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?

The link is to the suspension of the school attendance law.

Dds teacher has put a note on teams to name the children who have not submitted all of the work. I know that one of the children lives with her single mum who is a critical worker (Social worker) but can work from home The majority of the time. Last time they really struggled to get any work done With the dc, so I assume it’s the same this time. Yes, she’s entitled to a school place, but she has chosen to keep her child at home, but obviously little work is being done as she needs to work to keep a roof over their heads. I don’t know what the answer is, but I did feel for her being called out for the work not being completed as I bet she is massively struggling for time at the moment.

The way the message was written was that attendance and completion of all work was compulsory and they expected it all to be caught up on ASAP.

Op I don't know but what a welcome intervention from those that do on this thread.
We had a very hard day today, I can only work with dd when I have a break but of course that's not when she wants to work.

Our school seems to have mixed opinions. Head of year did an assembly to kick off the start of home learning , stating don't worry if you can't make a lesson due to lack of device/internet issues whatever - the work is uploaded on teams.
Since then I've heard quite a few teachers have a bit of a go at students who don't attend/turn up late etc

I'm not sure what they'd do about total non attendees though?

I would think your children will fall behind and their education will suffer.

@Maryann1975. That is dreadful. Extremely bad practice.

Well my DS can't/won't access the online work and could not/would not last time either and so far nothing has happened to us!

Non-engagement with home learning will likely trigger a phone call from school in the first instance(it hasn't in our case) and I guess if attempted contact is unanswered and there are other concerns it could possibly lead to social services involvement, but I think issuing fines would be grossly unfair.

This time I have emailed the class teacher and explained that DS is struggling. If there is a problem then let the school know, otherwise just do what you can.

There are many children not doing any home learning for many different reasons. We need to get children back in school as soon as it is safe. I think the long term consequences for loss of education will be felt for a long time .

The main thing that ‘happens’ when you don’t home school, is that your child will get very behind and be at a huge disadvantage when schools do return.

That should be parent’s main motivation for home schooling, not fear of any action from the school.

It does feel a bit like schools are damned if they do, damned if they don't, to an extent.

Anyway, although we can chase up missing work, there's not really any sanctions for doing it. The natural consequence will be the student having massive gaps in their learning, which does become a problem on the return to school.

However, we are also doing daily check ins with tutor groups (different times for different year groups to accommodate lack of devices etc) and welfare calls home. If we have no contact at all with a child, it becomes a safeguarding issue, and is followed up as such.

The EWO is assisting us with children who aren't engaging in an informal way. There won't be fines issued.

Maryann1975 - that's awful!

@spanieleyes

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

@spanieleyes

I assume you laughed in their faces?

The ones who are coping well with this seem to love making others feel bad. Circumstances are different in all households.

I want to give it my all with my kids homeschooling, I want to give my own work my all too but unfortunately instead I'm doing a half assed job at both. I actually wonder if my home schooling is doing more damage than good in terms of confusing my son and rushing him because I have to help him with any tasks he's stuck on during lunch. No other time to help to hand the work in on time. Most of the time he is misunderstanding instructions because bless him, he's only 7.

It's so unfair on younger ones in this situation. My older son is fine, he just gets on with it as his school does live lessons.

@homelearninghell

I'd like to know as well.... I have another thread on a similar theme - DS is refusing to engage with most of his work - whether live lessons or set work. (He is logging in for form though so attendance is fine) What happens now? I can't force him to sit at a desk and engage (well I can kind of force him to sit at a desk... but participate? No chance)

I had this with DS in the first lockdown and spoke to school who said that they could have him in due to behavioural issues so it counted as vulnerable. DD3 and 4 stayed home.

Talk to school. I wish I had done it earlier.

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.

School have said (repeatedly, in newsletters to all parents) that most important thing is health and well-being of DC and family. They’ve also said the next priority is numeracy and literacy tasks. DD is 9 yo.

No video classes or live teaching - but tasks to work through and online help available when needed. We’ve managed a “good” couple hours a day when she gets on with the tasks without much support from me. I’m trying to do an hour of exercise with DC every day.

School want to know if things aren’t going well, but that comes off as them wanting to help, rather than an assumption that parents are lazy, feckless idiots.

@Doris86

The main thing that ‘happens’ when you don’t home school, is that your child will get very behind and be at a huge disadvantage when schools do return.

That should be parent’s main motivation for home schooling, not fear of any action from the school.

You are assuming that the child was average or behind to start with. Some children who are ahead of their peers also struggle with school at home and they will probably not be behind when they return.

I think that the difference is that in the first lockdown those parents who were happy to take more of a traditional home education approach centering around the child's interests but not necessarily a balanced education ticking curriculum boxes were happy and other parents were unhappy. In this lockdown those parents who were not happy to home educate in the first lockdown are happier with the school at home approach, sitting down with structured lessons and the parents who were happy in the first lockdown are not as happy now.

I can see from a teacher perspective it might feel as if you can't win, but it is probably two different sets of parents with different options. I don't think that there is necessarily a right or a wrong and probably with 'normal' school there is always some tension between those who think the school should push the children harder and give more homework and those who think that the school should relax a bit and give less.

I’m wondering this to, I’m a lone parent to 4 children, my oldest 2 have autism and there is no way on earth I can home school them all , including my oldest two who won’t do the work anyway (we tried in the summer and it was just constant melt downs, it left me extremely stressed and them) they were at school but I’m not sending them in again as today I brought them to school and this is the second time that I arrived only to be told that I wasn’t suppose to bring my son in as he’s class was having to isolate and I had no email, no call, no text, yet they act all surprised that I’ve brought him in and make me feel bad about it when they didn’t even contact me to tell me not to so I’m just not sending them again, the positives aren’t outweighing the negatives but there is no way we will get any work done so I’m wondering what will happen.

Dd8 is taking a register every morning on teams. Ds13 school have only just introduced online attendance meeting but at the same time they would have tutor time at 1.40. He flat out refuses to go on a video call (he’s autistic) DS wants to go to school like it was before, he is entitled to go due to his vulnerable needs however he would have to spend the whole day with 20 others because his usual set up his unavailable at the moment, usually he would be with 2 other boys and one teacher, they can’t offer this so he’s better off staying put, he’s currently doing 2/3 hours of work. Tbh they are lucky he’s doing this. He believes home is home and school is school. He’s struggling with the change of routine yet again. His teacher checks in with him everyday even though she’s teaching a class. I know a few of his friends who aren’t doing work, they too are autistic, I think they’ve made allowances in thier case.

@Norwayreally

I have 5 DC and I make sure my three primary aged DC do all of their work every single day, they usually do extra on top of the work provided by the teacher’s. I am fortunate to have a device for each child plus one of my own and a printer, crafts, plenty of books and stationary and a garden so I do realise how privileged we are. What I don’t accept, however, is using the amount of children somebody has as an excuse. I’m absolutely knackered but I’m making sure they’re educated to a decent standard because they need it.

My DC have a zoom meeting every day with the teacher to catch up, there’s usually at least 10 pupils missing from said meeting (the ones in school sit with the teacher). We have to like the timetable post every day and that acts as a register. We’re also expected to upload proof of their work every day. No idea how many are adhering to it but I should hope all are.

It’s nothing like the last lockdown when everything was sort of thrown out of the window and we were mostly asked to exercise and bake banana bread. The teacher’s are setting work every day, parents should respect their effort and put some in themselves.

Well done you but what if you also had to work from home during the day to pay the bills as many mums have to?

Cattitudes, I think it’s a fair assumption that most children are average or behind at the moment - considering the massive disruption to education over the past year.

Even if some children are ahead of their peers, the school closures will still put them behind where they would otherwise have been (i.e even further ahead),

[quote CallmeIT]@Sarah180818 - what’s the logic behind live steaming all lessons? my DCs school is live-streaming all lessons and frankly it’s too much, even PE is via PowerPoint so opportunities for breaks and movement are really limited which impacts attention. teachers must be in a similar position and repeating teaching all over the place as well when they could probably usefully combine classes. Do teachers agree with this approach? Or is this a management decision?

I’m fortunate my DC are motivated so far but I’m sure it won’t last if this goes on til Easter - are schools considering the impact of constant live teaching? (On both staff and pupils?)[/quote]
No. Most teachers don't agree with livestreaming yet we are being made to do it! I'm a teaching Head but the decision was made by the governors (private) to livestream all lessons.

It's exhausting. The kids on the calls look drained. It's not healthy for them to be on that much technology and whilst we are trying to teach live from home our own children either are expected to go into unsafe school environments (no chance) or be silent at home five days a week.

It's an unworkable situation that will come crashing down. I hate it.

@user1471439310

I would think your children will fall behind and their education will suffer.

This. And the education of the whole class, because of the extra attention needed for the kids who need a lot more catching up.

After the last lockdown we had lots of kids who fell way behind. Many of these were unavoidable and despite best efforts all round - parents without English, working full time, or with other child or adult challenges - but also.quite a lot were from privileged families with one parent working very part time or not at all, a whole group of them were chatting afterwards about how their kids learnt loads of life skills, watched TV and had fun, and how the school would catch them all up.

As a single working mother who slaved to keep DCs vaguely on track, including one with additional needs, it therefore really pissed me off when the school said how they would be paring down the rest of the curriculum to focus on English and Maths basics due to the drop back over lockdown.

My primary school is ofsted outstanding. Yet we have no classes whatsoever, just sheets released through Seesaw. It’s awful. Though better than lockdown 1 when we had nothing at all.
Kids have 3 hours of sheets each, we both work full time in health care critical worker jobs but at home currently over Zoom. We are way behind but that’s the way it is. I can’t do everything. They learn plenty (1-2 hours a day), just not through the schools sheets. Taking lots of AL between us to make up some time. Do at least an hour at the weekend.

If the government want more they should have organised themselves better. I’m so lucky my kids are bright and won’t really fall behind. Other mums are fretting as their kids are already behind. What happens to them?

@Doris86

Cattitudes, I think it’s a fair assumption that most children are average or behind at the moment - considering the massive disruption to education over the past year.

Even if some children are ahead of their peers, the school closures will still put them behind where they would otherwise have been (i.e even further ahead),

Not in an 11 plus area where some yr6 are just hanging around waiting for secondary having had to complete yr6 English and Maths for the 11 plus, regardless of the pandemic disrupting year 5. You are probably not in such an area. I was just highlighting that it isn't just those who struggle academically who find it hard to engage. It is usually a time of boredom for yr6s who have completed the primary curriculum but even more so this year without the usual treats and privileges of year 6.