TO not understand why years 10 and 12 are not the priority

[Londonmummy66]

Why on earth are year 6 a priority to go back to school but not years 10 and 12 who desperately need the teaching time due to exams next year? If only years 10 and 12 went back now it should be possible to socially disatce them by using the large rooms (eg sports halls/canteens) to teach lessons for large classes and larger classrooms for the less busy subjects.

I just feel that this cohort is going to be even more screwed over than years 11 and 13

Yabu - years 10 and 12 don't need to be a priority
Yanbu years 10 and 12 need to go back after half term

If course the cohort are not in the same position. Some kids have had very little disruption to their learning thanks to amazing efforts from their schools and teachers. Others, like mine, have had virtually nothing. If schools had been consistent with the home learning then I'd be happy for my year 10 and 12 to continue yo stay at home. The department for education should have stronger guidelines for the home learning which schools had to adhere to. Without it some schools have really let kids down.

Let's also not forget that lots of young people will have suffered a massive deterioration in mental health and the impact on the futures will be immeasurable. Year's 10 and 12 should absolutely be the priority with more thought into how to balance the disparity arising from covid in next years exams. Changing the grade boundaries will only advantage the kids at the top.

So BJ wants everyone to go back to work so is opening schools for reception, Year 1 and Year 6.

What do parents do if they have a children in multiple year groups?

If you have a Year 1 and a year 3 child do you just send the Year 1 in?
You'd still have to stay home with the Year 3.

I have no doubt that there will be work done on how to amend / adjust next year's exams but right now the exam boards are focused on sorting out the current cohort. I teach y10 and y12 so I know the issues around covering the curriculum at the best of times but I think other factors, such as cohort size in each school, the number of teachers required and the somewhat increased risk as they get older will have been a factor. If the gov had mandated a specific type or amount of distance learning thry would have been lynched for not trusting teachers or not understanding that different schools, families and staff don't all have access to the type of tech or whatever. I do think it's a shake that some schools appear to have not done much but it won't be because they don't care.

My y10 was deflated yesterday

He misses school, he misses learning at school

We are not that worried about grades or exam results as such, but sad his generation will miss out in so many ways

Think of all those current y11 who not only miss out on exams but on the whole rite of passage of working hard (or last minute knuckle down), stress, the actual exam (hard work), coming through it at the other end. The celebrations, the parties, the excitement of that summer.

I think a lot is being taken from that generation, not just exams and rites of passage but their entire future as we’ll be heading for the worst recession, unemployment rates and poverty and lack of opportunity in about a century

I really feel for all the current teenagers. Their future chances are being taken from them in so many ways

Yet BJ and other politicians just sees school and education as childcare

I’m embarrassed to ask this, but from someone of grandmother age whose DS’s school didn’t use the yr 9, 10 etc system - May I clarify - is y10 the year that should be sitting GCSEs this term and y12 A levels? Or is it y11 and y13? Whichever, my heart goes out to all of you working parents and I wish I could help.

Y11 gcse year
Y13 A level year

In private schools they call the years different names, not sure what

GCSEs are taken in Y11 and A levels in Y13

So pupils in those years are unlikely to go back at all as qualifications are on teachers' assessments of grades (though schools will need to get textbooks back from leavers)

Y10 and Y12 are the years who are partway through the syllabuses for the public exams, and so the Ines for whom the loss of teaching time makes the most quantifiable and endurung impact.

Right now exam boards are occupied with getting the moderation for thus year's qualifications dealt with. After that, there will need to be detailed consideration of fair arrangements for next year if a whole term of teaching time has been lost for many. (Sutton Trust report that about 57% of private schools have good-enough online learning and only 27% of state schools)

I agree with you OP. I think that they will announce a plan for them very soon. They are at the forefront of all secondary educators minds.

Or even secondary educators’
Tsk.

I don't see it as an economic decision.

I have 2 school age children and one is in YR.

I see the difference in their handling it emotionally. My YR has had some behavioural concerns that only started when school closes. They have been pretty extreme and impacted the whole family. I do think a return to school would resolve them. But if he was out to September I suspect we would have to get some professional support.

I can see how many young kids could lose so much knowledge if they don't return to school.

As a parent if I had to pick which one of my children had to go back, I would say my YR child. Elder child is so much more capable of taking everything in her stride and is able to understand things so much better.

They dont need childcare so the parents can still work, less likely to listen to teachers, distance to travel to school, need for bus services and trains to get them to school, they arent accompanied to school so wont distance on the way in and out, higher chance of adverse reactions if they get covid, the classes in secondary are a mix, (streamed, various chosen subjects etc)
Year 6 need transition, it can affect the rest of their academic life if the change isnt done well and can adversely social and emotional well being.

Like @BornInAThunderstorm I also have an autistic year 6, and I'm delighted he'll be back in some form. For him it's all about structure and routine. He's on enhanced transition and ultimately if this doesn't happen I could end up with a school refuse on my hands in september. Lockdown has been a nightmare for him.

I also have a year 10 who is thriving at home, and I'd have no issue with him but going in until september.

Not sure what the logic is with f2 and year 1 tho.

My DD will not be going back until September - I won't have her being used as a guinea pig. I also won't have her crowding on London Transport to get to school where she will be able to pick up the virus more easily and bring it back home to her immunosuppressed Dad. Boris' broadcast last night has left me more anxious about the way this is being handled, not reassured at all.

I've said this before but not only is there variation in provision between schools but within schools.

Nothing has been said about FE/sixth form colleges at all. They are different to schools and at the moment would be half full as the Y13s have gone.

Year 6 need transition, it can affect the rest of their academic life if the change isnt done well and can adversely social and emotional well being

My son had one day visiting his secondary school (in 2014). How is secondary school transition handled differently now if they need 6 weeks to do it?

Thank you folks for clarifying re years.

However, I don't see why it has to be an either/or. You don't have to keep Y10s and 12s at home while you are trialling certain year groups at primary school. You can do both.

My son is now having a crisis about his Spanish A level (this is the unsurprisingly the subject he's not having online lessons for and only having work set). It's not adequate. I am in a position where I can afford to pay for help, but what if you don't?

Why do threads like this always end up with people saying "well they are more likely to die in a car accident" yes they are but that's true every day and can be mitigated by safe driving by the adult driving them and safe road crossing etc. In ot every human being is equally likely to die in a car crash.

If they really are at such low risk why aren't a few more years going back?

@ChipsAreLife

This is good news if true but do you have more information about the study? How many people were sampled?

I have a DC in both years. My year 12 finishes mid June anyway. No time for any face to face IMO.
Gutted for them.

Agree it’s ridiculous and economy driven but I suppose primary schools are generally smaller and kids stay with their own year groups more than at high school so less chance of spreading a virus more widely?
Agree year 10 and 12 should have been prioritised. I have a year r and year 2. Year 2 boy is not impressed. Both will be going back as soon as allowed.

frozen fan because with fewer students back, they can spread out more, lunchtime can be managed etc. The liklihood of risk is relevant. We mitigate and assess risk daily. Getting in the car is one of the most dangerous things you can but we do it all the time, for 'unnecessary' reasons and with our kids. September will be no safer than June from a viral transmission viewpoint so the many saying they'll keep them of til then are not making sense. The R rate in the community is much lower than in the hospitals and care homes.

@Frozenfan2019 it says it's from 78 studies from around the world and uses evidence from WHO. It also mentions the example of a french child with covid 19 who was exposed to over 100 other students across three schools and none of them got the virus. Very encouraging

As a teacher I am not worried about pupils not having the knowledge to pass the exam as I am sure an adjustment will be made. I am more worried about the loss of knowledge leaving huge gaps and pupils being ill prepared for the next step. I teach KS3 and GCSE. The jump from GCSE to A level is a tricky one - a steep step up in terms of curriculum and in terms of teacher input- you are expected to work more independently at A-Level. I worry about pupils missing out on the preparation for that. I worry they will have gaps and it will affect future progress. Some of my lovely GCSE lot are working so hard and they are doing ok. Some are really struggling. When I teach, part of the process is planning a lesson that will help the pupils understanding a concept. Part of it is adapting the lesson, changing the resource, adding in further explanation when I see a few blank faces staring back at me. I'm missing that at the moment because I can't see them. I am planning and setting something that I think hits the nail on the head, but for some pupils they wont quite get it and just need an extra level of explanation. That pupil will then switch off and over to Maths or English or whatever. Sometimes they will email me, but even communicating via email wont work. Some kids are accessing their work on a phone and when they email me and I send though a document they cant open it. Their mum or sibling is using the laptop so they have to wait. Our school have tried to loan as many Chromebooks as we can, but even 6 weeks later, we are still finding kids who have slipped through the cracks. It is a nightmare. We are doing our best though.

The whole cohort is in the same position here - grades required for sixth form or uni places will be adjusted to reflect that. A uni just wants to take the top 100 students it can get got a course - whether they get AAA once year and ABB the next year doesn't matter if they are still the top 100 students

That is probably true. But many employers look at A level grades as they feel they are less inflated than degree classifications, and they won't remember that 2021 were the year that had the disruptive teaching, you'll be competing against older and younger "young adults" who had normal educational provision. Plenty of employers out there who look at A levels when you are applying for your first job post graduation.

And even some universities who look at GCSE grades, though you'd hope they would remember the 2021 cohort.

I assume year 6 go back first so that they can do the transition to secondary, including a visit to their new school - while that new school is empty. Then get the Year 10s and 12s in the week or so later. Stop the year 10s and 12s having to mix with the year 6s.

I live in an area with the 11+, the current year 5s are due to take the 11+ the 1st week back in September. Many people do pay for tutoring, but others are just getting no education since March. It's going to be even more unfair than normal for the September 2021 secondary school places.