To ask if you think if not back till Sept,. the kids will have to redo the school year?

[Thelowquietsea]

Just a thought. Someone mooted it to me today and it hadn't occurred to me. DS is in primary.

They'll just adjust the national curriculum and will pick up in the autumn as everyone will be in the same boat. I work at the university-level, but even my postgraduate students are moving ahead and will graduate in the autumn despite missing half of their 1 year programme. But yes, it's very true that some children will zoom ahead (my dd has already mastered stuff she struggled with at school without the one on one attention), and the ones with parents who are working out of the house and left to themselves playing video games while their parents try to put food on the table will be left further behind. I hope there will be support for those left in the gap when school starts again.

This came up before and I think they'll just have to adjust the content requirements for GCSE and A level while not adjusting the difficulty. It's perhaps not so easy for MFL but eg for history you could just leave out a module and examine everything else.

If that's going to happen, I'd like to know now. We've just spent two hours on quadratic equations.

I hope they don't repeat a year. Our year two child was delayed a year, so should be in year three anyway, pushing him back another year would be ridiculous. He'd be nine before he left year two!

A teacher i know has talked of them moving up as they would normally, but keeping them with their current teachers for another year and adjusting their curriculum.

I'm not sure what could be done for the year sixes going up to high school though.

The thing is, all the children are in the same boat more or less and teachers are very well versed in differentiating for different abilities. Those that need extra help to catch up will be given it, I'm sure.

I wonder if this will favourably affect the grade boundaries for GCSE for the current year 10s

That’s never going to happen!

This would be a great idea on paper but realistically probably won’t be possible. I am really worried about Dd missing a chunk of reception. She is already behind her peers with her speech and language and motor skills 😭

Year 6 isnt in that bad a position though (I have one) in that most of the learning they are missing was test prep for the exams in May which would then have been followed by not an awful lot of learning. Our school at least is sending out plenty of stuff to help.

Year 5 I think are more disadvantaged

It’s a nice idea, but every child due to enter Reception in Sept needs a classroom and a teacher to go to.

I wonder how that squares with the policy on absence/holidays going forward? Or, is it ok because the whole cohort are all absent at the same time?

The problem with going on holiday for two weeks is that the child misses the teaching that the other children have had. This puts them not only behind the other children but also means that they miss out on skills that are built on later. With this situation all the children will have the same gaps to fill.

I’d like to think so, our attempts at home schooling are not going well so far, but practically, I don’t see how it’s possible.

For starters, what about the kids due to start Reception in September?

No. What would happen to the new reception year?

they did 2/3 of the school year, and many are continuing to cover things, move on at home. For primary there is always a 2-3 ability spread within a class, and for early years of secondary, there is time to catch up. I missed 8 weeks of school due to illness in year 9 and didn't even notice the difference really when I got back, just continued.

The biggest issue will be the year 10 and year 12, who will have missed a significant chunk of the curriculum for exams next year.
What I expect will happen is that the clever ones, and those with suportive parents who aren't trying to home school and work at the same time, will follow all the on-line work and be more or less OK. That will massively open up the gap between them and kids who need more 1:1 support, more teaching time, find on-line hard to follow, or who don;t ahve support at home.

So, a case of increasing the gap sadly

The exams will probably score a bit lower mext year, but not evenly across the board as I said.

I imagine the first year back will be a little more intense so they can catch up. I get the worry that they will fall behind because I worry about it also but the reality is that most will catch up pretty quickly.

I’m trying to homeschool but there is no way I am as effective as a proper teacher (or anywhere near it 😂)

that should say:

a 2-3 year ability spread

if your kids are in year 7 or 8 and below, they will catch up. They will, really, don't worry.

Only difference may be with some SEN kids who will take a lot longer to get back into school, and will need much more catch up. Those kids really need to be doing little bits all through the summer.

I think there's a good chance they'll get the kids back for the last six weeks of the summer term, although possibly push it out eg they go back mid June and continue until end July. But I appreciate I seem to be one of the few who thinks this.

But if I"m right, they'll have been off for 3+ months and IF things are more under control by then, a half term to get back into school/education and a shorter holiday would make the start of September a LOT easier for everyone, staff and students.

ds had 2 boys join in year 3 who had never been to school, from other countries and didn't speak English.They were both at the same level as the other kids by the end of the year.

I've wandered this and I wouldn't be surprised.

Experts/Doctors that I've listened to on the radio have said it could potentionally 12-18months before there is a rollout of a vaccine. The virus may go into a dormant state over the summer and then pick up again in the autumn and winter.

My eldest is Yr 6 and I'm upset that he may not go back to primary school. My youngest is in Reception and it's such a special time for her. We are doing a bit of school work each day but it's not the same.
I'm just glad I don't have any doing GCSE' or A levels. These kids are missing out on so much and could potentially miss out on a lot next year (if we have a second wave/spike in the autumn) BUT it is to early to be really thinking about this now.
God I hate uncertainty.

She is already behind her peers with her speech and language and motor skills 😭

are you or your partner at home? (I mean not trying to WFH and parent at the same time?)

You are actually in an amazing position, due to being forced to be at home, you can do 1:1 stuff with her in a way her teacher couldn't.

Have a google for fine motor skills, there are lovely list of things to do:
lego building, playdough rolling, playing with pegs, sorting beads, on a sunny day, paint with water on the wall, holding the brush like a pencil, drawing with chalk on the patio/wall

Honestly, you could tell her you are doing half an hour play each day and then get her to choose. Fine motor skills doesn't need to be with a pen.

Speech, do you know what exercises school were doing? Can you find ones to do together? Again, 15 minutes focussed form you daily is LOADS more than she would have got at school.

I would say that if you are free to do it, then this could be the moment to actually change things for her.

We had done half of the year by Feb half term. We had 2 weeks and a 13 week term left.

So if it is a September return they have missed 13 weeks of learning by teacher. As two weeks are usually end of term festivities.

I do worry about Y10 DS, he is working hard with his online lessons at the moment but I can't see it completely replacing classroom teaching. So it will be interesting to see if they do make some sort of adjustments for current Y9s and above, as they have said we may be in this position on and off for at least a year, so they won't get a full 2 years of classroom teaching.

@steppemum I couldn't agree more.
And with people saying there is plenty of time to catch up - that's fine if you are doing well currently , if you are currently not doing well then you are unlikely to be able to catch up , especially if others have done more that you whilst odd.

No chance!
My DD is reception and she’s getting set work by the teachers each evening. It’s very basic, like rhyming word challenges, but they are clearly pushing them along.
She’s 5 and we are ‘learning’ twice a day. Reading, handwriting, spellings, maths, art, music and PE. She’d be bored out of her mind otherwise and I’d hate to think she might go back and be massively behind the others.

I think September is a bit optimistic.
This won't be gone until after the winter when flu virus's are usually worst.