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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Aibu to ask if your school have phoned you during lockdown?

170 replies

Ineedaweeinpeace · 15/06/2020 19:38

Ours haven’t - I’m not bothered at all by it but another parent (friend) is absolutely stark raving mad about it! Have you been called? Did you give a toss?

OP posts:
BigBadVoodooHat · 15/06/2020 22:29

Teachers have been teaching but obviously not always in the traditional way. Teachers have had to make do like most others working from home, not all teachers have latest laptops or reliable internet etc.

We’ve had nothing that could be classed as ‘teaching‘ for my two KS2 DC.

The school website gives links to Oak Academy, BBC bitesize, etc., and reminds us to do some Mathletics on a regular basis.

We created our own scheme of work using Twinkl and workbooks, and have emailed it in each week. No feedback beyond a generic ‘well done, you’ve worked hard!’, and younger child’s emails haven’t been acknowledged for weeks now.

Though they have updated the website to say that now that more children are going back in they’re going to be ‘scaling back‘ their level of involvement with at-home pupils due to time constraints. GrinGrinGrin

Would you rather teachers were planning, preparing and setting work for the kids or making endless phone calls to everyone rather than just to our vulnerable students or students whom we know will be having a tricky time?

I would be utterly delighted if the teachers were planning, preparing and setting work. Utterly delighted. There were only a handful of keyworker children in school prior to the expansion of provision, so I’m baffled as to what the 40+ staff members have been doing for the last three months.

Until I read this thread I honestly thought that all stare schools were operating in pretty much the same way. I’m actually gutted to realise how poor our school have been compared to some others.

BigBadVoodooHat · 15/06/2020 22:32

Are there seriously schools out there where they’re not teaching in person on zoom AND they’re not bothering to call for 1:1 check ins?

Unfortunately, yes Sad

EnoughAlready2020 · 15/06/2020 22:34

On the app so I can't vote. But yes we've been called ONCE since lockdown (secondary school)

DDiva · 15/06/2020 22:41

Our school has phoned most weeks. I am not bothered for us but since the start of this I worry about families in which there is abuse or neglect.

I volunteer with a group helping families but it is very difficult to access and help such families. Its good to know there is still.school contact bit doubt this is enough .....

Nogoodusername · 15/06/2020 22:45

I’ve had one call from each of DC’s teachers. The first was relatively early on (youngest child), the other was last week

OneNewName · 15/06/2020 22:46

One call covering two children.

NeverForgetYourDreams · 15/06/2020 22:49

Are there seriously schools out there where they’re not teaching in person on zoom AND they’re not bothering to call for 1:1 check ins?

Yes ours. Secondary grammar selective school

M0mmyneedswine · 15/06/2020 22:50

Ds is yr8, no calls but friends in same year and school have

NeverForgetYourDreams · 15/06/2020 22:53

Titsywoo

Have a feeling we have the same school in common

frenchfancy81 · 15/06/2020 22:57

Primary teacher here, Year 3, and I phone once a week. 30x15 mins on average adds up but I enjoy checking in, the parents seem thrilled to have a chat and the kids like saying hi and telling me what they've been up to.

MaHeidsGouping · 15/06/2020 22:57

Secondary school has phoned once.

I have 2 DC'S at primary and we can interact daily with the teacher online. Teachers have also visited all of their class twice at home.

ComDummings · 15/06/2020 22:57

Are there seriously schools out there where they’re not teaching in person on zoom AND they’re not bothering to call for 1:1 check ins? I can see if you had a zoom class a few times a week you wouldn’t feel the need to call everyone individually, but if you’re not a school doing online call classes then WTAF are the teachers doing all day?

I’m quite shocked by how much some schools are doing. I didn’t realise my son’s was being so shit. Just a couple of twinkl worksheets uploaded and links to Oak academy. 2 phone calls in 12 weeks. No submitting work, no zoom classes, not even a letter until the government said yr r, 1 and 6 were going back. I’m quite annoyed now actually at how crap they’ve been and normally I’m very pro-school and pro-teacher.

Feellikedancingyeah · 15/06/2020 23:01

Regular calls from form tutor. Weekly homework on an app, which is always marked and reward with points. All teachers contactsble by e mail. Updates from Head of Year and updates from school head. Black Lives Matter activities, mental well-being activities.
Lucky to be part of a fantastic secondary school

butteredbarmbrack · 15/06/2020 23:02

Year 11 DD - basically left to it. She has some "bridging work" to prepare for sixth form but no contact with school. Friday was what would have been her last GCSE and everyone would have been done by this week - we'll see if there's any acknowledgement...

Year 8 DD - apart from the regular generic emails with work being set, not much. We had no individual contact until the Friday before half term, when two teachers called to say no work had been submitted since start of term. It's been a slog to get her caught up (DH and I both working from home and flat out all day, so hadn't been getting a chance to do more than check in on how she was doing, and did she need help - we've learned not to take "fine" at face value!) There are now calls with the students, twice before end of term I think.

I was happy enough with arrangements when lockdown started, and the school has rejigged how it has set work etc. But I must say for years 8 and 9, with the year 7 keenness worn off and not getting the focus that years 10 & 12 are getting, it feels like they're being left rather adrift. Now it's clear they won't be back til September earliest, I think school do need to think about how they can engage them other than through email and uploading/downloading work.

Have spent quite a bit of time this evening with an upset DD who is struggling to focus and motivate without the school environment and trying to come up with tactics. We can't sit and be on her back the whole time either. I totally get that it's not going to be possible to do hours of remote classes with large groups, that's far from what I'd expect. Even just one or two short zoom sessions a week in a small group would be helpful though - and might help sharing tips for remote learning etc.

HandsOffMyRights · 15/06/2020 23:17

@NeverForgetYourDreams

Are there seriously schools out there where they’re not teaching in person on zoom AND they’re not bothering to call for 1:1 check ins?

Yes ours. Secondary grammar selective school

Same here
WhitbyGoth · 15/06/2020 23:24

Considering they should be checking in on the child for safeguarding at the very least, I would say Yabu.

BlueVinca · 15/06/2020 23:24

I've twice had emails from the form tutors to see how we are getting on and they also emailed the dc and said they'd phone if they didn't hear. We emailed back so weren't phoned. Fine with me. Email is fine

Curlyshabtree · 15/06/2020 23:26

We get a call every week from the school counsellor. She’s been brilliant. I actually look forward to her call!

Curlyshabtree · 15/06/2020 23:34

My dts teacher’s have emailed them back when they’ve had a query. (Secondary). So far, it’s been OKish though they are both missing actual teaching. We’re in a very disadvantaged area so I have genuine concerns about the widening gap between rich and poor. This will have potentially devastating repercussions.

lyralalala · 15/06/2020 23:45

DS & DD's primary school - 1 call every 2 weeks. A weekly email from each teacher outlining work set. They're always available by email for questions or queries.

DD1 & DD2's high school - 1 email a week. Very little response to anything they ask. Had a week 3/4 weeks ago where they obviously realised that DD2 was one of their vulnerable pupils and she got 3 phone calls and 2 emails. Nothing since. I'm not remotely surprised though, it's a school being destroyed by a new HT over the last year. My younger kids will not be going there if he's still here.

The school SIL's kids go to have been brilliant. They've called weekly. Each week it's been 1 of the kids teachers so they've spoken to their charge, but mostly had a quick chat with the other kids as well.
They made the effort to email SIL and check she was happy for them to contact me directly (her kids have been here due to her work) and have done an excellent job at not pestering her with the "X recorded class will now be uploaded at 10am instead of 9.30am" messages, but kept her in the loop of everything important. The kids have had a good amount of work, quick marking and they've actually been learning new stuff instead of just coasting. I'm super impressed by them.

Rowgtfc72 · 16/06/2020 05:55

One phone call to yr 8 dd since March. Teacher, who actually was leaving at Easter, spoke to us then dd separately.

They are setting work via Frog and its marked and has some feedback. Dd says she can email her teachers if she needs to. No zoom teaching though.

We're both keyworkers and worked throughout but work opposite shifts so she didn't have to go into school. Dd had one friend who was going in but shes stopped now because it's boring apparently and she gets more work online.

Do think a lot of our children have been abandoned.

Worrysaboutalot · 16/06/2020 06:08

My high school kids got one call each from their tutors to check they were ok, about a month into lockdown. However they are clearly accessing their homework portal on weekdays.

Primary school have asked parents to email in weekly and send photo of kids work. Plus told parents to ring the school during office hours, if we need support.

After I mentioned I had been in hospital in one of the emails, the headmaster rang to check if we needed further support as a family. I didn't need extra support, as DH is wfh and the kids are not at school atm but thought it was very sweet he called to check on us.

LittleOgres · 16/06/2020 06:32

We haven’t heard a thing from secondary school. I’m really cross about it.
One of my teens has been seriously ill and in hospital, so not even able to go on google classroom. They have just disappeared from school life for the last 6 weeks,and the school hasn’t even noticed.
Well, if they have they haven’t rung to check.
I’m writing a letter this week. Shocking pastoral care.

montyliesandmontycries · 16/06/2020 06:39

We've had one call, for one child only, after 8 weeks and I felt it was long overdue. It was a 'check-in' from the class teacher apparently. Our school has done very little in the way of home learning for us so it was a surprise.

PaperMonster · 16/06/2020 07:06

My daughter’s teacher phoned a few weeks ago, emails regularly and last week turned up at the door!!