Private schools are performing better during Covid?

[Hoolieannabanana]

I know private schools perform better than state schools but are they actually better just now or is there just a perception that they are as they are having more live lessons? What makes them better just now in particular?

In lockdown 1 the difference was striking.

This time round state schools do seem to be doing more live lessons, but tougher to be as effective with bigger classes

My D'S is at state school and has live classes from 10am - 2.30pm every day, 2x short breaks, marked homework and the school have offered to loan laptops to those who need it. Their provision was abysmal in lockdown 1 last March pointing us in the direction of BBC Bite size and Oak Academy. This time they've really excelled

BTW, I take issue with OP's blanket statement that private schools are better than state. Schools reflect their catchment. And, if you're judging on exam results, our local state school gets better results than the two closest private schools

There are no state schools in my county or neighbouring county that get better results than the good private schools. I want excellent academics so chose an academic private school with a large percentage of A*/A at a level. But others choose private for wraparound care/fantastic sport and music.

I wish we had state schools as good as the good private schools, I'd save a fortune!

BTW, I take issue with OP's blanket statement that private schools are better than state. Schools reflect their catchment. And, if you're judging on exam results, our local state school gets better results than the two closest private schools

Your experience is unusual alas. I wish it were not so. I refer you to a previous poster who asked why they would pay for private schooling if it wasn’t better 🤷🏻‍♀️

I think the point another poster made re live lessons appeasing parents is true.

I’m heartened that state schools have largely? got it together this time around. Maybe there’s lessons to be learning going forward...

The top paragraph was from another poster

Not sure about live lessons appeasing parents- they probably do - but my dcs like them.

I doubt there's a child in your local private school who doesn't have access to their own laptop/tablet. So of course the school can deliver live lessons.

Families who only have one piece of tech between them (and a parent might need to use it to WFH) are not going to be able to have each child (or possibly even one) able to access live teaching.

You have to remember thank lockdown 1 the curriculum was suspended. Schools were effectively told to stop teaching. Some, particularly private, carried on.

That is totally different to this time around where all schools are teaching.

I had carefully researched and picked out my children's future schools before their births. My sister just popped hers into the local. She doesn't love her kids less than I do, it's just different parenting priorities

So, all parents who send their DC to state schools don’t prioritise their education @Fastedbrownie? Maybe not all families have the resources to pay for their children's education.

I agree that private schools feel more accountable to the parents, and also the children are more likely to have the right technology and enough devices to access online education.

I think with private school there will be more parents that value education. They will support the school because they want their child to do well. My children go to state school and the amount of parents that have the attitude of they can’t make my child do xyz and you don’t need exams is shocking.

I doubt there's a child in your local private school who doesn't have access to their own laptop/tablet. So of course the school can deliver live lessons

No there isn't. Pen enabled laptops became compulsory 2 years ago.

Full live timetable here.
Full hw timetable. Everything marked as usual.
Private secondary.
Fee reduction to reflect lower provision.

Overall yes, but individual state schools will be equal and/or better than many private schools.

@Fastedbrownie your comment is plain weird. Just because we “pop” our children to the local comp doesn’t mean we don’t prioritise education .

I went to a private school. I’ve also worked in education for 20 years. I absolutely prioritise education - but for me that means NOT going private as my definition of education is very different from the sausage factory of exam results.

@Lumene

Overall yes, but individual state schools will be equal and/or better than many private schools.

This isn't the case anywhere near me. Any private secondary that was outperformed by more than one state school would probably close.

Just to make it clear I do NOT agree that private school parents value education more than state parents!

I have one at state primary and one at private primary. The state school sets work (doesn’t really actively teach it but there is the odd short video from the teacher - probably 5 mins total video teaching per day). Work takes about an hour per day max. We hand it in and get a small comment for feedback. He has one 10 min zoom call per week.

The private primary has a full timetable of all the normal lessons delivered live over teams just as it would be in school with work set after each lesson and handed in with feedback given on it.

Not hard to see the gap!

I think state provision has improved greatly since the first lockdown. And from what I heard and read on here it needed to.

My children's private school has had a full timetable since the start of lockdown 1, with live and recorded lessons, feedback, all work marked etc. Parents are able to contact teachers easily, (as are the pupils), and any problems are swiftly addressed. There are enrichment activities - art, debates, all kinds of music, exercise challenges. The teachers are really straining to come up with new things!

It is obviously more of a challenge for schools without the advantages of smaller classes, good equipment and possibly more engaged parents (paying certainly concentrates your mind). Some confusing advice from the unions wasn't very helpful either, and certainly slowed down planning for longer/further lockdowns.

www.tes.com/news/coronavirus-teachers-told-not-mark-or-plan-lessons

*Today 23:16 MiddlesexGirl

Full live timetable here.
Full hw timetable. Everything marked as usual.
Private secondary.
Fee reduction to reflect lower provision.*

My state educated child currently has one to one tuition (ie me - also working f/t - shared with husband 😩😀) along with live lessons but mostly prerecorded lessons from his teacher with tasks to do afterwards. There’s enough work there to keep him busy between 9 and 5 never mind 3.

His assignments are marked throughout the day and his teacher provides a mix of verbal and written feedback also throughout the day.

I’m now glad it’s not all live lessons but at the start this really worried me and I thought the private schools were doing better. If this is the only real difference (to my experience) then it’s really not better. Our timetable is also not so restrictive that we can’t get out to local country parks each day.

Restrictive as in we don’t need to be there at a set time for live lessons.

Secondary here couldn’t be doing better with normal time table lessons. Really good provision and difference is marked with results too. Lockdown 1 saw a dip and now back up to v good grades. Exam year so they are prioritising them tg

Primary isn’t live but in some ways that suits ds better as he can do his own work at own pace.

I imagine there are good and bad examples in both sectors. I think there are probably a higher proportion of private schools delivering better education at the moment, but there will be many state schools doing well too. And some private schools not doing such a good job.

I suppose the difference is that the vast, vast majority of children at private schools will have access to a computer/laptop and internet access, somewhere to work and so on. I also think there is the additional factor that if parents aren’t happy, they will vote with their feet, so private schools have even more incentive to hit the ground running. Smaller class sizes probably help teachers too.

My dc go to private school. There schools have been fantastic both in this lockdown and last, but also in between with work practically caught up. Music lessons etc ongoing. Pastoral care also excellent. I’ve been really impressed. My nephew/nieces school have been awful- a pack of sheets every fortnight and minimal other work. No interactive sessions. At most 1.5 hours of work a day and lots of it seems rather basic. Or downloaded from twinkl. No real cohesiveness or progression in the work set and so it seems rather disorganised and slap-dash. There is also very little marked/no feedback to parents so it’s hard to know if things are ok or not. The Teachers (not just one, 3 across different years- primary school) not answering emails to parents questions/if there is a problem. Telephones answered but nobody ever gets back to them re messages left- exactly the same as last time schools were closed. This is a state school. I simply would not tolerate that, and would give notice and move if my DC’s school did that but my brother does not have that option. They can complain- and am told they (and quite a few other parents) have done so- now and in the spring- no change. But I’m sure some state schools must be doing an excellent job and some private schools which are not. Law of averages says it must be the case.

DH teaches in a private school and DD teaches in a state school. Neither are allowed to use Zoom (reported problems with security) so I'm surprised that other schools do. They both teach live, full time tables over Microsoft Teams.
The difference is that the private school was way ahead in terms of organising itself. DH has been working this way since the first lock down and his kids are getting grades comparable to any other previous year group.
The private kids are also far less likely to disengage, and whenever I've overheard conversations (as I've walked through the kitchen) they have sounded very polite and enthusiastic.
I hate to say it, as I really dont like the unfair advantage that private education affords, but IME they really have led the way.

Daughter (14) attends private school. The online learning has been flawless, with no tech issues whatsoever. I wish I could say the same about the state school I work at , but there's no doubt that the teachers in both cases are doing their best.