year 6 class not getting any remote teacher support - what are the teachers doing all day

[anyname147]

My ds is in year 6 and has been at home, like most of his peers, these last few weeks. The (state) school has not offered much in the way of remote learning assistance to the kids or parents who are helping them, other than a few links on a page on their website which has remained static for several weeks. In spite of having to work full time, I am not a teacher, but have managed to cobble together some learning stuff for ds to do at home, but this is with zero help from the school. I understand some teachers are still working at school because of the key worker children etc, but surely the vast majority of staff are at home? What are they doing all day if they are still on the payroll? Surely a 10 or 11 year old can be sent homework tasks - that's actually marked - or weekly links to relevant year group content? I understand the kids don't all have laptops, but virtually all households have email and at least one computer or smart phone or tablet. I just find it hard to believe that his school staff haven't risen to the challenge of continuing their pupils' learning and instead have literally abandoned them because they cant go into school. I have, on the other, risen very much to the challenge and look forward to helping my ds learn new things, but this has come (time-wise) at the expense of my job.

I’m confused? What’s a teacher holiday? Do you think we’re given extra holidays to produce a terms worth of planning?

We work 39 weeks a year. Those weeks the children are in school.

The other 13 weeks are unpaid. Obviously we do longer term planning, prep, reports, mark assessments, input data etc in that time, but we don’t get paid in those 13 weeks.

I plan, at most, a week ahead. I’ll know the general theme, but I can’t plan day to day stuff. Some weeks, if it’s a tricky topic, I might plan daily.

Evilpea you can mark it. Unless it's done online there really is no way for teachers to do it. You've also said you got no work and then said it only took three days to do it. Just contact the school (after the holidays!) and ask what work will be issued going forwards.

Yes sorry I didn’t word that well. They got a pack when they left which consisted of 6 half hour maths and English worksheets.
I can’t mark them as I don’t know what I’m marking against.

My brother is a teacher in Spain. He is being expected to teach 7 online lessons a day. His wife is also expected to work full hours. They have a baby who doesn't give a shit about what work they are supposed to do and will do unreasonable things such as do a massive poo in the middle of a lesson or headbutt something and scream. It's not working.
If your work is suffering because you have your kids at home, then maybe the teachers can't be totally on it. You can't teach primary school kids online and most teachers are thinking about the kids in violent homes and the ones who don't have enough to eat. Chill out. It's a pandemic not a competitive parent networking event.

Teachers are paid during the holidays only because their annual salary is divided up into 12 x monthly blocks. They will not receive and are not entitled to holiday pay. It is paid this way to make it convenient for teachers to budget. Teachers are only paid for the 1265 hours they work as directed time, however teachers work many more hours unpaid, working evening and weekends unpaid. I don't see many people offering to work overtime unpaid for their employers. Give teachers a break!

My DC have been set loads, they can't keep up with it and are really struggling. I would love a more relaxed attitude from the school tbh. Lockdown is stressful enough without hysterics about maths tasks.

@FrippEnos - I literally dont know what you mean. I dont expect anyone to work when they have annual leave. You appear to be hung up about something?

@Skyrain @ArtieFufkinPolymerRecords Sounds a great idea using Google Classroom - really wish my DSs school could start using this.

@MrsBungle ok so what about all the other teachers? Even if 50% of the kids were attending school, that's a school with half the usual number present - why cant the other teachers step in?

And yes - obviously if staff are ill etc, then that's understandable. But the school have not communicated this to the parents. We have had nothing in the way of any useful communication from them at all.

@Frlrlrubert my problem is that there is zero feedback cycle from the school.

@Scissorsnglue whay is marking stuff at year 6 unreasonable? How else wil they know if they got a maths question right for instance?

@QueenofLouisiana yes we are all busy - and dare I say it - us non-teachers too.

@arethereanyleftatall bike rides, board games, cooking etc sound lovely, but for most parents who work full time, this is not feasible. Yes I have found lots of `work' for my DS, but this requires my input/planning/time.

@Iateallthecookies000 well done - you surmised correctly - I am big enough to admit I am not a professional teacher and maths isn't my strong point.

If I was truly teacher bashing I wouldnt have started this thread and would have instead just gone `sod it' school's out, I will just let my kids watch Youtube all day and put up with my unconventional teaching. The fact that I highly rate teachers' input is why I started this thread. I actually want some valued help from professional teachers into my DS education and whilst I appreciate there's more important things going on at the moment, that is no excuse for us to lose sight of other non-COVID matters. Children being gainfully occupied and educated is still important.

anyname147

You have written that you expected the lesson planning to be done in the holidays.

I spent hours planning and sent work into school to be sent out by the office to the families. I've since discovered that head has decided against it and is doing her own thing (though hasn't admitted it to me!). My school hasn't arranged any online classes, though various teachers have suggested ways of teaching online. I've been sent no work to mark and I don't think most parents know how to get in touch with me directly. I suggested free online resources for the school and the kids and been ignored. I've had extremely limited contact with school leadership, although I am working from home due to underlying medical conditions.

Sometimes it's not the individual teachers, it's the leadership. I know one class are getting lessons, but only because the teacher defied the head to set them up remotely. I've had lots of requests for assessment data on the kids though for what they did pre-lockdown. It's all about making the paperwork look pretty for Ofsted.

Obviously I won't be staying at the school. But some other teachers that are being complained about on here may also be blocked from helping families more. I don't know if there is a plan from my school on what will happen if kids don't return until September.

You really do think your child should be working all Easter then?

What did they do last Easter?

@RamblingFar sorry for your situation. It's a real shame your efforts are being ignored. Seems crazy. You are probably right though - it's the lack of good school leadership that's the problems.

@anyname147

you have stated you think we shouldn’t have an Easter break because no one else gets one,

You said “I don’t expect anyone to work when they’ve got annual leave”

You said something about us planning everything in teacher holidays - that’s not how it works and please tell me, what is a teacher holiday?

Teachers pay taxes too.

@Beebie2 fgs - teacher holiday=annual leave to make it distinct from school holiday as I appreciate teachers work in the school holidays. The Easter break you referred to was two weeks before the Easter holidays actually started. My point was lesson preparation surely happens in advance of the lessons - either in school holidays (as opposed to staff annual leave) or in the term time

And this is why there is a recruitment crisis...

That two weeks before was just one poster quoting the Welsh minister : no one else said that was a holiday.

teachers don't get annual leave @anyname147

But, given that now is definitely your child's Easter holiday can you confirm that you want them working all day every day? I am confused.

@OxanaVorontsova that's really off-topic, but ok, your point taken.

So not all schools have the same resources, not all same staffing situation, who would have guessed

If you are that bothered, get an online tutor.

For every parent like you, there's 3 parents who loudly complain that their children have too much work, they have their own job to deal with and can't do it all. Which is a fair point.

Why don't you email the school and ask them? Actually, why didn't you email them before the holiday - even if I'd guess that all schools are currently monitoring all their emails anyway.

If you want a full schedule for your poor kid, just write one yourself. Buy there are enough resources online and books you can buy to keep them occupied all day if you want to.

@MrsBungle ok so what about all the other teachers? Even if 50% of the kids were attending school, that's a school with half the usual number present - why cant the other teachers step in?

Our school only has 91 pupils and so there are only 4 teachers. All of them are on the rota for child care but given school are trying to socially distance the children who are in (so they’re not all in one class as one group) the reality is most of the teachers are in most of the time. They’re not sitting on their arses doing nothing at home. They’re also all providing weekly work for the children at home (although not over the holidays).

@Piggywaspushed seriously? No I dont want them working all through their holidays. It's the weeks before the Easter hols and the whole of the Summer term I am referring to.

The reason I have left this thread till now (the Easter holidays) is that I am on a week's break from work and this is the only chance I have had to address this issue.

The OP has totally got people’s backs up with some unwise comments, but it is not teacher bashing to be disappointed with little or no work. If it was anything bashing, it would be head teacher bashing.

There such a wide range of experience in this thread.

Google classrooms, vs “go look at the Twinkl Y6 pack”.

It’s not wrong to be disappointed to see friend’s children having contact with their teacher and peers, set activities that are discussed - when all you get is an activity list.

It’s not the individual teacher, it’s the head. And it’s not teacher bashing to say some schools have been really poor. Some will just be slower to get it all together - but others, will remain shit.

The summer term hasn't happened yet, so I am confused why you are posting now.

Enjoy your week's break and focus on something else perhaps.