To ask what happens if you don't home school?

[Chalkcheese]

What does happen if you don't homeschool during lockdown? Is it mandatory? Is it enforceable? Could someone be reported to education welfare or social services? Or is it voluntary?

[MrGruWeLoveYou]

@spanieleyes is your local authority unaware that the law is currently suspended? Fines cannot be issued currently, nor can prosecutions be undertaken.

[Chalkcheese]

In a lot of schools kids are just doing remote learning but from school IYSWIM. I don't think they are getting lots of extra help or anything, and they are sharing that teacher with all the other kids with learning and behaviour issues, often mixed age groups. I don't think they are getting this wonderful head start, and that a lot of them will be behind to start with. I think they are managing a lot of very anxious kids. Just like parents are at home.

[CallmeAngelina]

@Iknowwhatudidlastsummer, With respect, the purpose of live lessons is not to facilitate you getting on with something else.

[Echo08]

@cabbageking

There must be some safeguarding follow up if a child does not log on within a certain time frame. Some attendance mark must be taken for online learning even if once a day. School should be following up with checks and home visits to check the child is safe.

Lot of home visits there then 🤔You are inferring that if a child for whatever reason doesn't engage with online learning. And there are plenty of reasons that they are not why, no Internet, may have no equipment. What an utterly ridiculous sweeping statement. Sure schools are aware of vulnerable children. Offensive statement to parent's for whatever reason are struggling.

[Iknowwhatudidlastsummer]

This ridiculous obsession with full-time live lessons baffles me.

some kids respond a lot better to their teacher.

As a working parent, live lessons are a godsend for me. I appreciate it might not be as easy for the teacher, but whilst my kids are on a live lesson, I can get stuff done! I'd happily sign in for a school with a full school day right now! Much better for them, better for me.

It's an absolute disgrace that some kids are at school, taught by their teacher but in a smaller group than normal, whilst the rest of the class is home and just thrown a few links and documents to get on with.

[CallmeAngelina]

This ridiculous obsession with full-time live lessons baffles me.
The DfE have said it's not mandatory, nor even desirable in many cases, but could be used in some circumstances where relevant.

Our (primary) parents (in a relatively affluent area) have overwhelmingly fed back to the Head that they do not want live lessons. We set work each day, but with a window to submit it until the end of the weekend, if that suits people's routines better. There is a wide mix of delivery methods in terms of teaching styles and a wide range of tasks set. There's Eng/Maths/Topic set each day, and the recommended weekly hours bumped up with reading, spelling and tables practice, daily exercise and so forth. The key is flexibility and the Head has made it clear to parents not to stress about it but to do what they are able, when they are able and we will help wherever we can.

[ToffeePennie]

Well we have no live lessons. No way of uploading work and no way for the teachers to check in.
So I can’t see how it can be enforceable!

[OlympicProcrastinator]

And you’re happy with the teachers wasting time trying to get through to you, when they could be doing more useful things

No my response was in direct response to the OP which was about the local authority enforcing fines and making it mandatory and calling to check compliance. Nothing to do with avoiding teachers although perhaps I wasn’t clear.

I have secondary school children home alone with one device because we are at work all day, out on the road, both working in transport / logistics so cannot answer our phones except for emergencies. There is literally nobody here to help them as we are working to keep our home. The school and teachers are fully up to speed with our situation.

The idea that all schools are the same, can provide lap tops, are demanding all children attend is rubbish. Every school is different.

[GrolliffetheDragon]

The teacher’s are setting work every day, parents should respect their effort and put some in themselves.

We are. Which now means spending 5 hours a day trying to get DS to do something, anything, that his teacher has sent and we both also need to work as well. And unlike the first lockdown I am now expected to do my full hours. I also cannot be furloughed.

[NameChange2PostThis]

@Ihatemyseleffordoingthis

When you look at the millions of threads on here, and newspaper articles, twitter feeds etc, about how hard grown adults are finding working from home - missing the incidental social interactions, esprit de corps, collaborative working, spontaneity, ability to focus and the craic - I think is is extraordinarily unreasonable that young kids are supposed to just knuckle down to online content, for hours, often unsupervised.

The your kids will fall behind lot also don't know much about pedagogy, or mapping educational progress.

Heyho at least the poxy pointless SATs are cancelled.

I have

a very sad and demotivated GCSE year teen - who is finding it a slog, and worse slog than it would have been in class, where he thrives, gets great grades and participates.

100% agree with all this

[Dowser]

@spanieleyes

We have been told by our local authority to issue fines for non attendance!

The cheeky beggars!
Honestly
Without any idea of peoples home circumstances
How dare they
We have crap internet
Home eddding would be horrible here

[gabsdot45]

Homeschooling happens when families decide to educate their children at home. This is not homeschooling its emergency schooling.
Schools are bvu to expect complete cooperation and 100% completion of work.

[Lemons1571]

@pollylocketpickedapocket well I kind of am doing the school a favour. Ofsted have instructed schools to deliver 4 hours of learning to KS2 a day. The primary school doesn’t do live lessons, so they send the resources and expect me to deliver/teach/guide/IT troubleshoot, so that my child actually learns something. So in effect I am doing a fair percentage of a teachers job for them. So the teacher doesn’t have to, and can spend time with the children in school. And I am doing this for no pay. I’d like to see how primary schools got on with the children’s home learning if they lose the parents goodwill to input anything into the homeschooling process.

Are the school doing me a favour? Well they’re not offering to do any of my job in return. They are paid for the work I am putting in .

So yes I think I am doing them a favour in many ways. Its not like they are doing what they’re doing for free.

[Ihatemyseleffordoingthis]

I also have a who Y9 is loving it because she is simultaneously on facetime with her mates

[0gfhty]

@Ihatemyseleffordoingthis

When you look at the millions of threads on here, and newspaper articles, twitter feeds etc, about how hard grown adults are finding working from home - missing the incidental social interactions, esprit de corps, collaborative working, spontaneity, ability to focus and the craic - I think is is extraordinarily unreasonable that young kids are supposed to just knuckle down to online content, for hours, often unsupervised.

The your kids will fall behind lot also don't know much about pedagogy, or mapping educational progress.

Heyho at least the poxy pointless SATs are cancelled.

I have

a very sad and demotivated GCSE year teen - who is finding it a slog, and worse slog than it would have been in class, where he thrives, gets great grades and participates.

Its very true what you say and I can't believe how accepting people are about this. If it wasn't women and children there would be uproar. My impression is that the general attitude of the media and politics is
get them free WiFi and a device then all will be fine. It's not an education and it's absurd to expect this of anyone under 20. Im sorry for your kid but it's neither of your failings

[Iknowwhatudidlastsummer]

You just need to realise that not all children's experience is the same. The entire world has not come to a standstill.

Other schools are doing better, others (most private but some state schools) are offering a full day of teaching and the students are flying ahead.

It's all very well to mop around saying kids will catch up and everybody is the same, but if you look at the big picture, at some point your teens will be in competition with others who are on a completely different level.

It might be less of an issue in Primary, unless you intend to go for a Grammar or an oversubscribed school who checks their level, they can catch up indeed, but but secondary school students? Much less so.

A month or 2 don't matter, we are coming fast to a full year. Depending on the plan for your kids, some of them cannot afford to waste so much time and get behind.

[Ihatemyseleffordoingthis]

When you look at the millions of threads on here, and newspaper articles, twitter feeds etc, about how hard grown adults are finding working from home - missing the incidental social interactions, esprit de corps, collaborative working, spontaneity, ability to focus and the craic - I think is is extraordinarily unreasonable that young kids are supposed to just knuckle down to online content, for hours, often unsupervised.

The your kids will fall behind lot also don't know much about pedagogy, or mapping educational progress.

Heyho at least the poxy pointless SATs are cancelled.

I have

a very sad and demotivated GCSE year teen - who is finding it a slog, and worse slog than it would have been in class, where he thrives, gets great grades and participates.

[Truelymadlydeeplysomeonesmum]

@CostaDelCovid

Can you imagine how the Radford family cope?!

I thought that the other day

[x2boys]

Not sure my son's secondary school knows which kids attend the live lessons tbh,I get my son up every morning make sure he logs on and yet I had a welfare call from his for teacher yesterday asking if he's managing to do the lessons 🤷

[MrsKoala]

No. I asked and they aren’t considered vulnerable. They already are over subscribed and send emails once a week pleading with people to reconsider whether their children could work from home even if they are key workers. They know there are lots of parents at home working and the children are able to work independently. But what can they do. I understand the rules but it’s crappy that children like these fall between the cracks.

[MedusasBadHairDay]

Do the sanctimonious posters think they are being helpful with their, "you are letting your child down" posts?

Today I have meetings back to back from 9am to 3pm. My kids are pretty good and fairly self sufficient- but I literally can't answer their questions and help them if they get stuck or if there are tech issues. Or if they have a wobble and decide they just can't do the work. They are 6 and 8, those wobbles happen, especially when it's something new they are learning.

I'm incredibly lucky in that both kids have a device, and they are both quite self sufficient with no additional needs. So I have less to juggle than a lot of others, and I am struggling, really struggling.

I have to prioritise work, my kids education is important, but honestly the bills and affording food are my priority.

[CostaDelCovid]

Can you imagine how the Radford family cope?!

[ineedaholidaynow]

@MrsKoala don’t your children qualify for a place at school?

[MrsKoala]

@landofgiants

I think schools differ a lot in who they consider vulnerable. That's the problem with schools being shut though - some kids are missing out big time for a variety of reasons - whilst others are getting along fine.

I agree. Ds2 who is yr 2. He’s 6, youngest in the year, has adhd and dyslexia, he cannot do any of the work they set independently and only about 2 things they set with my 1-1 support. He has the learning level of a reception child. I try my hardest every day. I speak to the school regularly. They understand he can’t do it but won’t give any different work as they are worried he will be behind when he goes back. But if he’s not doing any of the work surely he’ll be even more behind? I have started doing what I can with him from the set learning and then, do things I think are more beneficial.

I also have ds1 in yr3 who has asd and dyslexia who refuses to do work because home is not school and I’m not a teacher. I get literacy and numeracy done but it takes the whole day with a series of meltdowns.

Add my 4 year old who has her own issues and a few hours of work a day and it’s so hard. I try every day and every day I end up in tears. I lay awake at night thinking up new and creative ways I can get them to learn.

I certainly don’t think I’m doing the school a favour. The school are already under strain with all the key worker children (lots who are much more able to learn independently and have parents working at home but the rules are what they, are which I understand because you have to draw a line and it would be impossible to assess each on need). It means my already disadvantaged children will go back to school even more behind than they were previously.

[Pinkandpurplehairedlady]

We are struggling here, my year 6 just gets on with it independently but my year 5 needs constant supervision and there’s normally at least one meltdown. Yesterday I gave him the afternoon off because I simply couldn’t cope with the meltdowns anymore and got a shitty note from the teacher asking where he’d been and asking that he not miss anymore lessons.