Scottish Govt saying PT home schooling is likely for the full school year

[YeahWhatevver]

Scottish Govt is saying that blended learning (part time in school, part time home schooling) is likely to be in place for the full academic year.

Honestly, if I'm trying to juggle work and teaching 2 primary kids this time next year I'm going to have a nervous breakdown.

Funnily enough, UK govt at pains to reassure people that it's safe to start shopping on Monday, if its safe enough to shop, how isn't it safe enough to open schools?

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@TheMurk

It works for SNP’s socialist agenda to have a dependent population.

She’s holding back business and entrepreneurship too right now by keeping us 3 weeks behind.

Yes - this!

Well said alittlelower

@SomewhereEast

Surely desparate working parents will just be forced to rely on grandparents for childcare, thereby increasing the risk to the genuinely vulnerable?

I would think so unless Nicola outlaws that too.

And kids will be at childminders or friends or wherever on the other days mixing with more people than they would have done if they'd have been at school all week.

PT schooling is inherently pointless unless you can ensure kids are at home with parents the other three days a week which of course you cannot because people have to work (be that wfh or not you cannot school a child if you have a job!)

I would happily continue to be in school teaching as I have been this whole time. I have ,however, not had my contract renewed, despite there being no other teachers available. It is all down to money, not teachers, not schools.

I agree with you PurpleMystery. I also think it would be inexcusable to contemplate pt school in Aug/Sept. The gvnt defence in the current Judicial Review challenging school closures states that school closures were never mandatory. Can you fathom that???

My reading of it was that he was talking about THIS school year, but that doesn't make much sense because schools are closed in Scotland aren't they?

Where's the actual quote he says it's for 20/21 academic year?

They are absolutely nuts. I am a lecturer in a university. In infectious diseases. We are discussing remote teaching for the first term of next year (Sept-Nov), this may be online lectures mixed with a small amount of face to face small group activities. If anyone told us we'd have to teach students remotely at this point for the next year, I'd tell them to f* off.

@TheMurk

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I'll say it again, @TheMurk.

FUCKWITS.

I have just looked at the very excellent Travelling Tabby website which collates lots of Scottish covid stats. Do you know how many children under the age of 14 have died in Scotland of covid?

NONE
NOBODY
ZERO
ZILCH
NADA
ABSOLUTELY NOT A SINGLE FUCKING ONE.

Not even some of the children who were in school in Feb/March when it was circulating at much higher levels and who may have some fairly serious medical issues.

26 deaths IN TOTAL across Scotland of people aged under 44.

What the actual fuck are Swinney and Sturgeon thinking?

phase 2 allows 1 household inside I think, which could be grandparents.

Grandparents should not and (most) cannot help with online schooling.

And obv not everyone has grandparents still around and/or nearby and/or healthy

I have emailed my TU branch secretary to ask him to pass this onto our Senior Managers

tinyurl.com/ya8m79hn

I am so encouraged by the tone of most comments on this thread. I live in London and, in contrast to the comments above from a largely Scottish audience, the petition and the desires expressed in it have met with total objection in many comments I have read. I spent many years living in Scotland.

Why does the Scottish government go largely unchallenged?

Relief that it's not like Westminster, and Nicola is not like Boris.

I agree, homeschooling is a nightmare. The work my DD (age 8) receives is in very small chunks. Every video, worksheet etc can be completed in less than 15 minutes. This makes it impossible to work at the same time as homeschooling her. At least if we received some form of online lessons I could sit her down to watch them for an hour at a time.

There is just ZERO justification for this other than political posturing
Well, you'll know all about that SockYarn . Yet another genuine thread about Scottish schooling that you've derailed into SNP-bad and calling NS names. If you really cared about education, you'd be able to make serious posts without political posturing, name calling and lots of exclamation marks.
It's beyond tedious that we can't have any serious conversations about issues in Scotland without the usual brigade of posters rushing to turn it into a rehash of the referendum. It's particularly pointless when the other Scottish parties aren't feasible or offering any better alternatives.

I think we will until at least the Xmas break, after that who knows. Bit we improved both our daughters learning areas this weekend so they have the most comfortable place to sit. I don't know about the whole of next year as I'm not an expert but def a part of it

My reading of it was that he was talking about THIS school year, but that doesn't make much sense because schools are closed in Scotland aren't they?

Yes. Schools in Scotland have not reopened at all, except for the children of keyworkers. But those kids aren't getting "school", it's childcare. Our summer holidays in this area were due to start on Wednesday 24th June which is only 10 days away. He is quite clearly talking about the school year of August 2020 to June 2021.

It was in the Sunday Times this morning too, along with a suggestion that exams would also be cancelled in Scotland next year.

@ATomeOfOnesOwn but it is political posturing.

It's actually quite interesting. I've found myself tending towards the conspiracy theory that the current UK government is quite happy to trash the education of the young - they're more likely to vote Labour, far more likely to be annoyed about Brexit and if if you don't educate your population you can keep them where you think they belong.

But the situation is very different in Scotland, education is valued there, and you would think the SNP government would put the young first, given they are the most likely to vote for Scotland to leave the UK - and not Tory, and in favour of rejoining the EU.

Making a political decision isn't political posturing. All of the snide comments about horses and name-calling - that's political posturing. Pretending that any of the parties have presented any better solutions - that's political posturing.

It is insane. I understand planning for a year's worth of part-time schooling in case it's needed as a worst-case scenario, but why is it the only plan? And how are working parents meant to manage a year's worth of this with no more support from the government than "employers will have to be flexible"?

It also doesn't seem to fit with what Nicola Sturgeon's been saying about how we all have to stick with the lockdown measures now so we can get back to normal quicker.

@ATomeOfOnesOwn who is making the decisions on education? That would be the Scottish government AKA the SNP. Of COURSE it's political and to say otherwise is just daft.

For what it's worth, I hardly think Boris has covered himself in glory with his handling of this who thing either. But he;s not running Scottish education, Nicola Sturgeon and John Swinney are. Or not, as the case may be.

@Ladolcevida

Our children should have the opportunity to be in school. Please sign this petition. It is the only way I could think of to try and exert influence.

www.change.org/BacktoSchoolNOW

Please sign and share far and wide!

@Ladolcevida

It is a Scottish government and education thread, why post a petition to Boris and Gavin Watson?

The same with the UsforthemUK petition/campaign posted earlier in this thread. Doubt they are interested in Scotland.

The same with the UsforthemUK petition/campaign posted earlier in this thread. Doubt they are interested in Scotland

They are. They've a main page and then seperate Scottish and Welsh groups.