Going back to school

[wewillgetthruthis]

When (if!) schools go back how do you think it will be structured? Do you think they will reassess the children somehow and consolidate some year groups? So say you've kept up to date whilst off then you will go into the next year but you will be in with the kids from previously the year above who haven't kept up? Or repeat the whole year? Or everyone straight on to go the next year?

Everyone will go up but targets will be adjusted, well that's what I think!

I agree with circleorsquare

Teachers will expect to need to go over some stuff, a bit more than usual

I hope it will be as @circleorsquare says, although I have a late August child and I've always felt they would be better off in the year below... The child in question does not agree though

Everyone will stay with their current cohort. The teachers will use their usual methods to assess everyones starting points, those identified as behind will be helped to catch up with support measures.

Lower year groups will be fine, teachers go over things numerous times. My biggest concern is year 10 going into year 11, although I imagine grade boundaries will be lower next year, or some altering of grades. As always the disadvantaged will feel the greatest hit due to lack of resources/internet access no matter how hard the school tries (believe me we are trying!)

We are planning to start teaching (for example) yr6 in September the curriculum we would have taught yr5 in February. A lot of children will have done very little academic work- not judging that, just stating it- from our school and will need to re-cover the less familiar learning.
My own DS is yr10, going in to yr11. The prospects for him worry me- a lot.

Everyone will stay with their cohort.

We will assess where the gaps are in the usual manner and address these.

Like schafernaker my biggest concern is Y10 going into Y11 and Y12 going into Y13.

I am slightly less worried about my Y12 class because it's a small group so I can keep in touch with them and I am delivering lessons through teams. The parents have been so lovely and supportive which really helps. We will need to recap certain things but it shouldn't be too bad.

Y10 is a different matter. I can't do teams lessons to such a big year group so I am setting work/voicing over PowerPoints etc. However, it's very difficult to track. There will be some who get on fine and do the work set and more. There will be others who struggle academically anyway and so will find it difficult to follow things at home. Then those who struggle because they don't have internet access or computers. Or those whose home environment means they can't study.

We are doing the very best we can as a school but it's far from easy.

Do you think they will reassess the children somehow and consolidate some year groups? So say you've kept up to date whilst off then you will go into the next year but you will be in with the kids from previously the year above who haven't kept up?

No-this would be impossible. There simply aren’t the spaces, classrooms or staff to implement anything like this.

Or repeat the whole year?

No-that wouldn’t work either. The Y11/13 issue would be massive and parents of nursery children will need their children to start reception at some point in the next academic year-be it September or later.

Or everyone straight on to go the next year?

Yes-I am pretty sure this is what will happen.

I liked a suggestion I saw somewhere that everyone goes back where they are in in September until october half term and then go up. Helps the transition and getting settled back in. Can't imagine my struggling reception child going straight into year 1 without any of the planned extended transition they had wanted with new staff and kids she hasn't seen in 6 months.

I agree children will probably continue with the same cohort and teachers will just have to consider the curriculum of the year group below as well when planning to fill in the gaps. It'll be a bit of a headache but assessments early on should help.

And hopefully SLT will take this year into account when working out performance management targets and reduce the % of pupils expected to meet age-related.

@sallylovescheese PM targets should not have numerical values anyway!! I’d be checking union guidelines and challenging this rather quickly- corona, or no corona!

I have reconciled to ds not doing so well with exams as he could as he is not doing any school work as set, and is just not coping well. He is autistic and main concern is keeping him relatively stable.

Ah well. Any catching up teachers manage will be a bonus. I am teaching him other things instead.

schafernaker Yep, but every school I've worked in to date has had at least one target linked to pupils' performance. It's widespread. And if you complain your card is marked... At least that's my experience as an older, more expensive teacher.

Schools are already used to dealing with a mix of attainment levels so there will need to be some reassessing of groups but teachers are mor than capable of coping with Jaime being behind Maisey in maths.

My worry is reception going straight into year 1 with no transition, no familiarisation with teachers etc. The kids social skills will take a massive hit and suddenly they're in proper school with phonics screening looming. I'm sure there's issues with other years too but I only own a reception child and babies so

School wont start again until September. So the children will all be in new school years. I imagine teachers will use the same methods they have used in previous years to determine what the children still need to learn.

I dont doubt schools will assess learners starting points and adapt as they've always done.

I am sad about transition. Especially for changes between schools or starting school. Children with Asd or other send in particular usually have extra transition to build up to it and will struggle with being thrown in in september.

And the lack of a chance to "leave" shcool properly for yr 6/11/13.

My yr 6 is still crying often at all the people she never said goodbye to 😥

I think they'll stay in their year groups and the teachers and TAs will be expected to fill the gaps with differentiated work and interventions, with no extra support or funding to make that possible. I've had children chucked in and expected to cope despite having never attended school before, or not speaking any English, or having missed significant chunks due to family reasons.

Reception going to Year 1 may well have a bit of extra transition but i reckon that'll be left down to individual schools to puzzle out.

@SquashedFlyBiscuit my year 6 and my year 11 are the same. I work in my year 6s school, we haven't told the kids yet in case it doesn't work but we are hoping to do some sort of day for them to say good bye, even if that means a day in the summer holidays or one Saturday in September, and the PTA plan to run the leavers party at a later date.

Oh I so hope you can do that. It would mean the world for my daughter, I hope her school does something similar. They all go to different secondaries and she was off the last week so is keenly feeling the sense of all those people she was at school with and it just suddenly going.

I'm seriously concerned about the current year tens, more so than year 11 tbh. The ones with parents who won't or can't help will suffer more than usual despite the mammoth efforts of their teachers,.

I think they'll stay with their peers and move up, which is exactly why I'm really worried for my year 10 boy. I'd like to think they'll adjust boundaries for the exams that year, but who knows.

Regarding exams next year - grade boundaries always move so that it's fair (questions may be harder some years than others so the exam boards set lower boundaries) and they always aim for a similar proportion of kids getting each grade so have to change grade boundaries to do this. They'll be lower next year to ensure that students aren't disadvantaged.

The old cynic in me says everything will stay as it is and we are just going to be asked to work a little harder than usual, under the guise that 8 months (assuming we go back in September) is more than enough time to catch up.

@Mumof2202022 that’s a good idea. I have one starting reception in September and one going up to junior school, I’m really worried about how they’ll cope with none of the transition days etc.

Purple GCSEs are marked 'on a curve' so if the cohort achieves less well then boundaries will be lower. Unfortunately it is disadvantaged pupils in schools who normally support them well who will lose out most. (I've a y10 whose mental health was shaky and has nosedived. Sadly I think this might be turning her just 4s into 3s as she's not getting any work done.)

Everyone worrying about yR->y1 I really think you don't need to. Teachers aren't stupid, in fact quite the opposite. They will realise that the best way to help the children long term is to pick up where they left off, and if that means moving from all play to less play happens later in y1 that's what they'll do.

re Transition days. If I were running the world, I'd just throw in a transition day just (a day, a week) before the rest of the school returns. And then as the old school I'd arrange a 'reunion send off' a couple of weeks into the new term too if at all possible.