Private school & MC kids are going to be away ahead at the end of this pandemic

[Norfolker]

Just that.... I know from my neighbours that the local private has a brilliant set up online. They had sent revision work to be completed over Christmas, most of the kids I know at the private have a sahp... The local outstanding primary near us was also the same with the same type of mc parents as in the private.
Aibvu to suggest kids who don't have that support are the ones who will fall behind or underachieve in the years to come.
My neighbour in the local outstanding comp has said she spent a fortune buying workbooks on amazon to supplement the online provision! I ordered some yesterday but the thought hadn't crossed my mind before talking to my neighbour...

DN is far and away ahead of where she should be mainly because I’ve been at home and so piling on work while also letting her have fun (I’m not normally that relaxed). She’s only 9 but teachers think she might be ready for 11+ already and could even be ready to sit a language GCSE in a year. I know she’s not the only one. I send her to private but they expect you as the parent to take the lead. Not knowing about workbooks / tuition etc is not an excuse they accept.

@SnackSizeRaisin

This is why I don't understand why teaching unions are campaigning to close schools. Obviously any teachers at increased risk should be working from home if they are in tier 4 anyway. As for the rest, why should they expect to stay home on full pay? Imagine if supermarket staff all decided not to work and close shops for a few weeks...or if doctors and nurses decided they didn't fancy working for a while. Why are teachers any different? Their work is absolutely vital to society. Teachers unions are acting as though school is a nice luxury . Can't help thinking this will come back to bite them later on.

They are campaigning to close schools because there is already a teacher shortage and if huge swathes of them die due to coronavirus the UK’s education system could be stuffed up for decades instead of just years.

@GrumpyHoonMain

DN is far and away ahead of where she should be mainly because I’ve been at home and so piling on work while also letting her have fun (I’m not normally that relaxed). She’s only 9 but teachers think she might be ready for 11+ already and could even be ready to sit a language GCSE in a year. I know she’s not the only one. I send her to private but they expect you as the parent to take the lead. Not knowing about workbooks / tuition etc is not an excuse they accept.

I wouldn't expect to take the lead while paying independent fees!

Being remote means a lot of the advantages of private schools wash away. (Class size, physical facilities). In many ways the playing field should be more level than it has been in decades.

I'm honestly not sure if there is a smiley missing from this phrase or if you actually believe the physical facilities are the only difference or if its just goady.

Let’s face it- most of us would buy our children a superior education if we could afford it.

Most of us can’t afford it.

Should we make those who can afford it feel bad for doing what we would all do for ours if we could?

No.

DH and I can’t afford private education for DD’s.

We would like to be able to.

We have looked at private schools online, prospectus vids etc and then realised that most of our combined income would have to go on fees and would not leave enough for the essentials including mortgage on our very small house.

Does this mean we should wish ill of those who can or be jealous that those children will have a head start.

No.

Who does it help?

@GrumpyHoonMain if all the teachers die!? Are you serious ..... have you actually looked at the survival rate of this virus?

Christ the hysteria is incredible.

It's not just about survival rates for covid.
If a hospital has 100 beds, and 100 covid patients, if you or I have sepsis or a heart attack, or any multitude of things, we're not going to get good care.

@Ellmau

What about replacements if they get broken/stolen/lost?

I've NCed for this as I post a lot and don't want to get into trouble with my school. I teach in abroad. My school used to provide laptops for all, under government funding, which duly dried up when it all got a bit expensive.

Broken screens, discarded devices were commonplace. The carelessness with which a significant number of students treated the devices was staggering.

The school went for bring your own laptop/tablet, with provision for those in need.

All of the above disappeared.

@GrumpyHoonMain

DN is far and away ahead of where she should be mainly because I’ve been at home and so piling on work while also letting her have fun (I’m not normally that relaxed). She’s only 9 but teachers think she might be ready for 11+ already and could even be ready to sit a language GCSE in a year. I know she’s not the only one. I send her to private but they expect you as the parent to take the lead. Not knowing about workbooks / tuition etc is not an excuse they accept.

I absolutely would not take the lead! You're the one paying the school to lead your child. I would obviously support my dc & assist where is needed but the "leading" is up to the teachers. Can I ask why you sent private if you are leading & piling on the work seems to defeat the purpose!

I’m sure you are right. I am a single mother and working full time in a very demanding job that has increased in demand since covid. Whilst I feel very lucky to be in a reasonably secure role right now - my dd’s schooling was basically non existent during lockdown 1 as I was on back to back zoom calls 9-5.
She has fallen behind in spelling and grammar and I feel totally torn between being worse at my job and the risk that brings and focusing on her or carrying on and hoping we can help her catch up post covid.

Yes, the difference is large between state and private generally. However, I think if you’re the type of parent to be concerned over your child’s education then you’re doing extra work with them anyway. I work in a private school and some parents didn’t do any work in the first lockdown even though it was provided. It really is up to you how much they do. There are plenty of resources out there. Time and attitude seem to be a big factor, rather than just money.

@Norfolker It’s a private selective school. All parents are heavily involved otherwise the kids get turfed out.

[quote GrumpyHoonMain]@Norfolker It’s a private selective school. All parents are heavily involved otherwise the kids get turfed out.[/quote]
That sounds utterly shit. One of the reasons I pay for ny dds independent school is so that i do as little as possible! All the emails from teachers go to her, not me, I barely know what she's studying!! On track for 3 x As so it works!

An £80 android laptop is non-existent, if you want it to work relatively quickly, and for more than 3 month. They will break, all the time, while not being worth the time to repair, or even the parts. This is a very bad solution.

All computers break easily. The more expensive ones don’t tend to be more robust, but instead more powerful.

I can find simple laptops for £199 retail. If the government puts in a wholesale order for ~3M laptops, I would expect they could get them at £80 a unit. (We aren’t setting the kids up with gaming rigs.)

So I disagree on wholesale unit price, but do accept that any laptops could be mistreated.

Shame they can't do something on Chrome. Chromebooks are v cheap