To wonder why teachers are not teaching my child?

[Nickynackienoo]

I am a nurse redeployed to itu. Doing 13 hour days and stressed up to the eyeballs at the moment. My children (12 and 8) go to school on my work days and on my days off i keep them at home with me according to the government guidance. As far as I can tell, the teachers at school are just childminding and not teaching anything. How is it that they can have just 4 kids in the school and not manage to get them to do at least some work? How can I possibly do the job of a teacher on my days off? They have send so many links via email that I can’t make sense of, it’s so overly complicated. Surely as key workers they should be doing the job they are being paid to do? I must be missing something, can someone fill me in?

I don't understand why the OPs comment about being stress-addled is disgusting towards other people's mental health?

I’m sorry but has anyone really looked at the job the OP is doing . I work in a school I know it’s very hard but it is nothing compared to what she is doing . I bet a lot of these people saying she is unreasonable are the same ones virtue signalling by standing in their front steps and “clapping the NHS” . But of course no one in the NHS works as hard as a teacher .., just listen to yourselves.

This poster is doing probably one of the hardest jobs in The UK at the moment , her children are probably petrified she is going to get it , she is probably petrified . There is no way that you can compare caring for children in albeit inadequate circumstances to working in ICU in full PPE for 13 hour stretches . You just can’t . I would be ashamed to claim that my job was harder .

I think part of the problem is the inconsistancy. One of my DC goes to a school were he has streamed lessons, marking and follows his 'normal' timetable exactly. The teachers have been fantastic and its clear they are working.
Unfortunately, another DC goes to a different school (primary). Her teacher is in school once a fortnight, sets a you tube video for her to watch at about midday, does no marking, no set work and has not made contact with any of the parents since mid March. He is clearly not working as he should and the Head does bugger all about it.

@Focusanddetermination

What absolute rubbish.

I've had children in from age 2 to 12, lots are vulnerable, some have very challenging behaviour and others have keyworker parents.

It would be impossible to teach them all, we do what can do activities which they can refine the skills they have learnt already.

When I am not in school I am working from home, setting work daily, making up work packs, doing daily phone calls to check in on families, writing schemes of work, analysing data so I can plan for how to accelerate learning when children do come back...

Oh and I have a 2 and 4 year old and a husband who is still going to work everyday for 12 hour shifts.

HTH

Tbh I can see both sides of this. If my child had to go in school because I was a key worker I would want them taught because I'm not at home and able to do it. On the other hand you can't teach mixed age groups on a Skeleton staff very well. It seems to be more of a summer school type arrangement. I think there should be some effort to at least get them to do educational activities rather than just playing and art.

In fact a response to the OP from a teacher could be: in the school I work, 12 year olds are being supported to do their work when in school for key workers childcare. I'd take it up with the head.

You know, helpful advice given your knowledge of the way things work.

Teachers do give this kind of advice (I actually gave some a page or two back). Sometimes it gets lost as people are quick to post how they feel about teachers. Then we feel like we have to respond differently.

He is clearly not working as he should and the Head does bugger all about it.

The teacher could be doing other work, this doesn't mean he's not working "as he should". It sounds like it's down the head, it's not necessarily the teacher's fault. If the HT won't listen to your concerns then that's unprofessional of them. I can only point you in the direction of the BBC stuff or Oak Academy.

Inconsistency is absolutely the problem. Schools were given very little notice before they closed and little to no direction on how to handle education during this time. It's awful and the Government are to blame for this.

@canicelebrate how DARE we take a lunch break!

I think part of the problem is the inconsistency.

Yes same with nursing. And the nhs. Shit nurses. Lazy nurses. Nurses on the sick. People dying in such high rates we are fifth worst in the world and climbing. Are all our doctors and nurses shit? Whats gone wrong? Surely the buck stops with them?

He is clearly not working as he should and the Head does bugger all about it. He could be lazy. Is he usually lazy? He could be mainly redeployed by the head to deal with safeguarding, cpdl, training, sent to a hub, dealing with the fall out of a dead parent and told to cut back on time spent with his own class to create time elsewhere... Im assuming by your certainty that the head refuses to deal with him, that you know for a fact it is laziness and the head has said as such?

I think the issue is that there's so much inconsistency, due to lack of clear government guidance about what the expectation is and also due to individual school set ups.

Some teachers here are teaching through zoom 6 hours a day, others are sending home video links to explain specific learning topics, others are sending worksheets. The different expectations and experiences of teachers is huge!

My dc's school is sending pre-prepared PowerPoint presentations from pixl and attaching the appropriate worksheet (s). There is no expectation to send back work, just a note to say they'd love to see their work. No marking. Tbh I can just go on bite size and follow their scheme of work is better presented and more engaging.

I'm a governor at the school and a key worker (mostly wfh, but dh has dc when I do have to go in) and in regular contact with senco. There's been 4/5 children at most each day. I also work with schools/ settings for my job and am in contact with them several times a week. None of the schools I'm working with have more than 10 students. I'd be interested to hear what numbers are going in. School staff are on a two week rota- so coming in one day.

I don't think it's reasonable for teachers to be expected to teach groups of children of various ages in school atm who have been given set work by their own class /subject teacher. I would view children going to school at this time a bit like homework club- not there to teach but there to support. The kids also need time to play and relax.

@SallyLovesCheese I can understand that the absolute abundance of threads like these must make you feel like not bothering to respond with advice, I really do.

Sorry Yappity. You’ve just lost the race.
Conniedoodle you win.

Two kids in private school both still being taught excellently btw.

Go figure. Private schools want their kids to excell as education is a passion not a chore to pay the bills?

I and my school want our kids to excel. I wouldn't have become a teacher if I didn't feel excited about teaching. I still get a buzz, even after a decade.

I'm going to make an assumption (and I apologise for doing so as I know it's not the same across the whole sector), that private schools a) want to continue providing a service to a high degree to justify their fees and b) have pupils who are more likely able to access online teaching, have a computer and printer at home etc.

I'm sorry no teacher was whining passionately about your son's phonics screening. Might I suggest that it was the school at fault? All the schools I've worked in we would have been doing our best to get your son to do his best.

I dint get why the teachers are being so nasty on this site?

I don't feel I have been nasty anywhere, the same with many other teachers on this site. Some, yes, have made posts that I don't agree with, but making generalisations about us as a profession is unfair.

I was thinking about doing my pgce but this thread is making me think. I dont want to become arrogant and bitter.

This says more about you than it does me. You don't know me; how can you say I'm arrogant and bitter?

I note that some teachers are on mumsnet during school hours. I don’t think that happened before lockdown? Without stating the obvious, that doesn’t help the cause

Because I am working from around 7:30am and can be answered parent emails or acknowledging pupil responses on our home learning platform until the evening.

As I am working from home I am tailoring my hours around what works for my whole family too. So I may take a few moments off to drink some tea and have a biscuit whilst browsing mums net at random times. Just like my solicitor husband is doing, just like my friends who work in university are doing - in fact just like pretty much everyone I know who are working from home.

FWIW I am doing longer hours than ever, certainly more than I do when I am in school.

What’s the daffodil for?

Why don't you blame the DfE, who have given such limited guidance. If they were saying that all schools had to be teaching children via pre-recorded or video lessons each day, then maybe we would be unreasonable for not doing it.

I don’t recall I blamed teachers at all, I merely said I’m worried about my dc. Ulitimately it’s a shit situation for everyone and if it’s going on for longer there needs to be more support and consistency that yes needs to come from government. It is true though that some teachers are really doing themselves, their colleagues and their profession no favours based on what is being posted on social media (particularly the TES Facebook page) but probably most are probably more rational.

@SallyLovescheese - you're correct. I have contacted the head who said she won't be able to talk to the teacher about the lack of work until he is back in School in 2 weeks times. She doesn't want to contact him at home with his family. Her advice was do BBC bitesize once we've finished watching the 5 min daily video. Brilliant.

Nighttimefreedom

I've always done my best to provide help when it's required and measured responses whenever I feel someone doesn't "get" what I'm on about.
Thank you, though, it can get draining.

(Not that I think that means I have it harder than any other profession, for all of you looking for examples of teachers thinking their better than everyone else! Just my opinion. )

I note that some teachers are on mumsnet during school hours.

Also, just like many other people who are now wag, many teachers are also parents and are needing to juggle their own children's needs with their work needs.

I know parents in all types of work who are working different hours and days to manage the two roles, often a balancing act between two parents at home.

Peaseblossom22

But of course no one in the NHS works as hard as a teacher .., just listen to yourselves.

The only person that has said this is you. maybe you should

RTFT or stop posting bullshit.

I can’t understand how a nurse working in ICU could get so worked up about this. Surely you are seeing the hardest side of life right now? I don’t see how your children not getting a first class education during a global crisis could be stressing you out to the extent you claim.

Personally, with the school safeguarding line now diverted to my personal mobile phone and ringing at all hours, and an enormous caseload of children on child protection plans or otherwise living with abuse or neglect to support with remotely , I’m not stressing about my little angels not getting their normal lessons.

This pandemic is really bringing out an unpleasant sense of entitlement in our society.

Not that I think that means I have it harder than any other profession, for all of you looking for examples of teachers thinking their better than everyone else! Just my opinion

Hmmmm not sure about that, teaching is an extremely tough job.

cjpark I get how frustrating that must be. If you feel she needs something more tailored to her, I'm an experienced primary teacher so feel free to get in touch and perhaps I can help.

Hmmmm not sure about that, teaching is an extremely tough job.

Yes, but there are plenty of other tough jobs! I love my normal day job, not so much at the moment, but the enjoyment I get often outweighs the toughness. I'm not sure other professions can always say the same.