AIBU to think that online school should be a thing?

[Norabird]

I think that the government, or perhaps LAs, should establish online schools.

Not for everyone.

There have always been children that couldn't access physical school due to ill health, mental health issues, fear of bullying, anxiety, poor behaviour etc. etc. now there will be even more children whose parents just don't feel comfortable sending them (not judging that). Wouldn't it be better if, instead of threatening these parents with fines, they had the option of taking their children out of the physical school and enrolling them in an online school instead?

As a school that was specifically intended to be delivered online, the lessons would all be planned to take that into account. It wouldn't be the same as normal schools frantically scrabbling to put some home learning together. Also, children enrolled in the school would be provided with internet access and a laptop etc. so they could access it. There wouldn't be the costs associated with school buildings to run so I should think that would be manageable.

I think there are a lot of children who this would suit better than the current system. What do you think?

It has worked for quite some time for the Australian School of the Air, I believe.

School isn't just about academic learning - YABU. When they are adult, do you think their jobs should be away from everyone too?

No.
Not socialising a child will a) weaken their immune system, b) increase their levels of social anxiety, c) make them less sociable and more likely to be victims of bullying, d) less desirable to employers and universities because they lack interpersonal skills, e) if a trained professional in a learning environment can't make a child learn then they wouldn't learn any better at home without a professional...
More importantly, it's a system that would enable child abusers to keep their children at home and prevent schools "interfering". Schools play a massive role is spotting, ending and preventing abuse - without them children would literally die at the hands of their parents.

There already are online schools. They’ve been around for years.

There are already online schools, e.g. Interhigh.

@GravityFalls

There already are online schools. They’ve been around for years.

Not state ones though as far as I'm aware?

@MoMandaS

There are already online schools, e.g. Interhigh.

I should perhaps have been clearer. I'm talking about state school, not private.

@CoRhona

School isn't just about academic learning - YABU. When they are adult, do you think their jobs should be away from everyone too?

Well to be fair, some jobs are!

I think it would be useful to develop the capability, partly to help pupils who can't come to school for a period of time, or in the event of another pandemic.

@CreditCrackers

No. Not socialising a child will a) weaken their immune system, b) increase their levels of social anxiety, c) make them less sociable and more likely to be victims of bullying, d) less desirable to employers and universities because they lack interpersonal skills, e) if a trained professional in a learning environment can't make a child learn then they wouldn't learn any better at home without a professional... More importantly, it's a system that would enable child abusers to keep their children at home and prevent schools "interfering". Schools play a massive role is spotting, ending and preventing abuse - without them children would literally die at the hands of their parents.

So do you believe homeschooling should be banned altogether and every child should be forced into a physical school building irrespective of their physical and mental health needs?

I'm sure that they already mentioned existing online schools have ways to monitor their children. I've been getting adverts in my Facebook feed for Harrow School Online. I'm sure if they think they can teach children effectively that way that it is possible. And surely better than no school whatsoever which is the actual real alternative that is facing many children. Especially those with SEN.

I like this idea as a short term measure while so much is still unknown about the virus and some parents will understandably be worried about sending their DC back to school. Especially those where a member of the household is shielding. The children would need to be socialised somehow, for example a local socially distanced meet up each week or online activities of a social nature. I think also there would need to be assessments made on the home environments by social workers or teachers periodically to check it's safe and the child is thriving.

@pipnchops

I like this idea as a short term measure while so much is still unknown about the virus and some parents will understandably be worried about sending their DC back to school. Especially those where a member of the household is shielding. The children would need to be socialised somehow, for example a local socially distanced meet up each week or online activities of a social nature. I think also there would need to be assessments made on the home environments by social workers or teachers periodically to check it's safe and the child is thriving.

That should be doable. I'm pretty sure they check up on people who homeschool from time to time anyway.

YABU. School isn’t just about academics. I think home schooled children are suffering as it is, state sponsored online schooling would just be dreadful.

I don't think so, no.

@heartsonacake

YABU. School isn’t just about academics. I think home schooled children are suffering as it is, state sponsored online schooling would just be dreadful.

It wouldn't suit everybody, possibly even most children. But I think there is a significant minority for whom it could be really beneficial.

Oak Academy is online lessons. It’s pretty good as online version but no replacement for school.

Good idea, although it would I guess be effectively just a support for home schooling. The parents would need to be primarily responsible.

Inter high isn’t a state school but there are funded state pupils, with some of the needs you mentioned. A part of EHCPs

Children out of school due to illness, lack of school places or excluded are still supposed to recieve a FT education from the LA. This normally involves some tutor time and access to the authority's online school. This can be a mix of pre-set exercises and sometimes virtual groups. Its not as good as bitesize/oakleaf in my area. Its massively underfunded and getting access to it is hard. In my LA sub area the service is set up to work with around 50 children and they have 200 on their books. My son was out of school for a year and was awarded one half term of access.

Funding the existing service would be a good idea.
My only concern is how cheap and ineffective it could be compared to finding a proper school place for a child with SEN or one that had been excluded and needed more support.

I home educate, but personally I wouldn’t online school as I would worry about the social aspect. As home educated we have lots of contact with others, a mix of learning groups, trips our and local play. I worry online learning could be just sitting in a house at a screen. I don’t think it’s healthy for the average child.

I’d rather they spent the money on both schools and better mental health provision for children. CAMHS is massively underfunded. Let’s build children’s emotional resilience instead of encouraging anxiety by keeping them home. For children with physical illness concerns, specially prepared work by teachers/schools that know them will be much better than the huge, centralised and impersonal solution you suggest

YANBU. Obviously for the majority of children, mainstream school is the best place. However as the OP mentions, there is a significant minority for whom a state-funded online option would be a very good thing (those with SEN awaiting a place at a more appropriate school, for example). It would potentially provide greater opportunities for regulation/safeguarding than current homeschooling arrangements too.

It also wouldn’t preclude being part of real-life opportunities to socialise with other children (as with local homeschooling networks)

I should add, I missed most of my secondary education due to mental illness. Online school wouldn’t have helped, because I wasn’t well enough to learn. If I had been (though still unwell) real, caring teachers who knew me would have been much better than some top down online thing

I’ve met home educated children with online school or EOTAS Tutors and I do think they miss out on the social contact side of home Ed. Groups tend to be at set times and rarely fit round these things. You end up doing both ineffectually