Page 2 | To expect homework and revision to be put on Teams?

Riversideandrelax · 2024-06-25T13:34:26+00:00

At my DD's school they use Teams but also have a paper planner. Some teachers put all homework/revision on Teams whether it is online homework or real life work. (Some go above and beyond and give summaries of the lesson's learning!) Some put the instructions for the homework on Teams but don't add the worksheet or whatever you need to complete it. Some just don't put it on at all. My DD is in Y7 and has autism. She is immature for her age and has a lot of executive functioning issues and motor skill issues affecting her writing.She does her best with her homework but I keep an eye on Teams to make sure she completes homework/revision. The problem is in class sometimes she doesn't get all the homework written down due to her motor skills. She also sometimes misses school and then does not know about the homework or test. Wouldn't it just be better to put it all on Teams then everyone knows? And include the resources so if someone wasn't in class they can still complete the homework. Surely in this day and age that's not too much to ask? It would make such a difference for my DD. I like to hear opinions as to if I am unreasonable before talking to the school.

Newbutoldfather · 25/06/2024 16:10

@Pfpppl ,

‘I could just as easily say that you sound like a teacher making excuses for not doing their job properly!’

You could but, as you have no idea what a teacher’s job is, you would be reaching!

I suspect that, if your hardworking boss told you about a meeting in good time, and actually told you to write it down and gave you time to do so, and everyone else knew about the meeting bar you, as you had been chatting to another colleague and not listening to your boss, it would be you who were at fault.

Teaching is a prioritisation game. It is about encouraging, inspiring and supporting pupils first and foremost. If pupils wanted to stay into break and ask me questions, or let me know about their issues, I would always stay. I got great results academically too.

Putting prep on Teams was a low priority task for me (although I still did it 80-90% of the time). Some teachers were punctilious about Teams and would ignore pupils who needed their time. I know my priority.

FrippEnos · 25/06/2024 16:16

Pfpppl · 25/06/2024 16:02

I could just as easily say that you sound like a teacher making excuses for not doing their job properly! At my son's school have done away with planners which they used to use to record homework. Teacher says at the end of the lesson they are setting homework on a maths website, but doesn't set it as an assignment on teams. If children then forget to do it, I don't think it's their fault, especially if it's set one week and not due until the next. I know as an adult I forget to do things if I don't put reminders on my phone or stick them in my calendar. And as a parent who periodically checks teams to make sure their child is doing their homework, I can't see it if it isn't their either. It's only 1 or 2 teachers that forget to put stuff on there, so that says to me it's their issue. All the other teachers manage it and it's the one place homework should be recorded.

At work we use Outlook for meeting invites. If someone asked me in person today to attend a meeting next week, but then didn't send me the calendar invite then I'd probably forget. I don't see the difference.

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If a school uses mymaths or whatever the current program is and they have to complete Hwk every week then to put it on a different medium is just creating work for the sake of it.

And TBH kids have found many work arounds to the online systems.
The app doesn't work.
My phone was flat.
The system was down etc.
I particularly love these two responses.
I couldn't upload the work
and
I've uploaded the work, but in reality they haven't, they have saved a blank page as and open source document and will then claim that its not their fault that you can't read it. Backed up by the parent who says "but they have uploaded the work I can see that they have"

AllProperTeaIsTheft · 25/06/2024 16:26

It's interesting that some teachers manage to put all homework/revision on Teams plus lots extra.

Guess what, different teachers have different amounts to do, and teach different subjects which have different pressures and complications, and whoch suit different methods. A full time teacher who is a head of department will often have less available time than a part-timer with no additional responsibilities. Not always, of course, as it depends on their responsibilities outside of school. But many teachers go part time simply because a full time workload is barely manageable.

And how on earth does it take you 10 min?! Perhaps you need some support in to how to use it?

Rude, patronising bullshit.

I mean object all you like but don't complain if the h/w isn't done, revision not done and cooking items not brought in! Why have a system if you're not going to use it!

Astonishingly, some schools still actually trust their staff to teach and manage their classes in a way which suits them, their subject and the majority of their students. If the school has not made it compulsory to set the homework on Teams, then the staff do not have to do so. Also, not all students with SEND like the same approach. It's hard to keep everyone happy.

Pfpppl · 25/06/2024 16:27

Newbutoldfather · 25/06/2024 16:10

@Pfpppl ,

‘I could just as easily say that you sound like a teacher making excuses for not doing their job properly!’

You could but, as you have no idea what a teacher’s job is, you would be reaching!

I suspect that, if your hardworking boss told you about a meeting in good time, and actually told you to write it down and gave you time to do so, and everyone else knew about the meeting bar you, as you had been chatting to another colleague and not listening to your boss, it would be you who were at fault.

Teaching is a prioritisation game. It is about encouraging, inspiring and supporting pupils first and foremost. If pupils wanted to stay into break and ask me questions, or let me know about their issues, I would always stay. I got great results academically too.

Putting prep on Teams was a low priority task for me (although I still did it 80-90% of the time). Some teachers were punctilious about Teams and would ignore pupils who needed their time. I know my priority.

Maybe we are talking at cross purposes if your school use planners or homework diaries as well. But that's not the case for my son's school. They did that for a while and it was a disaster, so moved to teams only. He has nowhere to write it down.

Here's an example of a teacher who has set homework on an external website but still put it as an assignment on teams. If they can do it, why can't the others? That can't have taken long to do.

And the difference with the work analogy is that my son has several "bosses" all asking him to do stuff. And he is part of different "teams" for different subjects, so has different groups of "colleagues". If a school has decided on one system of record then everything should be in that one place.

To expect homework and revision to be put on Teams?

Pfpppl · 25/06/2024 16:35

FrippEnos · 25/06/2024 16:16

If a school uses mymaths or whatever the current program is and they have to complete Hwk every week then to put it on a different medium is just creating work for the sake of it.

And TBH kids have found many work arounds to the online systems.
The app doesn't work.
My phone was flat.
The system was down etc.
I particularly love these two responses.
I couldn't upload the work
and
I've uploaded the work, but in reality they haven't, they have saved a blank page as and open source document and will then claim that its not their fault that you can't read it. Backed up by the parent who says "but they have uploaded the work I can see that they have"

Edited

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What if it isn't every week though? Some weeks no homework, some weeks external website, some weeks something else.

I will only back my son up if the homework wasn't on teams and he didn't do it as a result. He is genuinely not one of the ones you describe, he uses teams to know what is due and when. If it isn't there it's not on his radar. And if I can't see it I can't remind him use it as an excuse not to take him to an activity when I cba!

AllProperTeaIsTheft · 25/06/2024 16:36

Maybe we are talking at cross purposes if your school use planners or homework diaries as well. But that's not the case for my son's school. They did that for a while and it was a disaster, so moved to teams only. He has nowhere to write it down.

Oh ok, well that's a bit of a different kettle of fish. If Teams is the only system, then it pretty much needs to be compulsory. My school has Teams and planners.

BibbleandSqwauk · 25/06/2024 16:47

I use it and put every assignment on teams, with the appropriate resources. It takes two minutes tops and means they have no excuse for not knowing what to do. It annoys me when my kids' teachers don't. The system is there, it should be used.

handmademitlove · 25/06/2024 16:55

As a school, we have a policy that if homework is not on the homework app then no-one gets into trouble for not doing it. Precisely because some students struggle to remember / take a note of the work / are not in class. This includes online homework set regularly such as Sparx etc - just because it is set every week does not mean a student will remember (as I may have pointed out to a teacher who failed to follow this policy!)

We use teams, but also have a homework app that parents have access to. It is not always necessary to upload everything to teams but there should be a note somewhere of any homework set and where to find the resources.

Please get in touch with the Sendco and ask what is in place to manage this for students who struggle - your child will not be the only one and they should have a way of sorting this out. It is a very common problem within the SEND world!

notnowmarmaduke · 25/06/2024 17:11

Newbutoldfather · 25/06/2024 15:57

Just for context, I think I was pretty efficient as a teacher, but I think that it took me between 2 and 5 minutes for each upload. You had to click into the class, set a title, put some blurb about what was required and then maybe upload a worksheet. Then there might also be an extension and you would either have to attach it selectively or give clear instructions about who should attempt it. Sometimes you would also attach the PowerPoint you had used in class.

So if you taught 3 classes pre break and had a 10 minute break, that is half of it gone. And then you would probably have several e mails of varying levels of importance and final preparations for your classes after break (grabbing materials, uploading PowerPoints etc) And a colleague might want a chat about a problem pupil and you might even want a coffee and two minutes of down time!

Teaching is the ultimate InBox sorting task and uploading a Year 7 prep to Firefly or Teams comes pretty low in terms of priority.

I am not saying that it shouldn’t be done; it should. But pupils should proactively look for their prep, not passively scan Teams and hope for the best. Same goes (even more so) for parents when they are helping.

and the speed is dependent on the system, not the teacher, and how many teachers are currently using it. Just because one teacher can load something in 5 mins, doesn't mean that is possible for another teacher

Scarletttulips · 25/06/2024 17:15

It’s a nice to have -

Teachers are there to teach your child 9-3

After that it’s your responsibility

As a mother of teens I can tell you hime isn’t an extension of school - it should be a different learning environment - cooking, gardening, meal planning, reading the gas bill -

These are your extension tasks.

HuongVuong3 · 25/06/2024 17:19

This thread is a wonderful example of why teachers are leaving the classroom in such huge numbers.

Rude, arrogant, patronising parents making excuse after excuse and blaming the teacher for their child's mistakes.

Original poster

Riversideandrelax · 25/06/2024 17:24

Newbutoldfather · 25/06/2024 15:27

I think it is good practice for a teacher to both write prep on the board in good time in the lesson (5 to 10 mins before end) and also to put it on Teams.

However, I did forget from time to time and did not take kindly to being pulled up on it. Ultimately secondary pupils do need to take responsibility for their own learning and, if they have SEN, systems need to be put in place to support them.

But there are lots of ways that your daughter can help herself and lots of ways to help her. She should ask a friend to share a picture of the prep with her, If she can’t do that, you could maybe ask a supportive parent in her class.

There is nothing wrong with politely asking the school to remind teachers to put the homework on Teams, but you should also remind your daughter to try to help herself.

I can assure you my daughter expends excess of her energy trying to help herself everyday. I have no need to remind her.

You say there is nothing wrong with politely asking but also you didn't take kindly to being pulled up. So which is it?

I agree systems need to be put into place but surely Teams is one such system? It would make life so much easier with a SEN DC.

And I'm not talking about the odd time someone forgot. I'm talking about hardly ever using it at all.

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Original poster

Riversideandrelax · 25/06/2024 17:27

Pfpppl · 25/06/2024 15:29

My son's school moved exclusively to Teams and some teachers still don't put everything on there. And then give the kids detentions for not doing work that they set on an online maths app for example. Drives me nuts. I don't think it's too much to ask for everything to be in one place. Maybe having class materials added is a bit too much to expect, but the actual homework should be there.

I completely agree. Why have a system and then not use it? You end up having to search multiple platforms and the planner. I mean the thing with the class materials is surely they end up having to reply and send to students the materials online or in person which must take longer than just attaching the worksheet for everyone.

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Original poster

Riversideandrelax · 25/06/2024 17:30

reluctantbrit · 25/06/2024 15:31

The school has to put a plan in place for your DD. Talk to the SEN department and get form tutor.

it can’t be that she has to rely on others students, sorry.

I know one of D’s fellow pupils is sever dyslexic and was allowed to take photos of the board instead of writing it down, but the phone was in her bag until the last 5 minutes of each class. Such things aren’t different to her using a laptop later for anything they wrote during class time. The plan was tailor made for her.

Impossible to speak to SEN department - never get back to me and I email her form tutor with no luck either. It's not that easy to get things put into place.

I've not said about her relying on other students - that's what lots of replies suggest and I don't think it's fair on the other student.

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BibbleandSqwauk · 25/06/2024 17:33

I teach. Yes there are aspects that are hard and there are some schools where it is completely unbearable and I am fortunate to be in a place that is fine but teachers are fallible and do sometimes get it wrong. I see colleagues tell off kids for missing or being late to activities because another member of staff hasn't let them leave X early, or let them into lunch as they should, or give them time to get changed. My form class complain about the lack of homework on Teams because if they miss a lesson through illness or a music lesson its difficult to find out exactly what it is - teens are not the most reliable source to catch up from. I can fill in the Teams assignment boxes in the two mins it takes for the kids to pack up and write "See Teams, due Tuesday" in their planners. Its really not hard and helps me too because I can see what I set and when I said it was due.

Of course teens are feckless and lazy and use every excuse under the sun but you just stay ahead of it and tech excuses are not accepted unless it genuinely is a total fail of the device - which I can usually check with a parent. I think its different in schools where students may well not have good access but then you set paper based work accordingly. I don't like the extremes on here of either teacher bashing or insisting they are the most wonderful selfless people who can do no wrong and work 28 hour days and all issues are kids' fault.

Soontobe60 · 25/06/2024 17:35

Riversideandrelax · 25/06/2024 15:06

It's interesting that some teachers manage to put all homework/revision on Teams plus lots extra.

And how on earth does it take you 10 min?! Perhaps you need some support in to how to use it?

I mean object all you like but don't complain if the h/w isn't done, revision not done and cooking items not brought in! Why have a system if you're not going to use it!

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Perhaps you need to spend a day shadowing a teacher with a full timetable!
For every lesson I teach, I will usually spend 10 mins tweaking the planning, 10 minutes printing off any resources and 30 minutes marking the finished work.

Original poster

Riversideandrelax · 25/06/2024 17:38

Talipesmum · 25/06/2024 15:35

We had this sort of double system at our secondary for a while. They always used to write it all in their homework diaries and that was the rule. Then they introduced a homework app thing, and teachers were supposed to put it on there, but for about a year there was a right mish mash of the app and the written diary. It was quite hard for the kids to manage. Eventually it has all shifted to the app and it’s much better.

It took a few years though before we would absolutely leave the kids to it though. We did a lot of checking and asking each day what homework they’d been given etc. Gradually wound back once they proved they were managing it all themselves (though we still check in). So don’t feel bad that you need to hover and help - it’s pretty normal.

I would ask the school, but do bear in mind that it’ll be easier for some teachers than others, it took a while for some of ours to get the hang of doing it a different way, and they’re all hugely busy. I’d approach it in a “teams is really helpful and I’d like to give feedback that it’s a great thing and it would be good for us if more teachers used it” kind of way. Be really careful not to give any hint of “it’s the teachers fault my child isn’t doing their homework” !

That's exactly how it is - a Mish mash, with noone knowing if they're coming or going! That was what I was saying about the teacher who it took them 10 minutes to put something on Teams because I appreciate it can take time to get the hang of something new. But I just got a defensive reply which seems to be the par for the course from many teachers these days!

Teams helps many SEN children. It would be nice for them to want to be inclusive in that way. Just seems an easy win for me if you want your SEN children

As much as I get what you're saying about not daring to suggest something could be a teachers fault, they all apparently want engaged parents who encourage homework etc. I have to say when I taught I would have bitten the hand off a parent like me! 😂

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Original poster

Riversideandrelax · 25/06/2024 17:44

SonicTheHodgeheg · 25/06/2024 15:42

You mentioned cooking ingredients as an example. My son’s school provided ingredient lists for the whole term at the start of term and if he lost that list then he would have asked a friend to send a photo of their list. It was a paper list rather than teams and my son with ADHD knew to photograph and send me a copy (as I buy the ingredients ) as soon as he got the list.

If I hadn’t recorded my homework correctly back when I was at school then I would have called a friend. Does your dd have a friend that she can call? Taking a photo of a planner takes seconds

I would love that! Surely they know the plan for the term? The added confusion is that Technology doesn't work how it did when I was at school. We had blocks of cookery, textiles etc. But at her school it is all over the place. One week they're sewing, the next cooking, then graphics but not even regularly it's all over the place. The Educational Psychologist has asked the school to give me a timetable for it but nothing as yet.

The trouble is she's not got a friend who is in all her classes. It's a bit complicated. But it could help a bit, thank you.

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Soontobe60 · 25/06/2024 17:45

BibbleandSqwauk · 25/06/2024 16:47

I use it and put every assignment on teams, with the appropriate resources. It takes two minutes tops and means they have no excuse for not knowing what to do. It annoys me when my kids' teachers don't. The system is there, it should be used.

Out of interest, when do you do this?

Original poster

Riversideandrelax · 25/06/2024 17:52

redskydarknight · 25/06/2024 15:43

Schools don't generally expect Year 7 chlidren to do the homework if they are not in class (as they would have missed the lesson leading up to the homework).

If your DC is with a learning mentor, then there should be something in place for her to "catch up" on what she's missed in the lesson she's not attending. The onus is not on DD's (or your) shoulders to work out how to do this.

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I see. Well, that's at least good to know. But I don't like her to get behind so I generally do all the homework that I'm aware of with her even if she missed the lesson. There has been nothing put in place for her to catch up.

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Riversideandrelax · 25/06/2024 17:54

summersofdoom · 25/06/2024 15:53

why are you being so rude?

You sound like another of these parents who believe teachers stroll into classrooms at 9am and leave at 3pm doing not much in between.

In an ideal world, I am sure the perfect system would be prefered. Feel free to pay for specific private school with much smaller classrooms and more staff who have time to keep the parents happy.

Perhaps you need some support on how schools actually work?

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No ex-teacher here, no support needed!

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Original poster

Riversideandrelax · 25/06/2024 18:05

Newbutoldfather · 25/06/2024 15:57

Just for context, I think I was pretty efficient as a teacher, but I think that it took me between 2 and 5 minutes for each upload. You had to click into the class, set a title, put some blurb about what was required and then maybe upload a worksheet. Then there might also be an extension and you would either have to attach it selectively or give clear instructions about who should attempt it. Sometimes you would also attach the PowerPoint you had used in class.

So if you taught 3 classes pre break and had a 10 minute break, that is half of it gone. And then you would probably have several e mails of varying levels of importance and final preparations for your classes after break (grabbing materials, uploading PowerPoints etc) And a colleague might want a chat about a problem pupil and you might even want a coffee and two minutes of down time!

Teaching is the ultimate InBox sorting task and uploading a Year 7 prep to Firefly or Teams comes pretty low in terms of priority.

I am not saying that it shouldn’t be done; it should. But pupils should proactively look for their prep, not passively scan Teams and hope for the best. Same goes (even more so) for parents when they are helping.

Most don't include a resource so just a bit of writing.

As I said there are some that go above and beyond and attach all sorts of stuff.

I genuinely wondered how they manage that but apparently that is being 'passive aggressive'. Might be in the NT world but I'm autistic so it's just called genuinely wondering...

I'm not understanding what you mean about 3 classes before break? How long are your classes if you can fit 3 in before break? And how is half of your break gone?

I should proactively 'look for prep' not just 'passively scan Team'? Not sure they'd let me into the school building to be actively going on a treasure hunt to find homework! 😉 I think it's very poor to expect pupils and their parents to hunt for homework. Just put it on Teams!

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Riversideandrelax · 25/06/2024 18:12

Newbutoldfather · 25/06/2024 16:10

@Pfpppl ,

‘I could just as easily say that you sound like a teacher making excuses for not doing their job properly!’

You could but, as you have no idea what a teacher’s job is, you would be reaching!

I suspect that, if your hardworking boss told you about a meeting in good time, and actually told you to write it down and gave you time to do so, and everyone else knew about the meeting bar you, as you had been chatting to another colleague and not listening to your boss, it would be you who were at fault.

Teaching is a prioritisation game. It is about encouraging, inspiring and supporting pupils first and foremost. If pupils wanted to stay into break and ask me questions, or let me know about their issues, I would always stay. I got great results academically too.

Putting prep on Teams was a low priority task for me (although I still did it 80-90% of the time). Some teachers were punctilious about Teams and would ignore pupils who needed their time. I know my priority.

And I have to say the teacher who is the best with Teams is one of the best in class. She's just amazing.

And the one who is the worst, she's the worst in class.

So I certainly don't see uploading homework onto Teams (which wouldn't be every lesson anyway. Maybe once every 2-4 weeks - except Maths and English which is about once a week) affecting the teachers in class here. Just from a small sample of course!

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Original poster

Riversideandrelax · 25/06/2024 18:15

Pfpppl · 25/06/2024 16:02

I could just as easily say that you sound like a teacher making excuses for not doing their job properly! At my son's school have done away with planners which they used to use to record homework. Teacher says at the end of the lesson they are setting homework on a maths website, but doesn't set it as an assignment on teams. If children then forget to do it, I don't think it's their fault, especially if it's set one week and not due until the next. I know as an adult I forget to do things if I don't put reminders on my phone or stick them in my calendar. And as a parent who periodically checks teams to make sure their child is doing their homework, I can't see it if it isn't their either. It's only 1 or 2 teachers that forget to put stuff on there, so that says to me it's their issue. All the other teachers manage it and it's the one place homework should be recorded.

At work we use Outlook for meeting invites. If someone asked me in person today to attend a meeting next week, but then didn't send me the calendar invite then I'd probably forget. I don't see the difference.

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Yes, the same here. It's the same ones that don't - it's not an occasional not having time or forgetting.

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Riversideandrelax · 25/06/2024 18:20

Newbutoldfather · 25/06/2024 16:10

@Pfpppl ,

‘I could just as easily say that you sound like a teacher making excuses for not doing their job properly!’

You could but, as you have no idea what a teacher’s job is, you would be reaching!

I suspect that, if your hardworking boss told you about a meeting in good time, and actually told you to write it down and gave you time to do so, and everyone else knew about the meeting bar you, as you had been chatting to another colleague and not listening to your boss, it would be you who were at fault.

Teaching is a prioritisation game. It is about encouraging, inspiring and supporting pupils first and foremost. If pupils wanted to stay into break and ask me questions, or let me know about their issues, I would always stay. I got great results academically too.

Putting prep on Teams was a low priority task for me (although I still did it 80-90% of the time). Some teachers were punctilious about Teams and would ignore pupils who needed their time. I know my priority.

Except that's not what's happening. And I hate to say it but the worst offender can't be bothered putting things on Teams, can't be bothered in class, can't be bothered answering emails and can't be bothered at parents evening.

And honestly 'no idea what a teacher's job is!' - that's hyperbole!

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