To want to know what will happen with my year 10s GCSEs next year

[bigbananafeet12]

It’s now looking like schools aren’t going back in June. If teachers unions are not happy to return then, I can’t see what will be so different in September so who knows when they’ll be in. They’ve already had 5 weeks of ‘home learning’ with another 9 to go until they break up for summer. My ds has not been required to submit one piece of work since he left school on March 23rd. He has to do the work in his book and mark it as completed on Frog. Subsequently he’s had no feedback on anything he’s done. I’ve asked him to ask teachers if they can look at his work but he’s 15 and doesn’t like making a fuss. I try my best to look at what he’s up to but frankly have no confidence in my knowledge of physics etc! I also know that if I try to get too involved he will not be happy and at least now he is attempting to do the work. I don’t want it to be a battle.
I had a glimmer of hope that if he was back even part time in June we could ensure he was still on track and it would help restore his enthusiasm but obviously this looks unlikely.
So how on earth will schools have time to teach the GCSE syllabus plus revise as all previous years have been able to do. I know we’re having a global pandemic but to be honest I’m so worried about DS.
This is not a dig at teachers.

I’ve been worrying about this all night I really need to relax! It’s the not knowing that’s so awful. We would normally know exactly when they have mocks, tests etc. But all that’s been taken away. DS is a pretty laid back character but he is starting to ask questions about this that I just can’t answer. I feel the momentum of gradually working towards the actual GCSEs has gone and it’s so unfair on them. There’s no way they can do their best if they’re not back until September and even then it’s sounding like it’ll be part time.

DS1 is in Year 10 and is doing a huge amount of work which is being marks along with notes on things which need correcting. Yes he isn’t getting taught as such but I’m really impressed with the amount of work he is doing. Having said though he is worried mainly about his GCSE PE practicals...he was doing cricket and athletics which are obviously both summer sports.

I was wondering as it is likely to still be part time / social distancing in September if there is anyway this cohort may have to take less subjects? Or is that not possible due to future a level subjects?

@TheEmojiFormerlyKnownAsPrince so assuming 1/3 of pupils in lessons will you actually be able to teach them all in a week? I think dd only has lots of subjects twice a week, and I don't think they have any spare teachers lying around, especially for the practical subjects where there is quite often only one or two members of staff teaching those. The more I think about it the more I worry about the impact it has on their education. I wonder if there will be any options to repeat year 11? My dd is one of the youngest in the year.

I disagree that it it is not possible to teach new context remotely/I am doing precisely that as are my colleagues. I am also marking and giving feedback and in fact the pupils are getting a better deal with that at the moment because they submit online, I mark online with a digipen which means that it is a faster turnaround than collecting in books and nothing gets lost. I am not saying it id ideal , and am hoping we will go back after half term but it is certainly learning, not just make-work.

content not context

@BeltaneBride great for many subjects like maths and English. But what about all of the practical subjects out there.

@BeltaneBride but surely you cannot say this year 10 is not at a massive disadvantage compared normal times? Maybe a few are thriving but I personally know of none for whom that is the case.

OP, I think you need to maybe panic a little less, trust the teachers to share concerns with Ofqual, school leaders, the DfE about year 10 and assume, until told otherwise, that year 10 is at the forefront of concern, at least academically. they haven't missed that much (yet) so don't panic. If they miss more in school time, the DfE will HAVE to address this.

Hey ifought I disagree with Beltane too and I am an English teacher!! I think it is very very hard in most subjects to properly teach new content, unless we are talking about the very top end of ability.

I mark online with a digipen

Who's supplying all the kit? I know in my son's case he had to run out one evening a buy a laptop (that we paid for as he couldn't afford it) because he didn't have one and school only had desktop computers so none available to give to staff. Without that he would be screwed now, having to try and set and take in work on his phone. Even now, his internet at home isn't fast enough to support video calls so wouldn't be good enough for zoom lessons or similar. Maybe if he had a good webcam, microphone, faster broadband, electronic pens etc he could produce better lessons than he is now. Of course, not all students have computers at home or even text books so that also limits what can be done.

Thank you @Piggywaspushed that’s reassuring. Of all the things happening at the moment this is the one keeping me awake at night!

I have a Year 10 and a Year 12. They are very fortunate in that they’ve had the full curriculum delivered including online exams (with cameras enabled), assemblies, PE sessions, music lessons, PSHE - even extra-curricular talks and societies.

I am worried about the impact of too much screen time though. Especially as the first thing they do when school is finished is go online.

Regarding schools re-opening, they will either have to open all schools for key year groups (ie Year 12 and 10) or none at all. But, bearing in mind social distancing measures, how will this be possible? Some schools are on huge spread-out sites while others are crammed into large converted houses. They can’t really say to schools “reopen if you have the space.” That would exacerbate the inequalities even further.

It’s a nightmare for the Year 12s in particular who would be otherwise doing exams now which largely determine their predicted grades for uni. You can have a guess, yes, but without these grades it’s hard to know which unis and which courses you should realistically be looking at. There are no uni open days obviously and you can’t even visit the town or campus to get a feel or assess if it’s a place you could see yourself living in for three years. Particularly, for Oxbridge candidates, who will need the A*s to apply. They have no predictions but the UCAS form needs to be in by the end of September / mid October; complete with personal statements and preparation for the Oxbridge aptitude tests and interviews.

The other issue, is that some unis (in particular Cambridge) have offered students who don’t make the grades this summer via teacher assessment, a guaranteed deferred place for Sept 2021 if they Di make the grades in the optional Autumn “retakes.” This is likely to reduce the number of uni places available for the current Year 12s. Plus if unis dint properly reopen in Sept, many will defer if at all possible, exacerbating the problem even further.

If this goes on beyond Sept, I think we may be looking at another year of teacher assessment or, for subjects where a topic or module can be dropped (eg History, RE or Geography or Eng Lit), they would be asked to choose to answer say, three out of eight question choices, rather than 4. Lowering grade boundaries won't work as it will only favour those who haven’t missed much and widen the disparities even further.

I teach Drama. I am really worried about trying to get through the curriculum but maintaining social distance. My Yr 10s are only doing the work sporadically. Out of the 48 kids I teach, 10 have done nothing at all, only 12 have done everything. I wouldn't feel confident teaching new content at all as there is every chance I'd need to reteach it. Plus, I cant teach via zoom so I'm having to create worksheets and video record explanations - it doesnt compare to face to face teaching. I'm nervous about Boris's announcement tonight.

In all honesty OP, issues with year 10 (and 12 ) learning (as well as grades for year 11!) are what keep me awake too.

I still hold out hope for common sense!

I am worried about the impact of too much screen time though

This is the thing NO ONE seems to talk about any more! I try to ensure that the work I set involves writing and reading forma text (non screen) so that it is not all screen time but it is very hard.

OP I think you have to trust in the professionalism of teaching staff. I have been pressing ahead with my Year 10 class but it is a small and motivated group so I am lucky that way. I am working on the basis that normality will be what happens next year but I know it won’t be and can’t be. Something will have to give. The powers that be will work it out with our input. All year 10smare facing the same problem.

For games lessons, one if the schools have hired a Zumba woman and they all have to put their PE kits on and do this on Google Meet

For my Year 7, she had to make bread and take photos of it a different stages. There have also been some “interesting” kitchen science experiments.

But the rest the time, they’re looking at screens between 8.30 and 4 and they don't look too well for it.

I've started doing cooking lessons with my children at home to supplement their Google class room work. We are really enjoying it. Our local museum has free history lessons on their website too.

www.chesterfield.gov.uk/museum

I am assuming the DofE are partly thinking about Y10s as they were explicitly mentioned in the rollout of laptops for children, even though I know that is not the complete answer to the problem. Let's hope they still keep thinking about them!

My Y10 DS is having a full timetable being taught 'live' and is still very engaged with it, but I am aware many others are not in the same position. Also apart from science, his subjects don't really have much practical element to them, so that also helps. I can hear him speaking to his language teacher when he is having his lessons, so he is not missing out on that.

Where schools have a full programme on line have they supplied all students with laptops and internet access? If so, who's paid for that or are disadvantaged students just left out?

My DS is offering full online teaching, but is a private school. It did check that everyone could have access.

But this is the issue, that not all families or schools can offer the same. Although some state schools are offering full programmes online so it is not just private schools.

We have equipped as many kids with loaner chromebooks as we can. Some kids will still struggle for other reasons. I spoke to a young person last week who had their sibling jumping all over them whilst they tried to talk. Lots of my Yr 10s are telling me they are focusing on core subjects or struggling with their mental health.

Have you provided them with internet access too, for those who don't have it?

My DS is year 10 and I worry so much about impact on GCSEs but also his quality of life . No sport , no friends except electronically - who wants to live like that? I’d rather take my chances with cv tbh