To feel I can't cope with schools only going back part time in August?

[jbonsor]

Just that. I was coping OK with lockdown, and trying to keep positive about juggling kids and working from home til June, then take a few weeks holiday over the summer just to do things with the kids even if still restricted. This week I have received a letter from my son's nursery to say he has a space for the 2020-2021 school year but that due to covid 19 they can't confirm pattern of attendance, as in, they can't confirm if he will have the 30 hours he was having since August. I also have read a lot that primary school might be 2 days only a week or a very day but only morning or afternoon session.. This has really tipped me over the edge as I am dreading having to keep juggling all this for over a year. This really puts a strain in family life and finances because now we have to basically decide on one income only, and not onky that but I don't feel I am that good at home schooling and feel like my kids are going to fall behind. Sometimes I can't believe how everything fell apart so spectacularly and how is the Scottish government deciding this is the best course of action without any regard for the mountain of problems this will bring to a huge amount of families.

@Coastercat not sure about the age of your children but maybe it would cheer them up to have one friend to play with in the garden from Friday. I'm hoping I can do this to give my DS some much needed interaction with other children. He's old enough to safely socially distance I think.

John Swinney has given a speech and is currently taking questions on Education in the Scottish Parliament. So far only one MSP has mentioned it will be difficult for parents to go back to work with blended learning in place. John Swinney’s answer was simply that parents need flexibility to work from home - ‘a degree of pragmatism from employers’.

No mention at all of how parents are actually meant to deliver home schooling and work effectively at the same time.

It would have been good to ask him giving his speech from home how effectively he could deliver it with two young unattended children in the same house.

What about the educational differences?

There are always educational differences. parent’s standard of education, hone tuition, tutors, grinds, private education, parent’s standard of education, extra curriculum activities, travel abroad, sports, ski-ing, amenities in the local area.

parents need flexibility to work from home - ‘a degree of pragmatism from employers’.

So are we not supposed to support their learning due of school hours at all, just put them in front of a tablet and leave them to crack on?

@GoldenOmber

It was just the giant elephant in the room. Basically it appears that ‘working from home’ actually means not doing much work at all, and homeschooling your kids instead. I’m sure employers will love that - while I’m sure some are being very flexible just now that isn’t going to last on a long term basis.

Older kids can obviously work away by themselves but with young primary school kids parents really have to be completely involved in the school work.

John Swinney also didn't mention how teachers are supposed to be in school all day, still setting/marking/supporting home learning plus supporting their own dcs too 🤔 We better all learn to clone ourselves eh

We have a (very) part time plan for our Year 10's for 8th June until the end of the year. We also have contingency plans for part time for the whole school in September.

What about all the people who do jobs that can't be done from home? Not everyone works in an office.

Honest to god it all so poorly thought out I don’t know whether to shout or cry! It’ll take every ounce of mental fortitude I have not to go mad while I try to keep my job during a recession while also stopping my child from falling through the cracks educationally.

John Swinney also didn't mention how teachers are supposed to be in school all day, still setting/marking/supporting home learning plus supporting their own dcs too

Hours upon hours of extra workload, no doubt! It is very unfair on all involved.

There are always educational differences. parent’s standard of education, hone tuition, tutors, grinds, private education, parent’s standard of education, extra curriculum activities, travel abroad, sports, ski-ing, amenities in the local area.

I thought the goal was to lower the attainment gap, not increase it. Wanting employers to be flexible is fine but taking away full time school unless you can afford to go private would be horrific for so many families and not just because of work.

Taking away full time school AND giving both parents flexibility. The full time school really is not the long term issue. There are still issues during school holidays, when kids get ill etc. Flexible part time employment for both parents is what is needed. If that means downsizing, so be it. Children cost money and time. Many parents are entirely dependent on education being their childcare. This must be so offensive to teachers after four years at university.

This must be so offensive to teachers after four years at university.

How is it 'offensive' for teachers for me to say that I can't do their job myself with no extra training, while simultaneously doing my own? And nor can a tablet, no matter how shiny its software.

But I see you have now moved on to "it is absolutely fair and right that parents should lose their homes as a result of this and I don't know why you're all complaining", so possibly not engaging with the best of intentions.

Many parents are entirely dependent on education being their childcare. This must be so offensive to teachers after four years at university.
Now you’ve really lost the plot! Can you understand that teachers are being PAID to be in schools for a minimum of 6 hours per day?! Parents are using this time to go out to work and using proper paid for wrap around care. The majority of parents aren’t asking teachers to wipe their kids arses, feed them and put them to bed FFS!

John Swinney also didn't mention how teachers are supposed to be in school all day, still setting/marking/supporting home learning plus supporting their own dcs too 🤔 We better all learn to clone ourselves eh

Agree, it’s totally ridiculous

Honestly I’m so angry with NS and her crew over this ridiculous decision to implement this so called “ blended learning.” It’s an absolute nonsense and will create attainment gaps like we’ve never seen before, create job losses through parents not being able to retain their jobs, mental health problems amongst parents and pupils. Some pupils will end up being left home alone ( during the home school hours) far too young so the parents can still earn a living. It’s horrendous.

@Sittingontheveranda yes so can you suggest what I, as a single parent, should do? Not everyone has 2 adults in the house.

It does seem to be rather epically missing the point to trot out the "schools are for education not childcare, stop using schools as childcare" line in this particular situation.

I can contract out childcare (in theory at least, childminders are being allowed to operate before schools go back). I can't contract out 50% of 'blended learning'.

It's not offensive to teachers to say that some parents can't do a teacher's job. I have no qualifications. I'm lucky that DS is still in primary school because if he was in secondary I wouldn't have a clue how to do the work, I was no good at school. I can't educate him like a teacher can.

Flexible part time employment for both parents is what is needed. If that means downsizing, so be it.

So please explain how that's going to work for couples like this one. She's an nhs psychologist. He works for an oil company and is away for weeks at a time. Flexible for her to complement his hours would have a detrimental effect on her ability to provide a useful service. So she builds a therapeutic relationship with a client and then has to take a three week break...she'd never get anywhere.

What about the military? Can't see a flexible approach working particularly well from deployment. I saw my df for approximately 50 percent of my childhood despite technically living with him.

What about parents who don't work but won't encourage their children's education at all, who are more likely to flog their DC's laptop for drugs than help them study.

Part time schooling will work for a small privileged sector of society, as a permanent solution, it would be a disaster for a lot more children than it benefits.

It's not offensive to teachers to say that some parents can't do a teacher's job

Did you read this?

Also I see no issue with school beinb both education and free childcare. This just doesn't seem to be a bad thing.

People need to put their efforts into changing employment conditions instead of just an earlier return to school date.

I’ll be quoting John Swinney’s request for employers to be flexible to my own headteacher when I can only come into school to teach for 2 days rather than the 4 I am paid for! Not sure how that’ll go down.

Honestly I’m so angry with NS and her crew over this ridiculous decision to implement this so called “ blended learning.”

Ther thing is, it is entirely possible that nobody in the UK will be back to full time school for the next term.

Is it better to declare now that there will be a structure called 'blended learning' that is announced now, planned and implemented on a named date (the Scottish model) OR

Is it better to cross your fingers behind your back, invent some tests and then change then so that they appear to be met, realise that there is no even vaguely safe way to send everyone back to school, scrabble around until a few weeks before term is due to start and THEN start releasing random planning documents for part-time schooling for all on a date that changes a week before it is due to start (the English model)?

Honestly, from the English perspective, NS looks sane, sensible, rational and in charge....

Is it better to declare now that there will be a structure called 'blended learning' that is announced now, planned and implemented on a named date (the Scottish model) OR

Can we have Option 3: acknowledging that 'blended learning' effectively means 'part-time learning' for an awful lot of children, and will have very bad impacts on education for those children and on the employment status of a lot of parents, and start setting out now how those effects will be mitigated?

Rather than what they seem to be doing, which is giving it a snazzy name like 'blended learning', declare it fine, and handwave all questions off with "we'll ask employers to be flexible" and "we'll hand out some tablets".

Sorry, I should have said:

Option 1 and Option 2 are both part time learning. I am not sure that anyone will be back to full-time learning for the autumn term except private schools with very small classes.

One is planned.

One is not.