To ask how much support your KS2 children are getting from school?

[concernedforthefuture]

DCs are yrs 3 & 5 (age 8 & 10). Since the beginning of lockdown, work has been sent weekly from school in the format of a series of links to where we can download various worksheets and watch online videos (all of which are available to the public such as Twinkl / White Rose Maths / BBC Bitesize, rather than something the teacher has produced). These are not to be returned for marking, there is no supplementary online teaching by their class teachers (either live or pre-recorded videos) and no real contact from the school apart from a weekly email to remind us to visit the class pages on the school website to see this week's recommended learning links.
I was more than happy with this for the first few weeks but with a real chance that they might not return to school this term, I'm really feeling that our children are being let down by not really getting an education at the moment. They're bored of the work - each day is quite different to the day before in terms of content and there's no obvious progression from one week to the next. Not having any feedback is leaving them wondering why they should bother at all and it's getting difficult to motivate them. We do other stuff too, but I do worry for the children whose parents aren't able to offer anything extra.

I wonder how this compares to others' experiences? Are all families just being left to get on with it ? I see a lot of posts about online teaching and class zoom meetings (with the teacher). I just don't understand what the teachers are doing. It's a big school (450+ pupils) and most days they only have around 10-15 key worker children so they can't all be in school everyday. To be clear, I'm not expecting online school from 9-3 for 5 days a week, but a few lessons a week tailored to the class would be welcome, together with some kind of interaction between the teachers and pupils to see how they're doing.
If it makes a difference, the (state) school is currently rated Outstandjng by Ofsted.

^ because many of them have 2 parents who are key workers ^

Thankfully Dd Year 6 already had a brilliant maths tutor we have upped her hours so she is being taught maths properly Via zoom. I can do the rest using my A level knowledge The set school work is done by 10.30 none of it submitted or marked.

Dd1 year 9 has lots of work and teacher availability so that’s a relief.

@lozster

If a child is in a 'disadvantaged pupil group' (SEND/EAL/PP) there should be things in place to ensure that 'disadvantage' does not impact on their learning. For example, children with SEND should have a provision map, ISP or EHCP in place that outlines targets and appropriate materials for parents. EAL children should receive materials that support working in their second language.

If any child is working behind in an area, their needs should have been discussed at consultation or in reports with targets given and strategies for support suggested. If that hasn't been done, then yes, the teacher/school has dropped the ball and I am aware that does happen sometimes and you would be thoroughly justified in asking for more in that case.

My dd is in year 5. Her school send out a weekly email with the weeks work to do. Every day has a maths link and the worksheets to go with it (white rose stuff because that's the scheme they use at her school anyway, so it's consistent for the children). Every day has an English task, either a reading comprehension or a writing task (they've done a non-chronological report on a country of their choice and are writing poetry this week). They have weekly spellings, times tables Rockstar, reading quizzes. All stuff they would do at school. There are about 10 activities a week on other subjects. Art, music, science, geography, French, PE, DT, history, RE are all covered on a weekly basis, which they actually aren't at school because they don't have time.

The staff have also done a weekly video "assembly" for the kids. They've recorded themselves reading the class books, recorded themselves singing some of the songs from assembly. Each child gets at least one personal email each week, and I believe quite a few are having phone calls. We had one phone call, which counted as parents evening, and were asked if we'd like them to ring more often, which I declined so they could focus on the kids who need it more.

I've been very, very happy with the level of provision her school are producing, although it sounds a lot like what your school are sending you yet you're not happy. No school will ever be able to please all parents.

Well you can all visit my school website where I put up daily work for my class. I teach in a deprived area so I've done everything I can to help parents and pupils access the work. I put up pictures of everything so nothing has to be downloaded and printed if they don't have the technology. I've made video explanations which I've put up as YouTube links as I know nearly all the kids in my class watch YouTube. I give them an opportunity to answer questions orally on the video or by looking on screen in case they don't have paper. I provide lots of ideas for activities that don't involve technology. Paper packs have been offered for any who can't get online, parents just need to contact the school (none have).

Views of the past two days videos that I've put up? One. Sometimes it's equally frustrating to be on the teaching side.

Contact the school if you don't think there is enough. Explain what it is that's not working for you and ask if they are able to offer any alternatives. I absolutely don't think live online lessons for groups of 30 is a workable solution. (Although in my case, probably only the one pupil would join!).

@qweryuiop own time???? What the hell is that? That’s what people mean by tone deaf.

And I say that as someone who is very happy with my schools provision. I used to send my daughter in 4 days a week while I work three days in the nhs and use the extra day for chores, CPD and “own time” now she goes for only the days I’m work and with no wrap around care. I drop her off and get to work late, rush through my day doing all the face to face stuff and leave early to pick her up at 3.30 Get home shove the tablet at her and log on for my 4pm meeting. I also shove the tablet at her to have meetings on my “days off”. Evenings after bedtime are spent doing more work I Didn’t get to in my shortened work day and trying to keep up with all the “must read now” essential updates about treating covid. Any “spare time” has been spent sewing scrubs for myself and colleagues and now making cloth masks. Also been sourcing PPE for work, helping with the local food bank, supporting elderly neighbours and maybe trying to cook something that’s not a ready meal and maybe run the hoover round. Bed happens about 1am and then it all starts again at 6am. And I’m lucky because I have childcare! The junior doctor training scheme has been stopped, our training time has been turned into work time.

Most parents wfh and also home schooling will be logging back on as soon as the kids are asleep and putting in a full day’s work after 7.30pm because they were caring for the kids in the day. No free evenings at home for most parents with young children right now and so yes for people managing on very little sleep and no prospect of any time off for a very long time to come talking about CPD and leisurely pursuits is Just going to rub people up the wrong way.

@arickitupyourpompom

People seem quite cross that teachers are still receiving full pay with varying levels of interaction but there are reasons for this.

Firstly, state schools don't 'earn' their staff salaries. They are allocated by government. The funding for the teacher's salary has already been given so they would have to take it back from the school. This is why private schools are working differently, because they do have to earn their staff salaries.

Secondly, if the government did furlough teachers, we would be entitled to 80% of our pay through their scheme. They have also asked employers to try and make up the 20%. As public sector workers, if the government was following their own advice, teachers would still receive full pay and they wouldnt be able to ask us to do anything. No key worker provision, no free school meal provision, no support for EHCP children.

So the choice is teachers on 100% pay doing what they can within the constraints of their school policy or teachers on 100% pay doing absolutely nothing.

“Own time” indeed!!!

If teachers are having “own time” in the current circumstances, then they are doing something very very wrong (as is clearly evidenced on this thread).

SallyAlly2020

I know many, many people on furlough and no one is getting 100 percent of their pay, they are getting 80 percent. Outside of schools most people are expected to do their normal job and hours or be furloughed. In the real world an employee unable to do zoom calls etc due to childcare issues would be furloughed and the work picked up by non furloughed staff.

I have dc at three different schools. The schools are all operating very differently. One DC has all of their work marked and lots of personal feedback and encouragement and merit awards. This teacher is amazing though, they have always been the type to go away over and above what is expected, I don't know if other teachers in that school are doing the same.

The other schools are setting work and communicating daily with us which is great, but no feedback on the work. Also no differentiation, everyone is sent the same work.

The DC attend school for childcare and the schools have been absolutely brilliant, incredibly supportive. I do wish they would do some of the work in school, I send in work with them everyday they go, but none of it is ever done. They used to attend afterschool clubs and they were able to complete their homework there, I don't understand why school cannot do the same.

This does stress me as it makes it hard to fit everything in on my days off. We are getting there though, we have a pretty good routine going now. The teachers have been brilliant at making the DC feel happy going to school even without their friends there.

But the teacher on here who mentioned having lots of free time, now that makes me very envious

I'm also baffled at the concept of "own time". I am busier than ever.
As well as my job (which is now including ploughing through daily updates on COVID management and guidelines, as well as clinical work), I am trying to home educate my kids. Yesterday morning at 9am my 11 year old rang me to say he couldn't do the maths work that had been set. I e-mailed his teacher asking if she could provide some assistance - email via me, direction to an online tutorial - anything really. She replied 24 hours later. That is neither use not ornament to a year 6 kid, who has now moved on to Thursday's maths work. So at the weekend I will have to spend time going through it with him myself.
Seriously, I don't understand how teachers can have more free time than usual. Why should they? If anything it should be more time consuming to teach a class remotely, not less.

And I would point out many of us in the private sector have had to take pay cuts to support the business whilst working full time picking up the work of our furloughed colleagues and trying to teach our kids from home. And teachers don't have time for a zoom call or to do some marking? This is why I am frustrating. Just one hour a day even pre recorded would do me. I can't even help with some of the basic stuff because they are taught in a way I don't understand. It's really disappointing

@PrivateD00r why can’t the school do the set work when the children are in? I’m glad they are supporting your children but it’s not fair on your kids if they have to then do a days work in the evening - that’s not the best time for kids to be working - I’m a big proponent of sufficient sleep for kids and no screens in the evening. I would be unimpressed to be told that my kids had to work late into the night and at the weekends rather than in the day.

Very little from secondary school, tasbee queried and been told the priority is year 13 and 11. To me that makes no sense, they no longer need the level of school input that year 10 and 12 need. The disparity between private and state education had widened so much it will never recover, the disparity between disadvantaged kids and everyone else will never recover.

Our school has provided little work with no marking it feedback. But we have received fun videos made by staff singing 'stay home'. I'm appalled at the lack of drive and innovation from the profession. Every other business/ profession has had to adapt and find a way of working except education. The teaching profession had let let itself down in terms of provision.

Thousands of kids education on hold because teachers are dealing with an unprecedented situation. No regard for kids or parents. I'm wfh full time, trying to teach 9 gcse subjects, trying to help my other dc with complex a level work, trying to not get furloughed, working until late every day. I know its difficult for schools but for fucks sake show some willing for the kids in your charge. Even a phone call home to dc would make so much difference. If teachers can't teach then why has pastoral care been abandoned? Where are all the non teaching staff who can make calls and checkon well being. Any other profession who had dropped the ball so massively would be held accountable. I know the government are shit too but don't get me started on them

@arickitupyourpompom

How do you decide which teachers get furloughed? What about if you furlough teachers and schools still dont give you the provision you think is the right provision?

My SLT has categorically banned zoom. Does that mean my whole school should be furloughed because a school across town is using it?

This is why we have a national curriculum and national teacher standards. The government should have released national expectations for teachers and they didnt. If they had, yes, if schools weren't meeting those expectations you could make a case for changes to pay.

The fact is that the source of most school related frustration in this situation is lack of guidance from the DfE and if parents and school staff held them to account rather than against each other, we might get better results for our children. They've spent years banging on about consistency and now when it matters most have failed spectacularly.

Our private school doesn't seem to have had any qualms about furloughing some teachers. Not sure why that's so hard to do.

So many people still think it is down to individual teachers. We are not allowed to just call home or send an email. I can't post an activity online if all the other teachers in my school dont post the same or an equivalent activity. We have to consult with SLT on everything.

This is what it's really like inside in schools. Tragic isnt it?

I am a teacher with more free time than usual. I'll freely say that. It's because a) I don't have an hour each way commute (that's 2 hours of non work time that I have gained every day) b) year 11 and year 13 do not have exams this year so all the time I would be doing extra revision sessions is now free time (that's 4 hours a week more own time) c) year 11 and year 13 are not handing in homework to be marked each week (that is up to 5/6 hours a week).

Every class that I still teach us getting as much of my time, if not more, as they ever would if we were physically at school, I'm just working at different times, like a lot of working parents. So my day goes
7-9 record videos for every class that day (I do it at that time so there is less noise coming from my neighbors)
9-11 help dd with school work, while also answering emails from any pupils or their parents
11-12:30 more focussed answering of emails, marking the work pupils have sent, sending emails to those who have not sent yesterday's work yet
12:30-3 lunch, help dd with any afternoon fun activities, maybe go for a walk, wait for any more emails
3-5 mark any more work that's come in
5-7 family time, including dinner
7-9 plan tomorrow's lessons, to be recorded in the morning
9-11 my own time, to do anything I choose. Origami might be part of that, or cross stitch, or crochet, or Mumsnet. I'm not going to apologise for that.

I am working a full day, over different hours than normal. It's not AS full as it normally would be at this time of year, because year 11 and 13 aren't there, and aren't engaging in anything they are given (I don't blame them in the slightest, why would they engage when there aren't any exams). That's not my fault, that was the government's decision.

@sallyally2020 argh really must get back to work- break over but I couldn’t stop thinking about your comment.

Your right, it’s not the teachers it’s the teaching leadership that have screwed up. Healthcare leadership is bad most of the time and they have made some serious mistakes in all of this but they have been good about allowing local response. The regulator of doctors has basically said - do what you think is best and we will understand. The information governance people have said that the usual rules are out the window and as long as patients consent video call and meeting platforms that are not considered secure enough can be used. Wats app is now encouraged. Because there weren’t enough nhs laptops the rules on won devices have been relaxed so all that can wfh do. We have been told - you need to deliver x - e.g telephone and video Apt’s and then locally at the ccg level a plan is in place. The DOH has negotiated with the big online health software people and the platforms have been made free or charge or very cheap for the duration. The national body for primary care does a weekly update webinar for all and a daily bulliten as does the local ccg. I get the idea that the education department and whoever it now is in local authorities that look after schools haven’t done this I.e said regulations are out the window, provide education as best you can remotely with video and telephone etc and here are some free/cheap platforms to do so?

For teachers saying they are bound by their SLT, I get that. What is annoying me is the difference in input between different teachers in our school. Some are going above and beyond to support their pupils and families, others are doing next to nothing. It is entirely up to them.

@DefConOne
I would contact your school and ask for specific things that you would like to see happen.

E.g. Annie has been missing her teacher a lot, is there a way she could check in with her?

Ryan is struggling to engage with the maths work that is set. Could his maths teacher give me a ring for some support?

I'm finding it hard to wfh and support my child; what resources can she access more independently?

Worst case scenario is they say no and give reasons why and/or offer alternatives. You can then choose to make a formal complaint or not based on how satisfied you are.

.

Wow. I'm shocked that three people have taken issue with my comment that out of 24 hours in a day, people should be allowed to spend some of them awake and not working.

Of course we all have "own time," teacher or not.

@Nonotthatdr

You're exactly right. There may be more guidance that has been handed to headteachers that I'm not aware of, but in terms of the advice that I've received as a teacher, it has all been down to seeking things out myself and sharing with other teachers in the school and with teacher friends. I think I'm doing an OK job, but can't help but feel I could be doing better, having seen what others are providing (the reason I do occasionally look at threads like these).

Our experience is the same as yours OP.

SallyAlly2020 I have done that but I feel really uncomfortable about it. The teacher must think I’m a pain in the arse. Why should I have to ask?