AIBU to expect my asymptomatic children be set work whilst missing school

[Gienovere]

So covid has gone through our house, taking out each of us one by one. It seems to have come in from one child at high school. Then each double vaccinated adult and finally to my youngest.
So each dd had 9 days off school, but neither school set any work. One primary and one secondary and no contact from either school, despite me requesting at least an idea of the topics being covered in school.
So am I being unreasonable to think if a child with no symptoms is expected to miss almost two weeks of school, to protect others, they should at least be able to access education online?

@Gienovere

I wasn’t expecting lessons online just some idea of what they were missing so I could teach them. I got nothing from either primary or secondary so just did my own thing. *@worriedatthemoment* it took 10 days from first positive to the second positive in our house but obviously could vary. All four of us eventually tested positive.

Ever since Covid began we have been putting a weekly summary of each year groups work on our learning portal and blogs for children and parents to view. It goes up by missy morning. We have continued it as parents gave positive feedback about it. It also means that if a child is off for any reason ((not Covid positive) they have a tough idea of missed learning,

But when are teachers to set work for absent children? They're teaching (almost) full classes, planning and marking for their classes, doing all the paperwork, reports, etc, to do with the job. And this is assuming that they're not covering classes for colleagues who are self isolating. There aren't just teachers sitting about, waiting to spring into action should a child be self isolating.

I'm not saying that you're wrong. It would be great if self isolating children could be given the same educational experience as during lockdown but really - it's not possible.

@Haudyourwheesht but many schools seem to be managing something

@Malbecfan

Bloody hell. In almost every lesson this week I have had a handful of students off with Covid (plus one with a badly broken arm). Before the lesson I put a message on Teams telling them I'll start the live lesson call 10 minutes in, which gives me time to settle and register the people actually in school. I register them, explain what's going to happen, then 10 minutes in, I call those learning at home, share my screen and work through the lesson.

This is in a practical subject so I always say that they might not have access to instruments but at least they can listen and join in with singing or playing on a virtual instrument as long as they mute their microphone.

I managed to keep one free lesson this week. Every other one was spent covering for absent colleagues.

Teaching in person is pretty simple now. Teaching entirely online is more challenging but I can do it. Doing a mix is incredibly hard work but I have had some nice messages from students thanking me for including them. It pisses me off no end to find that other schools are just not bothering.

@worriedatthemoment

Maybe they aren’t missing 1/3 of their staff due to covid! We are barely functioning. I’m teaching my year 11s whilst supervising 30 years 9s next door!

@Haudyourwheesht this thread is full of examples of teachers who are managing to provide something to pupils at home. I don’t think children should be asked to spend so much time at home if there is no provision for their learning. Schools are quick enough to fine parents who take their children out of school.
Hopefully @MarshaBradyo is right and the next time they contract covid they will not be asked to self isolate if they themselves are not ill.

I just send that day's slides on Seesaw to anyone who is isolating. It's not ideal...as a PP has said, there's no teacher input...but they are clear and state what the learning is, and have independent activities with them for the children to access.

So far since September I've had 6 children test positive...I've sent all of them work every day. Not a single child has done any of it...nothing 🤷‍♀️ I am still required to send it though, so I will carry on regardless 💪👍

@OnceuponaRainbow18 this could of been forseen though and a lot of work is online these days especially secondary like maths , send some old exam papers bits and pieces at least not 5 lessons a day but something

@Gienovere

You do realise everything you’re moaning about schools isn’t the schools decision it’s the Government’s

@Rosesareyellow

If your child was off with chicken pox would you expect the teacher to plan and provide work for them? Teachers can't provide work every time a child is off ill.

It’s not the same though. If you have any other illness you can go back soon after you feel well. A lot of children are ill for a day or two and then feel fine for the next 8 or 9 days. There’s no need for them to sit at home missing out on learning for that long. Our school had a learning pack ready for us - nothing as detailed as during lockdown understandably but enough to keep their brains busy and a little on track with what their peers were up to.

It is the same using that example. Chicken pox you would not be at school. The child would be at home until all of their scans had dried over. No work would previously been set for this time, even if the child was well. Dd was perfectly well when she had chicken pox - we still had her isolate as per the guidelines.

[quote Gienovere]@Waspsarearseholes explain please, we have spent 30 days at home, what is despicable?[/quote]
You're either being obtuse or you are genuinely just not particularly intelligent. COVID-19 is one of the worst viruses to have hit the global population since the 'Spanish Flu' outbreak of 1918. It is highly contagious and has killed thousands upon thousands of people and left many, many others facing uncertain futures with something known as 'long covid'. Everybody is pissed off with the endless restrictions, lockdowns, masks, unemployment, lack of services, vital hospital treatments being cancelled/postponed indefinitely, domestic abuse rising, crippling loneliness, people dying alone having not being able to see family or friends for months, vulnerable people have fallen through the cracks and mental health is in an absolutely desperate state. The country might never recover, financially, from the furlough scheme and many people have lost their jobs and homes. But sure, be angry that your kids had to miss nine days of school and that their teachers didn't spoon-feed you activities to do with them (couldn't your children give you a rough idea of the topics they were doing in school? Do you not have the ability to Google appropriate activities for your children's age groups?) that you would rather aid the spread of this virus and put more vulnerable people at risk just so your family doesn't have to go through the horror of not feeling ill or nearly dying from covid again. Hope this explains why I think your attitude is despicable. Actually, it's utterly vile.

No one from the schools replied to your email (call?) and that is annoying. For you to suggest you plan in future to send Covid positive children into school removes any sympathy I have for you.

@Haudyourwheesht

But when are teachers to set work for absent children? They're teaching (almost) full classes, planning and marking for their classes, doing all the paperwork, reports, etc, to do with the job. And this is assuming that they're not covering classes for colleagues who are self isolating. There aren't just teachers sitting about, waiting to spring into action should a child be self isolating.

I'm not saying that you're wrong. It would be great if self isolating children could be given the same educational experience as during lockdown but really - it's not possible.

My online classwork has mostly been put up at 11 pm at night. It is very tough right now.

You forgot to mention that covid is "over" so we are also supposed to be teaching the full curriculum now, engaging in CPD, doing curriculum development, etc.

I will never consent to them being tested again after this experience. what a vile thing to say. You would risk the death abs serious illness of others because your children don’t have a few days of school work set!
Get a grip of yourself.

Yanbu. I know scjools are short staffed and under pressure, but I also know that DD’s school did ZERO online lessons during the lockdowns and that the only work ‘set’ for those at home was forwarding-on links to BBC Bitesize and OaksAcademy, an email I coukd have written in minutes. This being despite DD’s year having a member of staff working full time at home who’s only task was to provide online learning for Dd’s year (while another teacher covered those in school).

Many schools offer online learning for those at home. Some even set up a laptop in the corner of the classroom so the child at home can follow lessons on zoom. Doing nothing at all for those at home isn’t ok. Covid has been with us for nearly two years and there will be a LOT of absence and probably a lockdown this Winter. We have to get better at this.

If in doubt, get them doing work from the Oak National Academy. You have no idea the pressure schools are still under.

Flippin heck, OP, I think you need to cut schools some slack. Some schools are really struggling, they can't even get cover at the moment if staff are off sick or having an operation or something as the agencies just don't have anyone available. So any "free" time teachers have they are having to step in and cover lessons.

I've been working as admin in a primary school for a few months and have had my eyes opened, I can tell you. I thought secondary teachers worked hard... (I've just switched over). Teachers are often in from 7/7.30 in the morning, they stay till 5.30 till they are thrown out by the caretaker, having curriculum/year group planning meetings or ringing parents about pastoral issues (some of which I would never have dreamed of bothering my child's school about, they are so trivial). As soon as they've eaten some food at home they're back prepping for next day again, up till midnight. It's bloody hard for them. They have families too eg their own children off sick or parent with dementia etc.
They are all exhausted and have nothing left to give. Must be so demoralising to come on here and read of parents who moan they've had 30 days at home with their own children (who presumably have only been off for the 10 or 11 days each) and they haven't used their own intiative to look at the plethora of resources available for free online, or suggested to their older child to ask their classmate to send a photo of their classwork to them. A GCSE/A-level student has no excuse not to do work, there is so much out there online, past exam papers, loads of stuff on English set texts, plus paper revision guides etc. Stop expecting them to be spoon fed by their teachers constantly, maybe?

With your younger child, if there is nothing regularly provided online for isolating children, have you tried phoning the school and asking for a 2 minute phone call at the end of the day with the class teacher, for an update on what the class has been doing that week so you could at least do some work at home with your child on particular topics? Maybe thank your child's teacher for all their hard work, and that you know how stressful teaching has been these past 18 months and that you appreciate everything they're doing? As I said, I'm only admin, but I have eyes, and see the pressure that schools and agencies that work with schools are under. It's become almost unbearable.

Remember also that some schools seem to be better funded than others. Some have a higher proportion of kids with additional needs, behavioural problems or social problems. Some have to share TAs between classes. Some have children who have lost parents to COVID. Teachers would rather they give those kids additional help and support, I'm sure.

Oh, and yes, as someone just mentioned apparently COVID is "over" and schools are meant to be operating normally, with both parents and Ofsted expecting normal functioning. So things like educational trips and visits are expected to be back on etc. But I've tried to organise travel for even just local trips and even THAT is still affected by COVID. Coach drivers retired due to long COVID or just reluctant to work with school children as it puts them more at risk; same for any volunteers. I doubt we'd be able to ask Ofsted to take that into account though, if they came for an inspection just now and asked what enrichment activities we ran. They're not interested in how COVID is still hindering us.

In my scholl we are expected to set online work for every class whilst children are absent. When I had Covid I had to set work online for all my classes in school as well as those who were off. (A cover teacher would supervise the class whilst the children in school did the work online) Luckily it's possible to schedule work on google classroom as in a few occasions I felt too rubbish to be there in person online.
I've still not caught up with all the marking and I'm on half-term holiday where I work. What I have noticed is that several of the children haven't done any of the work set - to be fair I wouldn't expect them to if they were marked down as being off due to Covid.
The pressure on my colleagues and I has been unrelenting.

@Waspsarearseholes you can still be annoyed thats allowed
We all know there is a bigger picture nut many people are feeling like the OP now so how compliant do you think people will be with the way its all being handled now ?
We have kids off school left right and centre ,parents loosing money also when they can't work
People are allowed to be pissed off,,ever heard the phrase the straw that broke the camels back

I think in two weeks, some work should have been set.

[quote worriedatthemoment]@Waspsarearseholes you can still be annoyed thats allowed
We all know there is a bigger picture nut many people are feeling like the OP now so how compliant do you think people will be with the way its all being handled now ?
We have kids off school left right and centre ,parents loosing money also when they can't work
People are allowed to be pissed off,,ever heard the phrase the straw that broke the camels back
[/quote]
Be as pissed off as you like. I just don't agree that that's a good enough reason to deliberately spread covid. But to each their own.

@cansu

Oak Academy recorded video lessons for every year group funded by the government. Why isn't it being used?

Isolating children in our school are directed to Oak academy lessons

Havnt read the whole thread but have you asked for work? My 2 dc both positive, both same school (secondary) one really poorly, one asymptomatic. Asymptomatic child was bored and missing school so I emailed form tutor who contacted each teacher to request work be put on Google classroom so she could join in. They did this the same day. Poorly child couldn't even do his homework

I just don't agree that that's a good enough reason to deliberately spread covid

Neither do I. Parents have always had to take time off work to care for ill or contagious children and, with the internet, it’s not hard to find educational activities if you so wish.

It’s a pandemic, we all need to okay our part in ensuring we don’t pass the virus on. Not everyone gets it mild as we know from that data.