To bin off the homeschooling

[Lemons1571]

God I’m probably BU. But bloody hell I've had enough. 14 weeks of working ft, plus trying to fit in twinkl, Oak, Khan etc. Watching my Year 4 get more isolated and sad. Feeing like a loser / outsider when the school send out their weekly newsletter asking Reception to bring in x, y and z and Year 6 to remember their deposit for (insert end of year activity).

Honestly the thought of Monday makes me want to throw things at the wall, and it’s not even Sunday yet! Got a bunch of corrections sent through on last weeks schoolwork which I now have to try and fit in around Skype work calls, deadlines, appraisals. Anyone else just about had it? So tempted to tell child to not worry about it too much and have some screen time.

I don’t need help with coping or with mood or anything like that. I just need to not have two full time jobs.

tomorrow’s another day

I know!!!

Your Dad's a Tesco delivery driver and your mum is a SAHP, you can go to school full time. Whilst your Dad is an accountant, and your mum is a dog groomer, oh no, you must stay at home! Bloody nonesense!

Since 1st June, home school has gone down the pan.
Ds is Y5, in class with Y6. Obviously his teacher can't spilt himself in half, so year 6 have fulltime education and Y5 need to sort themselves out with work (head said it would be good practice for high school lol)

head said it would be good practice for high school lol

What a stupid thing for the head to say! On that basis secondary schools don’t need teachers or staff. The students can just make up their own self directed learning.

Please everyone take a look at Usforthem on Facebook. They are campaigning to get all pupils back into full time school on September. They need help from people.

Even if things can go straight to 'normal' in Sept and all children in full- time as Bojo has stated... can any primary school teachers tell me what happens to the curriculum? Will you resume from where you paused it in March or will classes simply go up a year in curriculum and assume prior knowledge? Or have you not been told this yet?

I can imagine the pressure teachers will be under in September to catch up all pupils having missed over a term- as someone pointed out above "it's their problem". I really worried pupils will be feel this pressure too. And surely it has a knock on effect for 11plus exams and SATs, especially as private schools have been teaching to the curriculum throughout.

I really hope those in the DoE have thought about all this and work with teachers.

*TokyoSushi

Don't get me started on those who are allowed through the hallowed school gates. The amount of children in our school now on supposed keyworker places is incredible. I know for a fact their parents are nowhere near keyworkers, gives me the absolute rage.*

I think you have saved my sanity tonight. I’m
just so angry and was beginning to think it was just me. I least now I know that it’s not just my school! My DS is year 2 and apart from all reception, 1 and 6 being back,
one third of his class are back as ‘key workers’ aka one parent who might be a key worker and one parent who is now off furlough or has had enough of home learning supervision. There was 1 kid occasionally in during lockdown. And yes, they are being taught. And yes, the parents are cock a hoop with delight. We get to watch the kids walk past going in and out, listen to them playing and then we get an account of how marvellous everything is and how happy the children are, from the head who has zero intention of addressing the division either with more inclusive communications or directing any funding from the government specifically at those still absent because apparently ALL children matter - just not at this point in time obviously.

There is a psychological impact of going out around three pm with my children and socially distancing from kids in uniform who've been in school. Every child needs that normality. Mine don't I have to avoid going out with mine around that time for the next three weeks. Another three weeks of no prope teacching.

*Proper teaching.

Tokyosushi and lozster - exactly the same at our kids school. There are apparently over 200 (40%) of the school who are entitled to a key worker space. In my daughters y3 class there are 15 kids back in since they changed the rule to only one key worker parent needed - 5 of them have SAHMs, one is an accountant and told the school he works in “financial services”, two run their own businesses and have written fictional evidence of their roles (and bragged about it on the dads whatsapp Group!!). Whereas me and DH working ft in non-key worker but highly stressful jobs now have no chance at all that either of our DC will go back this term.
All their other primary schools in this area have

@lozster Yes! Exactly that! I realise that I sound like a bit of a ranty loon on this thread, but the more you look at it, the more you see how completely unfair it is! Yes, when your parents were on the front line looking after COVID patients, absolutely fine, but now it's just bonkers!

I saw somebody I know buying uniform the other day in a supermarket and asked if they were back at school? 'Oh yes, full time, they love it was the response, I'm off furlough now and if course I have to work' *tinkly little laugh.

I've been working full time, at home, with 2x DC since 23rd March!! School even said to me on the last call (at the end of May) 'Well we know we don't have to worry about you, you'll be absolutely fine!' Absolutely, no good deed goes unpunished! JFC, I hope others have enjoyed their furlough and then full time school!!

Right, I really am going to bed now!

@UrbanDox I suspect they’ll catch up by teaching only the important SATS bits of the year they missed. And then cutting out the unimportant “nice to have” parts of the year they are now in. So they’ll have to cover the maths and spag missed but they’ll cut out Romans and the Ecology project from the year they are now in.

(By people, I mean the parents. I would not expect the school to “audit” this, they should be able to trust what they are told! But I do think it should have been limited to families with both parents working, or single parent families (and obvs vulnerable children prioritised)

I’ve watched a non KW parent drop kiddo off and then join my neighbour for a jolly day participating in their sport of choice. Meanwhile, I am WFH PAYE and DS’s SE dad is unable to take on work. It is galling. And the school think they have done a terrific job as they are ‘full’. This cannot go on.

I had a look at us for them as a pp recommended. I’m not sure about no social distancing. All I want is equality of access to school irrespective of age and parental occupation.

I am not even campaigning for all children to go back full time if it's not possible.

I just want all children to be treated fairly and equally, and have the same access to school, part-time if needed.

HOW are the schools going to manage kids who have stopped schooling in March, with a bit of bitesize here and there whilst others have been back at school and received a full time education there?

I guess those who can afford it will have to pay for private tutors or just try to register their kids in private schools if they are accepted there. Others will just be left behind.

I do understand people are struggling. But there are not many kids in school at all really. Not many parents have taken our school up on their offer to take children back. Only 5 in my child’s year have gone back as key worker kids. My niece is in year 6. Less than 20 out of the eligible 90 have gone back. You might find a few bad eggs but the vast majority of kids that have gone back are key worker kids that need to be there or the very vulnerable.

Another single parent
I had to bin it last week as I had to work and hit deadlines
I’ll have another stab this week but at best I manage 3 1:1 sessions a week
I’m sending mine to their dads for the summer
Fuck this shit , he can try and do it

Yes cheeky key worker stories at our school too

And IF schools don’t open come sept
I’ll have to work at 80% and grit my teeth and do it

@janicewebster the head at my ds’s school has said that there is government money for those who are classed as disadvantaged and another pot to be used at the heads discretion. I’ve requested that the children who have had least exposure to school are prioritised. Of course, they won’t be because I’m told ALL children are equally important, except, a la Animal Farm, they are clearly not otherwise mine would be in school now.

@Paddingtonjuice

I do understand people are struggling. But there are not many kids in school at all really. Not many parents have taken our school up on their offer to take children back. Only 5 in my child’s year have gone back as key worker kids. My niece is in year 6. Less than 20 out of the eligible 90 have gone back. You might find a few bad eggs but the vast majority of kids that have gone back are key worker kids that need to be there or the very vulnerable.

Maybe not nationally. But there are 200 out of our school roll of 500 that are allegedly key workers (Before the rule change there were 50). So no room for anyone else

@Paddingtonjuice can my kid come to your school then? The key worker provision is full at his and bar the odd one or two kids in R,1,6 who may have specific health problems or have parents that do, they are all back. Hence the head being so cheery in his news letters. Because of course I’m delighted that such a good job is being made of educating other people’s children AND that both their parents are getting to pursue their work/hobbies uninterrupted.

I am so jealous your child gets corrections and work marked. My child sends in all work set, which is not much, and does BBC Bite size every school day and I set work from text books I have bought to supplement school work which we also send in daily. All we get is a good work or well done. It really pisses me off. Kids should be getting feedback for improvement.

If you let your child fall behind, you will be disadvantaging her.

I do 3-4 hours each day with dc and will be continuing 2 hours each day over July as we will most likely not holiday until August.

That seems unlikely. We both have key worker jobs no place available for the nursery age child and no return for the years of the older two. The secondary school did originally offer one a place but we realised that would create problems at home. They've never changed it. A key worker role is not enough for a place here, I'm not sure where this idea comes from that you can just get a place comes from.

@Lemons1571 Ah that makes sense.
Slightly off topic I know, but it looks like to me 2020/21 academic year will be stripped of 'frippery' that may need a lot planning ahead so

• no workshops, no excursions, no visitors, no residentials, no plays, no Christmas fairs etc

just essential curriculum

@caringcarer - 3 - 4 hours a day! I’m assuming you’re not wfm? I don’t think I know anyone now managing 3 - 4 minutes a day. With both parents working at full on jobs, there aren’t any free hours for school work.

Scotland here so this is official day 1 of holidays. Realistically though we gave up a week ago completely it had gradually tailed off before then though

I’m down to 1-2 hrs a day here now tops. She just won’t do anymore without having a massive tantrum and I can’t be arsed with it so just let her do what she wants. My mental health is more important and it was driving me crazy.