Page 6 | To think kids should repeat the school year

Letseatgrandma · 02/08/2020 20:55

@Flowers009

Agree and less half term

Can you expand on what you mean?

The government are refusing to pay a penny towards even providing hand soap for schools, let alone additional staffing or sinks for reopening after a global pandemic, it is unlikely they’re going to pay any extra to cover staffing costs for additional days to increase the school terms.

FromTheAllotment · 02/08/2020 20:56

So basically you want to take a working year away from the career of everyone currently under 18.

Yeah that’ll do great things for the economy, society, social mobility, and the future of all the affected children

Original poster

Everythingnotsaved · 02/08/2020 20:58

@FromTheAllotment what are you talking about? I am talking about trying to catch the kids up on what they have missed and might miss in the likely event of another lockdown. You do understand what social mobility is don’t you?

OP posts:

Ellisandra · 02/08/2020 21:00

It would be awful for my Y6. Not only would he be bored shitless (because of SATS, Y6 covered the full year maths and English before lockdown) he would likely be affected seriously mentally. To be told that you’re still one of the little kids after a year of looking forward to secondary? I think I’d rather homeschool him for a year, so at least if he couldn’t start Y7 he wouldn’t be stuck repeating Y6. My school was shit for support in lockdown - but he still did loads at home.

WatchoutfortheROUS · 02/08/2020 21:00

I don't agree OP, sorry.

I'm sure there are children who have not worked during lockdown through no fault of their own. But others will be right up to date with the curriculum, how can they be expected to repeat a year?

Plus what about reception starters this year - especially those who had already deferred a year and are 5 already, and exams, and selective schools, and private schools, and universities...

beargrass · 02/08/2020 21:01

I don't have an issue with having kids start school later (in fact, I'm in favour it it as an idea). But you can't flick a switch and that's an idea that just works. You need nurseries to be physically bigger for one thing, and to have extra staff for another. It needs to be something phased in over years. We'd stand to gain from stretching out nursery but it's not the point (!) because we'd be stopping someone else coming back to work. And then many older kids will lose a year they probably want to be off doing other things. I get the concept of the idea of this but practically it doesn't work.

Noswaithdda · 02/08/2020 21:06

I cannot see it happening hence a desperation by the government for schools to re-open.

MarshaBradyo · 02/08/2020 21:07

An issue for quite a few children is that for the last term provision has been to the lowest common denominator. This is frustrating for some children (although could be mitigated in other ways) and to go backwards again, I think my yr5 would lose it. I’d not do it and want to go ahead to next year. It’d be even worse than losing a whole term of in class school.

eeeyoresmiles · 02/08/2020 21:21

I don't think this will work, from what I've read in previous discussions of this question, but I think there are lots of other things we could explore.

After this pandemic we'll have much more national curriculum material available in online formats and maybe there could be more imaginative ways to make use of that than just aiming it at students of particular ages.

The 2019/20 year 11 and 13s are being given the chance to 'resit' the summer exams they missed this autumn. Could we make similar plans for other years? Could young people up to the age of 22 be given easy ways to register to sit (and get at least a small amount of online support with) GCSE and A level exams right up to the age of, say, 22?

Students can already do this to some extent via resits of core subjects at college or as private candidates, but it isn't routine and easy and doesn't make use of online national curriculum material. We'll have a lot more of that now.

Most of the pandemic generation of school leavers might not need, or want, to do anything like that at all, but for a few who've been particularly badly affected at some stage or other of the pandemic, the chance to easily resit, or sit an extra, GCSE or two, not long after leaving school, could make a big difference, and it could make good use of everything new we'll have learnt by then about distance learning for secondary education.

whirlwindwallaby · 02/08/2020 21:32

Dropping a GCSE would be good. My son had to take a language - they didn’t have to when he started at the school - so dropping that would be fantastic So glad DS doesn't have to take a language. I'd like for him to learn one of his choice and at his speed when he chooses to, but not with the pressure of a GCSE.

Redwinestillfine · 02/08/2020 21:42

Why? Unless they've been doing nothing at home. It's likely more homeschooling will be needed but schools know the drill now, and parents too. It's not ideal but it's doable. I appreciate I can only speak from my own experience but my oldest was relatively motivated most of the way through and I think my youngest actually did better at home. Yes the social side sucked but it's not like we're getting locked down for fun.

IceBearRocks · 02/08/2020 21:46

I totally agree !! Send the kids back in March and they can carry on where they left! Safer...kids not lost out on teaching. Re-enforcing what those have learnt and educating those who couldn't!
4 has always been too early for school......add to nursery and remove reception!

Longdistance · 02/08/2020 21:48

YABU.
Kids had already done 2/3 of the year. It was the 3rd part that needed doing. If your school was crap to not give work, shame on them. My dds school had teams calls three times a day and work associated with the subjects.
Loose ends can be caught up again in the Christmas term September to December.
It’s also school specific. Some schools have given work others haven’t 🤦🏼‍♀️

Clearyweary · 02/08/2020 21:51

I agree and would be happy for my DD to repeat a year. The standard of homeschooling from my DDs school was poor. One worksheet with a few acitivities once a week. No contact from teachers at all. I work full time (NHS), as does DH. Simply no time at all for homeschooling. My DD went to school as a keyworker child, but they refused to do any education at all. By the time she came home, it was too late to educate as she was tired (she is in Yr 2). She is massively behind. It worries me so much, and I’m so envious of those of you who have been able to homeschool your children. For our family it just hasn’t been possible do to work.

spongedog · 02/08/2020 22:09

@Everythingnotsaved

I am starting to think that if there is any more lockdown, kids will need to repeat the last academic year or really be disadvantaged down the line?

I am pissed off enough that private schools mostly got full online teaching which already shits on social mobility but any more will really be a disaster.

Aibu?

So you begrudge children with SEN finally, finally getting a decent education, many of whom HAVE to attend Independent schools because the state refuses to and will not provide an education (in the state schools) that these pupils can access.

Or are you just pig-shit ignorant about which students attend private schools?

Purpleheadgirl · 02/08/2020 22:13

Absolutely not :( DS doing GCSE in 3 year programme as are a lot of schools so they had practically done all the curriculum by lockdown......think 16 weeks for some modules rather than 4 and most of next year on thorough revision and practice. No way would they want or need to do 4 years on a subject and to drop a subject they had chosen after so many years of work would horrify him too! And child just left year 6 does in no way want to redo a year just to do sats when more than ready for secondary. Exam boards will make allowances and secondary will at some point test all the kids to get true reflection of their knowledge and teaching will reflect the outcome

ittooshallpass · 02/08/2020 22:40

DD was Y6 so only missed 1/2 a term of school. So, no I don't want the whole year repeated.

SlipperSwan · 02/08/2020 22:47

The children were only away from school for a few weeks, not a whole year. The children in year 2 and year 6 would have covered almost the whole years curriculum by the Easter holidays in order to be ready for SATs.

christinarossetti19 · 02/08/2020 22:48

FailWorseAgain that's not comparing like with like. The German education system is very different to the UKs.

Goslowlysideways · 02/08/2020 22:53

I don’t think some children will need to. Schools are modifying the curriculum to give extra support to every child. But there will be a lot of input to those who are struggling.

Stannisbaratheonsboxofmatches · 02/08/2020 22:54

Terrible idea.

Children need to move onwards with their lives, not be stuck in a spiral of doing the same year over again.

Everyone’s points about children coming up from nursery are good ones, and poor yr6 who have just missed what should have been really exciting and memorable summer, now being told they have to stay at primary school when they are ready for secondary.

Honestly it’s the worst idea ever.

SomeHalfHumanCreatureThing · 02/08/2020 23:02

@Stannisbaratheonsboxofmatches

Terrible idea.

Children need to move onwards with their lives, not be stuck in a spiral of doing the same year over again.

Everyone’s points about children coming up from nursery are good ones, and poor yr6 who have just missed what should have been really exciting and memorable summer, now being told they have to stay at primary school when they are ready for secondary.

Honestly it’s the worst idea ever.

Couldn't agree more.

Apart from being impractical, unworkable, and just fucking silly, it's so bad for kids to feel like they're stuck in a cycle.

Schools will open in September (even if everything else needs to shut), and things will move on.

There may be local lockdown, but unless it gets significantly worse, I don't believe schools will lockdown to the extent that they did in March. Even if there ends up being partial lockdowns.

FromTheAllotment · 02/08/2020 23:20

I am talking about trying to catch the kids up on what they have missed and might miss in the likely event of another lockdown. You do understand what social mobility is don’t you?

Yes... the effect of what you’re suggesting is that all children would stay in school for an extra year. This would mean that hundreds of thousands of people would enter the working world later than they would have done otherwise. The negative effects off hard times are always felt most by the poorest and worst of in society. Economic hard times are not a great leveller, the people who already suffer, suffer more, and the people who don’t suffer, are generally protected.

Imagine it on an individual family level. Which family can afford to support a non-earning teenager for another year of education, the rich one or the poor one? Which family can afford another year of childcare for a pre-schooler? Which late-teen needs that year of earning money over their lifetime and which won’t notice that it’s gone?

School and childhood are not a magic bubble which exist independently of the rest of our lives. You’re talking about holding back a year’s worth of the workforce as well as the education system. There are consequences to that!

Original poster

Everythingnotsaved · 03/08/2020 05:04

@spongedog have I said a single thing about SEN kids? What are you talking about? Why am I pig ignorant? Honestly i do wonder that people read these threads and just make up what the fuck they want

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Lifeisgenerallyfun · 03/08/2020 05:55

Nah, I once skipped an entire year of school. I still managed a 2:1 from an Russell Group uni. Kids catch up easily.