..to think that state educated kids are going to find themselves at a huge disadvantage in public exams?

[SpiderPlantSally]

Every privately-educated Year 10 or Year 12 child I know - this amounts to six different fee-paying schools - is having a like-for-like learning experience at home with live online teaching, following their usual timetable.

Every state-educated child I know of the same ages (also five or six different schools) is being set written work, with very little or no live teaching. At DD's school there one hour of live Maths for the whole Year 10 cohort each week, and a contact session for the other subjects once per week, when the teachers are available for email contact or chat. That's it. Otherwise lone book work.

AIBU unreasonable to think that state school pupils will be at a huge disadvantage when applying for selective 6th forms and universities in the autumn? Surely the private school pupils will absolutely clean up on the top grades in next summer's GCSEs and A-levels?

@W00t Yehudii Menuhin School has always been the most expensive of the schools. And, as you say, fees are £44k. Most are low 30s or high 20s I think. At Elmhurst they are 'only' £25k. That's why I was surprised to see your £56k figure.

But obviously all of them have access to resources that state schools don't and have very small number of pupils (other than Wells, which is a bit different) so can't really be compared with state schools.

This thread is so depressing.

It's evidence of the disparity.

Not just between state and independent but within the state sector.

There has always been inequality: it's why some parents pay and others scramble for certain state schools.

But this is far, far worse and far more stark.

As I said elsewhere: it doesn't need to be like this.

The re-opening of schools could have been done with system-wide provision, and it could have been properly funded.

Our children deserve so much better than this.

Of course money/ funding matters, but so does policy and procedures set out by government.
I'm not professing to know but do private schools have less accountability, less bureaucracy than state schools. This has to be a factor too.

And, seriously, if you are reading this thread, with your heart just sinking as you read what has been provided for other children, and what will be provided - you have my sympathy. And my anger.

It's not good enough.

It's not the fault of teachers, schools, your children, or you.

It was a choice made by the government,

And it was a choice to basically not give a shit about children who deserve better.

There is certainly disparity between state schools in our area - the grammar schools seem to be doing a great job of providing online learning and feedback. However the non-selective comprehensives (including the one my dcs attend) are doing little/nothing.

The excuse from my dc's non-selective comp is that they cannot provide online learning because some children don't have laptops/internet. So no children get any teaching or feedback!!!

There has always been disparity between state schools and private/grammar schools. Always.

@tunnocks34 the issue is how much that gap is widening

It was a choice made by the government

And it was a choice to basically not give a shit about children who deserve better.

Well yhe government wants the schools to reopen, but I get your point. I cannot see why the year 11's & 12's could not already be back in with social distancing and masks. Much easier than Reception and year 6. Where is the logic? Why the government has picked a fight on that hill and thrown A-level and GCSE students under the bus I don't understand.

A webcam. I don't have one and don't need one.
Microphone, I don't have one and don't need one.
A stable or quick broadband connection.

Ok. Thanks for this and answering my question.

Most of the teaching staff at my school do not have these bits of equipment because we don't need them.

Surely by day 68(?) Of lockdown these should have been acquired because they are now needed? As I said other organisations with not much tech know how or financial resources have managed to cobble something together at this point.

Are you saying every individual teacher in the schools providing lessons have all of these?

I must ask my sons music school how it works.

Then is it all the governments fault for not providing emergency finds to schools for these items?

A webcam and microphone cost £30 or so in total. So you can buy enough for several teachers for what it costs to pay 1 teacher for 1 day.
In any event, it's possible to use a smartphone if you have to.

We're scrabbling around in my area to find laptops for children.

One more time for those that pretend not to understand because they don't care:

There is no point providing on-line lessons if your pupils can't access them.

I will keep on saying this:

Not only are we scrabbling to find laptops (getting them donated by businesses and individuals and having them scrubbed) we are also having to find things like paper, pens and rulers.

It is the schools with the most disadvantaged pupils who are going to struggle most with both the situation now and what comes next.

Inequality has always been an issue, and schools have always sought to minimise its effects.

But the challenges presented by, first, lockdown and then, social distancing, are just a whole new ball-game.

If you want to help, find a scheme near you collecting laptops, and donate.

Then, when all pupils can access on-line learning. then you can criticise the schools that aren't providing on-line learning.

If they aren't doing it, there is probably a good reason they aren't doing it.

How many children don't have access to a smartphone though?

Most pupils are in households with at least one phone. My dc have followed the online curriculum by phone at times. ONS says 95% of adults own a phone.

The government should have done tablet loans for re remaining 5%. This was totally doable.

Can anyone point us at any evidence that live lessons via Zoom produce better educational outcomes than the alternatives?

I agree OP. Local independent schools in my area are doing online lessons while the local state schools aren’t . My Y10 DC has been set work from textbooks ie ‘read this and answer the questions’ with the very occasional maths watch video thrown in. Very limited feedback too. There may be done learning going on but there’s next to no teaching. It’s very worrying.

My friend's independent school runs a whole day's teaching on-line.

If you have 3 children, in different years, how do they all do that on one phone?

That's one place where the differdnce arises. If you are in a family that can provide IT for all your children, and in a school where all families can supply that - it is in your school's interest to provide it.
But that is rare in state schools.

Yes, a scheme of tablet loan would have been excellenf.

*some

My year 10s are returning this week.

We are having maths, English and science three times a week. They are having specialisms twice a week. They will attend three hours a day, no lunch to be served but free bottles of water and A piece of fruit provided at break. They are not allowed to leave their assigned classroom, teachers will come to them, as will their break time water and fruit. They will be escorted in and out of the building by senior leadership. All staff are in school twice a week, we are recording KS3 and KS4 lessons currently, to stream to all other pupils who can’t and won’t attend.

We also mark, and send back all work to pupils we receive.

I’m excited and apprehensive but ultimately I really want to ensure my year 10s are able to achieve the grades they rightly deserve.

Private schools will always provide more, they have more money. Our school can’t even afford glue. 80% of our pupils are pupil premium with almost 9% of our pupils being looked after children. We have an extreme amount of deprivation and there is just absolutely no way we could have taught our pupils in the same way a private school could have.

spottedelk
A webcam and microphone cost £30 or so in total. So you can buy enough for several teachers for what it costs to pay 1 teacher for 1 day.
In any event, it's possible to use a smartphone if you have to.

So you would be happy for a teacher to try a teach with a glichy webcam and poor sound.

Whilst still ignoring the problems with an internet connection.

Also, try and record yourself for 5 60 minutes sessions on your phone and see how long your battery lasts.

How many children don't have access to a smartphone though?

that would depend on where you are in the country.

Can you really not see a difference between an actual lesson in an actual classroom, and the experience of a zoom session for 30+ users?

Do you have any evidence about zoom then?