School refuse to print worksheets!

[Chessismygame]

Ok so I am homeschooling and I can't print off the worksheets as I don't have a printer. The work is put on Microsoft Teams and the children copy the questions and write the answers or print it off and write the answers in.
I have a child with ASD and has hypermobility in his hands so writing takes a lot longer than the average child. Be fair he is in mainstream and has no learning issues just an IEP which ncludes small group handwriting practice.
I am having to write everything down off the screen before it disappears onto the next thing so he can then copy the work and we often go into break and dinner time before he finishes.
Also by doing maths on paper it would lower his screen time which is making him very tired and giving him headaches.
I have asked school if they could print off the maths worksheet (one page a day) so he can just fill in the answers and they said no.
They said they can't do it for everyone and they also don't want people coming to school to collect due to Covid.
Yet they provide iPads for children with no device to use and they collect them, children with free school meals have to collect vouchers each week from school.
Obviously I will buy a printer but I am a bit disappointed in the school!

As for the hyper mobility he is supposed to practice writing to help him try and help improve his fine motor skills. He can type, as he has done for some lessons where it is appropriate just not maths. His autism means he would respond better to doing the worksheet like he would at school.
It would also lower screen time, I think it must just be my son who struggles to keep looking at a screen, he gets tired, headache and his eyes are sore.
As for money, it's not that I won't get resources, I have had to buy things that are exactly like he has at school as he can't understand if things are different for home learning, I have spares of most things in case they break and he has a meltdown. I need him to be able to carry on with his the live lesson.
My son is very clumsy (frequently shakes things aswell) and on a daily basis things are getting broken, I have not got an iPad from school as I would feel so bad if it got broke and so would my son. We tend to have cheaper things and replace when broken.

I'm not sure why some posters are telling the OP, to get on with it, or give her head a wobble.

Her son has SEN and a disability, it's the school's responsibility ( not local estate agents) to make sure he is able to learn at home and that his needs are being met. Why would anyone suggest that a child with SEN should not be supported appropriately?

I would contact the Senco today and ask them about reasonable adjustments and their SEND policy and explain that he is struggling and needs hard copies to be able to learn at home.

docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/training-microsoft-teams-landing-page

Training on using teams

I have 3 sen kids and it's my job to facilitate their home learning. I could afford a printer so brought a printer in the first lockdown.

@Dawnlassie

If only there was somewhere that sold printers. Like Ebay or Amazon

Oh hang on

Yes because every has a hundred odd quid to sink on a printer and ink at the moment.

Why would anyone suggest that a child with SEN should not be supported appropriately?

I'm not sure why you assume some of us have experience of this or dont believe in children being well supported, just because we think there may be other ways of tackling a problem than moaning at the school.

I have two hypermobile children. One EHCP with other significant difficulties including Hypermobility Asd and Dyspraxia(homeschooled since September due to CEV), one on iep but no other difficulties. I have a bit of experience in this area

Handwriting for Hypermobility is resource heavy and space intensive. You should be writing on a writing slope with a finger grip pen or pencil. In DS case he has a right to a scribe. (Before he was homeschooling) I could have been demanding school send all of these home, including the scribe.

Supporting appropriately should take into account circumstances, both person and school. It should also have an eye on the long run.

In the long run if your child is significantly hyper mobile, handwriting will die out (except for maths, although I personally can also type set maths). Handwriting is slow and painful, just isn't practical. You will give your child a significant leg up by learning how to make the computer work for you and the earlier you start this the more natural it becomes.

Theres more than one way of doing things

In a schooling environment that is radically different from the norm, handwriting might not be the most useful thing to be working on or pursuing. You can keep fine motor skills up via cooking, playing cards, computer games, lego, etc. You probably should be spending time squeezing a squeeze ball and making dinosaur footprints in play dough anyway.

@Hankunamatata

I have 3 sen kids and it's my job to facilitate their home learning. I could afford a printer so brought a printer in the first lockdown.

So what's your suggestion for people who can't afford printers?

People are awful. There are no reasonable priced printers available at the minute. Only very expensive ones it seems. Most of us haven’t got that to spare. Many schools are providing work sheets for those who prefer paper copies and don’t have a printer. YANBU op.

So what's your suggestion for people who can't afford printers?
In this case, apply to family fund for a grant for Microsoft office. Spend DLA on office and or printer. If you dont have DLA apply for DLA

Hazel it sounds like you are doing a really great job supporting your children at home. Some parents whose children have SEN, may not though have the resources or ability to do the same. I don't think a few hard copies of maths worksheets for one pupil are a huge demand on a school. Especially it helps a child who is already struggling due to their SEN.

@Arobase op said she could afford a printer. She just doesnt want to buy one

There is also a big difference between parents who cant afford the technology and parents who can but choose not to and want school do to it for them

Some parents whose children have SEN, may not though have the resources or ability to do the same.

I got to where I am by working with people, friends and professional, with experience at home and school. When someone said you need to buy this, I didnt go kicking off at the school, i searched around for grants and saved for what the kids needed. And Yes I'm on benefits so whilst I'm in a better position than some I'm not an extensive income either. Large ticket items such as specialist seating has be done via grants but that has so far lasted DS about 7 years

Microsoft office and a touch typing course just two of those costs that will more than pay for itself by the time your kids leave school. I'm not sold on a printer, office yes. But there are charity funds that can help

Get something like this or ask on FB. I don't think you can use wi-fi for printing although some people manage to do it somehow. You won't need to buy ink for at least 6 months or maybe even a year with their starter ink cartridge.

www.argos.co.uk/product/1946417?istCompanyId=a74d8886-5df9-4baa-b776-166b3bf9111c&istFeedId=30f62ea9-9626-4cac-97c8-9ff3921f8558&istItemId=ixwlpxmrr&istBid=t&&cmpid=GS001&_$ja=tsid:59130%7cacid:289-152-2757%7ccid:599609992%7cagid:24126986217%7ctid:pla-882531610245%7ccrid:94168542777%7cnw:g%7crnd:5429799766290908192%7cdvc:m%7cadp:%7cmt:%7cloc:1006613&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=599609992&utm_term=&utm_content=shopping&utm_custom1=24126986217&utm_custom2=289-152-2757&gclid=Cj0KCQiA9P__BRC0ARIsAEZ6irh9X-LZ_01Z3rHO-LrmuvqXFx4t1bkIqLV7hGxjO7QLRoO4OMS8vrkaAuenEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

My DD's school are providing photocopied work packs for those children who need them. The packs are left at the entrance to be collected at the parents convenience. So if our school can manage it then I'm not sure why other schools can't. The aim should be to cater for all children, regardless of whether they have access to technology or not so I don't think it's a big ask to expect the school to provide associated worksheets for those children who need them.

@Hankunamatata

There is also a big difference between parents who cant afford the technology and parents who can but choose not to and want school do to it for them

This.

It might sound like its 'just print some sheets off for one child' but in reality its everything extra the teachers are having to do. We are getting sheets sent at 10pm and other stuff at 7am the next day. Then the same teacher is in school the next day with the rest of the kids and they are also marking work and answering parents queries. There is never just one kid either. There's several with a range of extra needs from struggling to excelling. And some parents are expecting stuff to be delivered or available at a time thats convenient for them.

Also the issue is that there is a fine line between becoming dependent on the school to facilitate things rather than learning to cope independently in the long term through the expectation that the school should be doing everything.

If you can work out a solution independently you should, not least because there is a lesson in there.

@TrickQuestions

My DD's school are providing photocopied work packs for those children who need them. The packs are left at the entrance to be collected at the parents convenience. So if our school can manage it then I'm not sure why other schools can't. The aim should be to cater for all children, regardless of whether they have access to technology or not so I don't think it's a big ask to expect the school to provide associated worksheets for those children who need them.

The school are setting word where it is not deemed necessary to print off as you can just use the exercise book instead.

@LizB62A

Some of our local estate agents have offered to print off school work for families who don't have access to printers - that's really thoughtful of them.

I find that rather heartwarming.

It's not often you hear something like that about estate agents, they're not renowned for their compassion (and before anyone has a go, I used to be one so I know of which I speak!)

@blue25

Printers are really cheap!

Not for everyone. And the ink costs can often be more than the printer.

If you think they are cheap, why not buy a couple for children in need? Don't forget to get wireless ones as they may be working from a phone or tablet and can't plug it in to a printer.

@Chessismygame could you ask the school for pdfs of the work and then you can write on them/type on them and email back?

My DFriend's primary school dug out their old textbooks, and sent each student one home along with an exercise books for maths.

She uses them in lessons and says it's much easier because there's no need to flick between tabs or screens. Apparently her return rate for homework is much better so far than in the last lockdown (they photograph the exercise book and upload it) and she thinks it's because they can do it without a computer and the parent can upload it whenever suits them.

Unfortunately like many things during lockdown, printers are in short supply atm. But when back in stock we have HP Envy 5000 which is usually £50 inc three months' ink. Always seems to be that price when in stock - really easy wireless printer and cheap to run if you have the budget. Highly recommend for school work for DC that prefer sheets.

It's a problem - my kids' school are trying to work around it - they had one day they tried to convert worksheets into typeable format which didn't work well... but otherwise it's uploaded white rose sheets which assume you've got a printer to work the answers out on. Thankfully my two have iPads with the horrendously expensive Apple Pencils which are being a godsend in terms of reducing down the amount of printing required.

The technology divide is a fucking huge issue. People don't print out stuff anywhere near as much these days (I only really have a printer because I'm remote learning for uni this year and I like to print out and bind my uni notes together a topic at a time) - you respond to stuff on-screen, you re-upload google classroom homework back to the school etc. People haven't needed a tablet or laptop to get their emails on for years - they've got by just fine with their phone... and now we're in this situation where schools and communities are having to scrabble around to support people and find whatever random technology they can that still works to get kids online and learning. I've cleared out the old PCs in my shed, spent hours reformatting them and deleting stuff off them to pass on to kids at school - as have loads of people. We're fairly early upgraders where tech is concerned so had some spare devices to pass around to people - but we're quiet rare. I also had seen this coming and bought both kids chromebooks when they were back in stock in September after the last bout of school closures - but I had the spare income at that point in time to DO that - if you're just getting by payday to payday you won't. And with printing the ink costs are horrendous - again we stockpiled printer cartridges slightly when we had weeks of cheaper shopping - so we've got a few here in case this drags on - but we had the money to be able to do that.

There are households where you can't even work on the assumption the kids have paper to write responses on - people just don't understand how other families live - they get by, bumping along OK in their own circumstances - until shit like this happens and it IS a problem.

Our school are alternating between online learning and work packs - just to try to keep the kids' screen time down to a sensible level.

my two have iPads with the horrendously expensive Apple Pencils

You don’t need an Apple Pencil to write on an iPad, I’ve been doing my lessons using one of these - pack of ten for £6.99!

That printer linked looks good however it’s out of stock nationwide. Its £60 which isn’t bad for a laser but the cartridges are £45. It’s also monochrome which my child’s print outs are not - they contain colours that are relevant to understanding what is being taught. I’m aghast quite frankly at some of the attitudes on here. @OP I think you need to try asking for a place in school for your child. It sounds like he would benefit all round by being in.