DC are going to have to repeat a school year

[bigbananafeet12]

They finished school in March, there’s more chance teachers (and frightened parents) might be willing to get back into schools by next March. I know some dc are getting full school days on zoom, but for most their home learning is no substitute. Universities are planning on doing online learning for the first term too so loads will defer potentially causing problems for the current year 12.
You might say you’re dc are fine now but if things carry on like this in September, October, November and so on enthusiasm for home learning is going to decrease massively. It’s just unfair on dc. They need a chance to learn properly in the normal way. I honestly see no other satisfactory solution.

I hope that all this brings more fluidity in the education system.
Make it easier for some children to repeat a year if needed. Other children may be capable of skipping a year.
And a proper online national curriculum for children who cannot attend school through illness or mental health difficulties as we currently have a lost generation of such children.

Thank you @SueEllenMishke. There’s a lot to consider when you are substantial distance from the uni, will they move into their accommodation if some face to face lectures or stay at home and then all the accommodation costs if they do not go back for the first term. I’m hoping things will be clearer very soon because as a parent decisions need to be made now on grants, accommodation payments etc.

Are you psychic or something as you seem to 'know' an awful lot about what schools will do.
If allowed my 4 year old will be starting school in September, or as soon as allowed.

Lots of students are trying to defer entry to university this year.
I don’t blame them. The online provision provided this term for students has been rubbish. And that’s before you consider what a socially distanced halls of residence/sports team/society might look like.

You're welcome smithy and you're right. If it makes you feel any better we don't know any more that you! We're just planning for various scenarios. It's a nightmare.

Many MAs are giving the option of a Narch start now.
Final year students don’t want to start in September.

I'm only repeating what the teachers on MN have said.
Correction, you are selectively presenting what some teachers on Mumsnet have said to fit the narrative you're trying to promote on this thread.

If you were trying to have a genuine discussion then I'm sure you'd have also included many if the things teachers have said need to be addressed in order to keep school as safe and hygienic as possible for all when we return.

You'd have mentioned the issues of toilets and hand washing facilities, or the logistics of school busses and those children who use public transport, the government's contradiction on face coverings. You may wish to explore some of the issues of schools running above their designed capacity and how logistically there's not enough rooms in schools to do some of what the government is proposing.

You might also consider exploring the issues teachers have said will affect working parents, for example if different year groups have phased start/end times or different days in school and a parent has children in multiple year groups then they may have issues with work and childcare.

You may consider that there's lots of teachers on here saying they really miss their students and want to see them again, that online learning isn't the same as having their kids in front of them, that they want things to go back to normal when it's safe to do so.

You may also consider the discussion teachers have been having surrounding the fact the DfE's scientific advisor hasn't actually attended SAGE meetings surrounding schools, and has openly admitted the scientific evidence is inconclusive on school risk.

But you didn't.

You chose to take the angle that teachers don't want to go back.

I have no intention of scaremongering.
Yet you're talking about not having students back until next March.

It's just not practical for this to happen.

Although I bloody hope it doesn't happen, my nursery bill for the year is over £20k

hellomissus are you speaking for all 395 higher education institutions? If so that's an amazing piece of research......

Not all online or remote provision has been rubbish.

There was a delightful thread slagging off a academics last week.....in and amongst the vitriol there were some wonderful examples of good practice.

@NailsNeedDoing

Thank you for posting that! It’s so tiresome when people constantly trot out the “they don’t school until they’re 7 in other countries” line with no understanding of what they’re talking about! They start at the same age that we do, they just spend the first few years doing play based learning and developing all the sort skills, PSE, speaking and listening etc and then they move to formalised learning when they are 7 so I think the equivalent of year 2. The children don’t end up behind because they have developed their behaviours and attitude for learning and are ready for formal, desk style learning. We have two years play based Nursery and Reception, although there are some formal elements in Reception as we push reading and writing from the age of 4.

@ravenmum
Yes there are differences in language to account for which explains why it’s trickier to learn to read and write in some languages. Take Spanish for example. In Spanish, there are 29 different graphemes (letters that make up a unit of sound). Spanish children only have to learn 29 and then they can read and write fluently. This is achievable by the age of 6. In English we have over 150 graphemes. If a child is trying to spell the ee sound they can spell it ee, ey, y, ea, e-e so tree, monkey, happy, bead, Pete. Our grammar might not be confusing as we don’t have things like noun genders and only have one way to say a, an and the unlike languages like German where there are many variations, but our spelling patterns are irregular and confusing!

Not practical. However I do think that delaying new starters (they could stay in private nurseries if enough spaces can be made available) could be doable. Frees up reception classroom and teacher to look after older children for example.

In France repeating a year is entirely normal if you don’t “pass” a certain year. Interested to know what they’re going to do there given that presumably a lot of children now will not “pass” the year.

I would bloody love mine to repeat this year - they've both had amazing teachers (I want to steal the Y2 teacher and keep her for my kids forever as she's just bloody epic) - however - where would you put the new reception kids? Stack them up university challenge style? If the capacity and staffing of a good quality was there - fine... but it's not - most schools already have any intervention groups squirrelled away in corridors, cloakrooms, staterooms etc - let alone fitting an additional 30/60 new kids coming in.

My MA is starting in September and we're still getting applications....stop generalising

Sorry I meant soft skills not sort skills in my previous post!

@Frazzled2207

Who pays for them to stay in private nurseries though? Most parents won’t have budgets for an extra years worth of private fees. Why would they?

Foobydoo - I totally agree with you. Also, I teach many young people at university level who totally flunked out at school (to use a 70s Americanism). But they excel at university. The key change is that they discovered a love of learning for its own sake and not because some form of grading and standardised testing drove the curriculum and labeled them as 'successes' or 'failures'.

My two have been provided with superb provision. Challenging, manageable and interesting.

3 full hours a day. Plus very long walk and time in garden and trampoline

Totally fine to move up a year

I love it when non teaching 'know it alls' think they're spouting all the current information when they really have no idea! It's like me thinking I can run hospitals- can't be that hard??

Honestly - repeating a year can not be done - and I wouldn't want it for my boys (year 3 and year7). As I teacher I don't think it will be part time in September at all- I may be wrong - but no one really knows yet! All speculation and hype!

Teachers are still working in schools - helping key workers and vulnerable children - working through their holidays and on bank holidays. Also setting home learning- fair enough- some schools are different and the level/ amount of work can be different. But don't tarnish all teachers with the negativity!

Does it really matter in the grand scheme

It’s shit for kids that have exams admittedly

But for everyone else it’s really a blip

And it really is in the category of ‘shit happens’

Not a chance will my kids be repeating a year. I see how it could be beneficial to some but for kids who have continued to learn at home there's no reason at all to go backwards. My kids have actually learned more at home than they normally would at school and whilst it might not quite be the same curriculum it's more than sufficient to equip them for moving up to the next year group. I'd pull them out permanently if they had to repeat a year or even the term for that matter. Luckily the school has already said that kids will have their level assessed when they return and learning will be adjusted to where they are at. There's already lots of planning going into this to make sure everyone is catered for.

@Leodot
The government would have to pay. They already subsidise. But that would possibly be cheaper and easier to implement than other suggestions above, like somehow creating an entire extra year in school.

Fooby yes there are lots of children with additional needs that have been out of school or unsupported in school long before lockdown and the pandemic hit. Nobody has ever really cared about their lost education.

God I wish some people would really get a grip OK your kid isn't getting an amazing education for what even if we say a year its not going to kill them let's face it the majority have access to the Internet which is a great help it isn't going to be like this forever be thankful your child is healthy and happy and stop crying they're being denied an education its not happening for a bit of a laugh

@Leodot Ps I’m not actually advocating this as a good idea btw, just thinking it is one thing that could be a possibility if lockdown carries on for a long time

I will be physically back in school as soon as the buildings reopen.

Meanwhile, I'm continuing to deliver the lessons according to the timetable. This is the flaw with the proposal - what do you do with the students who don't need ro repeat the year because their education has continued?

If they're not going to repeat the school year then surely moving forward they are going to have to tweak the curriculum in order for then to catch up?