Boarding schools and COVID restrictions - can they still offer a decent experience?

[nevereverfinished]

I am interested in hearing from other parents of boarding secondary children (or perhaps staff in these schools?) - I have a child in Y9 who started senior school this year and is adamantly pro-boarding (3 wonderful years in prep school already). However the impact of COVID and the school's choices around bubbling are really making me question the wisdom of continuing while these restrictions are in place.

I fear they will last much longer than anticipated and well beyond this academic year, even if government diktats cease. This is based on two factors: (1) pressure from more risk-averse overseas parents on whom many of these schools depend and who may be fearful of the UK's Covid response (in contrast to where they live) and (2) the lack of availability of insurance for schools and governing bodies trying to eliminate risk rather than manage it.

The whole point of boarding for us was the relationship building and the extra curricular - frankly they can do GCSEs anywhere, and yes the teaching may be better but an able, supported and motivated kid will make it regardless in my view.

In this school, children usually board in mixed age houses and the "household" that they could mix with was restricted in the September term to those of the same age in their house - approximately 14-18 children. In reality some of the overseas boarders were only attending virtually so it was a smaller number. They have now switched the boarding houses to accommodate children of one age group but have further reduced the "household" size to a maximum of 12 - they are only allowed in their dormitory of 4 and in a corridor which has 2 other rooms of 4. Other than that they may be in their allotted classroom at the appropriate time or in the dining room again at their allotted time. They have to sit in the dining hall and in their classrooms with people from that group of 12.

We are struggling to see how this will be different to/better than online learning at home. I understand that institutional risk management is a nightmare and they have to balance a lot but am I alone in feeling that they have lost the plot and are failing to offer anything approaching an acceptable experience? This is a campus school with its own site and a small number of day pupils who probably need to be separated into their own socially distanced group (but haven't been so far - and I've read the legitimate complaints of day school parents on this site) to protect the boarders... what am I missing?

I anticipate perhaps staff pointing out how difficult all this is but if they can't address this then the business model has exploded - how can a thinking parent choose this over home learning when extra-curricular activities are about to be allowed outside in the real world, but their choice to impose 50 odd bubbles means that children can't access their facilities or do activities offsite!?!

What are your experiences? What size are the bubbles and what practical effect is this having on their experiences? Are co-curricular activities limited/available? Are your children happy to return?

Help (constructively please!)

Where do you propose home learning will be provided from? And who will pay?

Attendance at state schools is mandatory from Monday, with online lessons reserved only for those students on roll and self-isolating.

Online lessons provided by a private school will have zero interaction with ANY other people of the same age. The school experience for any child is completely different at the moment, and not what any of us ever imagined it would be like. And you'll still have to pay.

If you like the boarding experience, and your dc does too, stick with it. The staff will be busting a gut to provide some sort of extra-curricular provision - it may be very different from what you have come to expect, but the reasons why you have chosen private over state still remain.

All schools are very strange at the moment.

Thanks for your thoughts. Yes obviously we would still pay for online (as the 40% of pupils that are overseas, and who can't travel back for 8th are). My other kids are in state and yes, returning Monday.

My query though more relates to whether "the boarding experience" that we previously liked is still available at all - and I am hoping that others in the same boat will have a view.

Will it not just be 'the covid boarding experience' though?

Much as everyone is living with covid at the moment? Though I'd argue I wasn't getting value for money with no extra-curricular activities.

@nevereverfinished

Thanks for your thoughts. Yes obviously we would still pay for online (as the 40% of pupils that are overseas, and who can't travel back for 8th are). My other kids are in state and yes, returning Monday.

My query though more relates to whether "the boarding experience" that we previously liked is still available at all - and I am hoping that others in the same boat will have a view.

Nobody is getting the experience they wanted at the moment, though. It's just part of living through a pandemic.

If you don't think it's worth the money that's another thing, but I suspect for child will adapt pretty fast.

Our school is mixed day and boarding.

The junior boarding house (1st to 4th years) reduced to 50% capacity (most rooms hold 4 but were reduced to 2 this year). The bubble is the entire boarding house as hard to seperate them out within the house for social and eating purposes. Junior house continued to have prep in the hall as normal.

The senior house (5th and 6th years) is individual rooms with study desks. The change here was that 3rd years also moved to senior house (exam year). And there were rooms kept empty as isolation space. In senior house, each of 3 floors has its own kitchen and sitting space, so each of the 3 years there were given 1 each as their bubble space and told not to use the other 2, even if it was on the same floor as their bedroom (a couple of 6th years). Evening prep for senior house is in their rooms, not in the hall (they could choose, or hall be insisted if not enough work being done alone, in the past).

The boarders were kept separate to day girls for eating between Sept and Xmas, when they were in school. Lots of day girls also got hot dinners and supper in the evenings, but there was now strict segregation. And lunch was split over 2 sittings (1/3/5th years, then 2/4/6th years), compared to everyone at once, to reduce crowding in dining hall. And only those getting hot dinners (which are currently prepaid, where previous,y could be bought on the day) are allowed in dining hall, those with lunches from home eat in the "Hub" open space or outdoors. (Extra picnic benches and sitting benches provided compared to previous years).

The Leaving certs (final year) only went back in person this week. Boarding house was open since just after Christmas, but we think only a handful had been in senior house in that period - The overseas students who had returned for their isolation period after Christmas before the announcement of school closure - boarders from this country just stayed at home while they and day girls attended remotely. But Headmaster has mentioned the group of boarders keeping busy and happy there in recent weeks (he also lives on the grounds) in his weekly email to us all.

But the school itself is small, and boarders are less than 50% of students. The bubbles generally had been the individual classes, all 20 or fewer; and the boarding bubbles. 3rd year boarding bubble is 4 girls - the only overseas girl was able to turn around and go back home so none of those have been onsite since Christmas. But most other years have more boarders - about 10-15 per year.

Won't more stuff open up for the boarders as it does for the wider community? So as outdoor sports returns won't that be allowed again in school?

During the time when schools were open before Christmas, ECAs were happening as normal within school for all including boarders. Sports and music were both back in September, but some (like Lego Club - which is more about robotics and coding) needed very close contact so need some extra planning and prep before it could return, but did in November.

While schools have been remote learning since Christmas, the few boarders in school have been able to use classrooms for working by day, and get out onto the pitch etc, and use the music room and the piano in the junior boarding house for their own entertainment.

I know choir has continued remotely for all. I think the debating club and book club were doing some stuff online as well.

But it's been a better experience for those boarding than day pupils as they have had space to roam and a few friends to hang out with - whereas DD is stuck at home and sees no one, goes for walks but cannot do any other sports training as can't access the pitch, and doesn't play music or sing in choir or do debating/book club, so all her ECAs are not happening.

What's happening in lessons? Will they not be mixing in there or are they essentially remote learning in groups?

I understand where you are coming from with the thought that some of the restrictions such as the groups of 12 may continue. I would be concerned as the children get older that any mental health issue or just different reaction from one of the other 11 in the group could have a large impact on your child, especially once next winter comes along. Boarding school is 24/7.

Thank you for your replies. I think the plan is for no mixing (outside the 12) in lessons - they will be in the same room but seated separately. I have heard anecdotally of other boarding schools choosing to have bubble sizes of say 80 (a year group) - does anyone have direct experience of bubble sizes?

Bubble at DD’s boarding school is Years 7-11, as they are one form per year, so a small school. They socially distance to some extent, such as not going in each other’s rooms (they share in pairs) and wear masks in the academic building and studios but not in the boarding house. There are lots of on-site activities, as going home at weekends is discouraged in order to keep the bubble as secure as possible. DD can’t wait to go back on Tuesday.

The Year 7-11 bubble is about 100-120 kids. Social distancing is strictly observed for the first couple of weeks back after a break. They have had no cases so far.

We have whole year group bubbles, including both day and boarding pupils. We've not had any cases either.

Thank you all. As I understand it there's a wide variety of approaches but the one we're involved with seems to be particularly restrictive - they are in this bubble of 12 and can't overlap with any other kids. As a new Y9 none of them are familiar to my child yet. Because of the restrictions and 50+ bubbles in the school they can't run many extra curricular activities and almost everything other than lessons is virtual - even music lessons. My child said they'd prefer to continue with virtual school because essentially it still is virtual school (albeit with teacher in person!) but with worse food and nothing to do other than lie on your bed. I am close to pulling the plug and insisting on virtual as the feedback we get is kids left in dorms on phones during free time - nowhere they can be other than outside and while mine is very outdoorsy most aren't and just sit on phones. Does anyone know what the right way to engage with the school is? I've tried raising queries a few times but get batted away. I don't want to be parent nightmare #1 but I fundamentally disagree with their priorities and their relentless lack of focus on wellbeing/abandoning of young anxious teenagers to their bedrooms outside lessons/meals "activities" - I have heard amazing stories of heads being really proactive and getting in gazebos for extra outdoor space, running social (freezing!) bbqs etc and this is not our experience. It's dawning on me that this may not be a Covid issue and maybe it's the school. But as a Y9 there's not that long to pull the rip cord before GCSE course begins. We've spent 20 years saving and dreaming of the day these amazing opportunities would open up and are horrified by the mistake we think we might have made. :(

I think it’s the school rather than covid. They could be doing much, much more to ensure students have a positive experience. When children are boarding, the social time with their peers is essential. Otherwise they must get terribly homesick. Your poor child!