas the private teachers have to actually earn their living”

Yep, mainstream teachers don’t get performance managed ever. We just drink tea whilst the kids use CGP textbooks with pages missing. Then we go home at 3pm. Confused

FaveNumberIs2 · 26/03/2020 22:10

The teachers not in school are on a rota, and when they are not at school, they are at home keeping themselves and their families safe.

Just because they are teachers, doesn’t mean they don’t have underlying health concerns which have forced them to stay at home. Like you, they are only human. You expect them all to go into work and put themselves at risk??

Noodlenosefraggle · 26/03/2020 22:11

My year 7 has a ton of work. I'd rather he had less if I'm honest.

Rachel709 · 26/03/2020 22:14

Our school is doing online learning via Microsoft teams.

wornoutboots · 26/03/2020 22:22

My daughter is in Reception. We live in an impoverished area, some of the kids don't have internet access at all.
Some will return to school noticeably thinner after every school holidays, and they don't have much meat on their bones to star t with. An iPod each is a laughable notion when there is heavy use of food banks.

Her Reception teacher is posting fresh work daily on the website, she's answering queries and helping at random times of day. She has posted printouts for those who can't see the website or class dojo, she is differentiating work for the lessable, balanced with work for the more able. She makes every child feel loved. In short, she is amazing. Frankly, I worry she's going to burn herself out.

There are differing levels of commitment from teacher to teacher , just as there are under normal circumstances. If she had the resources primaries who can afford an iPad per pupil have, she'd probably be no better because she's already the best.

I wish we had a device per child! Even in my life, we have one pc which my husband uses for working from home all day, my tablet, and husband's phone (also involved in him keeping our household income going... Kids need education, But Not as much as they need somewhere to live and food!) So that leaves my tablet and 3 children a few years apart (all of whom would need to use it all day.. )

It must be nice not so sorry about who's being fed. Wish I lived in your nice, safe, affluent world, OP!

Jane1727 · 26/03/2020 22:23

Why do you think state schools are
Doing any less my kids school is amazing x

CleanAndPaidFor · 26/03/2020 22:23

@thenovice you sound like a massive arsehole and honestly I don't care if I get banned from Mumsnet forever for saying that. Report away.

FrippEnos · 26/03/2020 22:25

@thenovice

Why exactly can state school teachers not do the same as private school teachers, or at least provide a well-organised home-learning pack?

RTFT.

Jane1727 · 26/03/2020 22:27

I just have to say some of you have no idea. My kids are very middle class. We are not wealthy at all but I can afford what they need. Some Kids don't Get fed it is that bad. In your middle class world all is ok but
It is really isn't xxx

RabbityMcRabbit · 26/03/2020 22:31

Are you serious?! Some teachers are having to still be in school to look after key workers' kids. As for where they are, they're at home planning and marking. They will be focusing on exam classes first and foremost. They're not sitting idly at home twiddling their thumbs. Plus many of thrm have kids themselves and will be having to juggle homeschooling their own kids as well as working from home!!

Mickeymummy · 26/03/2020 22:40

Yes YABU. Private schools are businesses, they are scared you will ask for your money back or a discount. Colleagues are working their socks off because they believe in your children yet across the country they are being pulled out of the Teachers pension scheme which is underwritten by the government, gives a guaranteed pension and financial support of they get sick while still teaching. It also gives a pension to their dependents. These fantastic teachers are being put into worse schemes with no guaranteed income because despite increasing fees to you for the last 10 years, teachers have received less than inflation pay increases, if they got them. Some schools, the teachers have sacrificed any ph increase this year just so they can stay in the TPS for one more year.
Some of These teachers who are providing so much for your are being threatened with being put on furlough, being made redundant after the shut down or being forced to have pay cuts, yet you see then offering your children a rolls Royce service.

Private schools are businesses and the teachers are expendable assets

MiniatureRed · 26/03/2020 22:42

YABU and making massive generalisations.

DS's (state primary) have done all that you've said the privates are doing. His teacher is fantastic and is working flat out to provide engaging work for the kids and marking it quickly too. I also know he has his own young family at home. I couldn't ask for more tbh.

My school that I work in (SEN secondary) is also providing outstanding provision- we've had so much praise from parents for how hard staff are working to provide clear differentiated accessible work for our students.

As with everything, there's good and there's bad. Don't generalise.

Lovely13 · 26/03/2020 23:15

In this time of everyone helping each other out, why are the private schools not using their resources to help out state sector? Just a thought...

SchoolMum66 · 26/03/2020 23:45

Yes, I have been wondering why state schools can't do video teaching. The teachers at our children's school sent us an email at the beginning of the week with a list of tasks to complete on various websites, and left children/parents to get on with it. Not ideal, not teaching, repetitive. I know teachers do work hard generally, but I am wondering if it's unreasonable to expect some input (ie teaching) from them through this week Monday to Friday 9 to 3, rather than just an email Monday morning??? To say that some children don't have laptops/wifi at home is valid in a small minority of cases, and schools could probably cover that. And anyway not a valid excuse from our (state) school as the work they have been given is all online anyway so technology expected at home. When we were told about school closures last week I did ask our Head if they would be doing video teaching and she said no that wouldn't be something they would consider.

RabbityMcRabbit · 26/03/2020 23:52

@Schoolmum66 because it isn't practical or possible to do this. Please RTFT

Sotiredofthislife · 26/03/2020 23:52

say that some children don't have laptops/wifi at home is valid in a small minority of cases, and schools could probably cover that

How do you propose any school covers the lack of WiFi in a child’s home?

SallyLovesCheese · 26/03/2020 23:53

Schoolmum - few teachers would be happy to be live streamed into 30 different homes at the same time. It could be recorded, unknown to the teacher, shared on social media, manipulated. Every teacher would be worried about making even a small error, for the general public to pick apart and criticise.

I once had a parent who wrote to the head and said my teaching was poor. She wasn't a teacher and she'd never been in my classroom while I was teaching. She said it purely based on the fact she didn't like me. Imagine what she would have done with hours of video lessons of my teaching?!

mammy28 · 27/03/2020 00:34

Child came to school today because her mother is a key worker. Child informed staff unwittingly “ mummy’s having a me day” £1 for a bottle of brasso for mummy’s neck......I’m an NHS worker but don’t mind me eh?

ChocolateCard · 27/03/2020 00:57

I have a dd in state primary.

None of the teachers at her school are volunteer for the key worker childcare.

We have heard NOTHING from the school since they finished last Friday. There has been zero attempt to send work home in any way. I can’t imagine how good videos and online teaching would be. So sad my dd is missing out.

Can anyone tell me what all the teachers at her school are doing, as seems to me they have just all gone home on full pay 🤷‍♀️

framboisine · 27/03/2020 01:31

Yes. I can tell you what teachers are doing. Not necessarily those at your child’s school but those I know. I’m a secondary teacher. I’m currently juggling setting work for all my classes and responding to queries from anxious students. I’m working in school on a rota basis to provide care for the children of key workers and for the students who are extremely vulnerable. The students who you, with your particularly entitled view, will possibly not have given a thought to. At the same time, I’m trying to ensure that my own three children, who all attend different schools, are catered for and learning at home. You see, teachers are amazing but we are humans with lives. We rely on those parents of the wonderful children we teach to understand that they also have a part to play in the education of their children. We hope that those parents will, if nothing else, spend time with their children. To read stories, bake biscuits, draw pictures and play games. Yes, school work is important. But these are not normal times. We had as much notice as you did. We have safeguarding issues to consider. And we will all, I’m sure, do the right thing.