To think that online school might be the answer

[razzbo]

I just want a wider opinion really as my friends think this is a stupid idea... but I'm considering taking my kids out of normal school and putting them in online school. I feel like I never see them - they're travelling to school, then at school all day, then there's after school clubs, then homework - my only interaction with them is just me nagging them to do homework or rushing them onto the next thing. They're constantly tired and stressed about school things and peers and mild bullying. I'm wondering whether online school might free up some time for family stuff and getting outdoors and better mental health in general. They're on board with the idea of it - I wouldn't be forcing them - and I work from home so I'd be there with them. Am just wondering whether anyone had any experience of it - pros and cons - that sort of thing?

I mean fair enough to say it's not right for most children (true) but to peddle bullshit like that is irresponsible and fails to take on board it's a literal lifesaver for many children

reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/100003/150780

The kids in the states whose schooling went online during Covid lockdowns are generally testing far behind where they should be. Is it different in the UK?

LOL better tell the Open University. They don’t seem to have realised. Nor have the employers or postgraduate institutions which seem to think an OU education is very good.

@IcyColdDay there is a marked difference between schools forced to go online in difficult circumstances, and schools that are designed to be that way drawing on some of the most recent education research (such as the effectiveness of flipped learning).

Online schools are now being recognised by the department of education as valid alternative schooling provision and my sons school has just received a glowing OFSTED inspection.

@KeenPanda that looks really good, I'm so glad there are new schools opening focussing on wellbeing. Also happy to give our (relatively new) experience of Minerva if that is helpful

What you fail to realise is that entrants to OU degrees are generally mature and motivated to take a subject involving a specific area of interest and getting a degree in it, which they have a vested interest in maintaining decent grades in by force of spending upwards of £6k of their own money per year achieving. Totally different set of circumstances compared to teenagers forced to take a broad(ish) curriculum to pass a fairly basic level of understanding at a time when they have the maturity of a toddler again on the back of the bank of mum and dad.

personally, I have taught both formats for years and notice the students learn more easily and perform better on evaluations from in person learning. I think 95% of my colleagues have found the same.

We are with Minerva too and like @LittlePickleHead said it’s literally been a lifesaver.

Thank you for all your replies. I have been reading but not replying as always so busy. All comments (well most comments!) have been very very useful. Am going to have a look at the Queen's Online School - thanks @KeenPanda . Still in the thinking stage about this but am doing my research. I just don't see how they would suffer socially as they have social lives outside of school - and like someone else said, living rurally we are probably less isolated than people in cities because we literally know everyone in our community! And there are kids their age that they hang about with locally. They might struggle to stay motivated - but I would hope that these online schools have real teachers really interacting with them and providing interesting lessons and keeping on top of homework etc - that's the hardest thing to find out.

A close friend of mine was homeschooled and has said she wouldn't do it herself, her reasoning is that she feels she missed out on feeling part of something wider than her family, missed out on meeting all the different people who you meet in school who are different to your family etc - very much left her feeling lonely, left out and socially isolated and has effected her self-confidence as an adult.

That's only an isolated example of course. But it has made me think that if I were to consider home schooling it would be very important to make sure children remain connected to a wide and diverse community, have space to play or learn with peers etc so they don't feel they miss out on that side of things.

I think it could be about more than just having social lives outside of school exactly, my friend had friends but felt like an outsider as others went to school, so it might need to be more than that for some kids.

I think many people undermine the importance of social education in favour of academic. Think of the happiest or most successful people you know, it's social skills that got them where they are in life. It should be the number 1 consideration in making decisions on education IMO. For this reason I am very against home school or online school. Yes, lots of time in school is spent waiting turns or tolerating annoying people but that it true of life in general.

To be a functioning adult you need to learn to deal with large groups, small groups and 1 to 1 conversations, you need to hear opinions different to your own and learn when to say nothing and when to speak up. You need to advocate for yourself but understand that you are no better than anyone else, you need to see things from others perspective and to understand there are different personalities and cultures to consider. Children need to experience life with their senses, they need to see different things, hear different voices and sounds and smell things different to their homes. All of this life learning is lacking in online education.

If you’re working from home, you won’t have any opportunity to spend time with them during the workday so no different from physical school. How will you motivate them to work at home without a teacher there?

My DD was educated by on-line school for health reasons. It’s very isolating, they are not permitted to swap contact details with their online classmates for “safeguarding” reasons and they lose touch with their current peers very quickly.

You need to ensure they have some other form of social contact with their peers.

@KeenPanda who have you heard that from about Minerva? It's not true

DS11 is in classes of about 12ish depending on the lessons, with real teachers, who he interacts with (and does breakout groups with classmates to do tasks). Lessons are available as video catch up if you miss it, but for core subjects he has two live lessons a week, and non core he has one. Each lesson has a small bit of prep work (e.g. something to read then a question to answer to show you've understood) and then a follow up piece of work that needs to be submitted.

Every week he has a 1:1 with a mentor who gets to know him and who gives us a fortnightly report on how he's doing.

He has two social rooms a week where they play games which he loves, plus clubs they can choose from.

And next week he's doing a trip where he will be in a group of about 6 kids in person doing an escape room and a visit to a courtroom.

We also met the head and CEO last week with other London parents and kids in person.

So what you've 'heard' isn't my experience, I'm really impressed with the focussed support and how much everyone truly cares about the kids

And actually one of the great things about the school growing is the model means they hire more teachers so instead of class sizes growing, they have more classes, and more mentors, so the level of individual support remains the same.

But it also means more children in the local area for meet ups and to make friends. There is an app for parents to connect which is active, and the best thing is everyone is so understanding and eager to support.

This.

Imagine doing online learning courses all day every day. Horrendous for most adults, let alone an 11-13 year old kid sat there at a desk all day.

School is about so much more than learning the curriculum and the problems your kids are going through are normal.

Online schooling may have its place for SEN kids who genuinely can't cope, but for everyone else, it's really not a substitute.

Your kids can't just top engaging with the real world. It won't solve problems, it will just create new (and likely bigger) ones.

@LittlePickleHead Schools shouldn't have CEO's. They should have headteachers who know the children and see them, in person.

My dd did online school for a couple of years. I found it brilliant. She was school refusing, but she coped with online school well.

The school has both. The headteacher is amazing and spent a long time speaking with my son, getting to know him, getting him out of his shell. She understood exactly the issues that he had with school and why it was so hard, and treated him with such kindness.

In his mainstream school he never met or spoke with the headteacher. The Head of Y7 (also the pastoral care) was part of the final straw with his anxiety becoming completely unmanageable after being called a baby in front of his friends for being upset over a detention.

So in a lovely idyllic world you are right. In reality, my experience is it doesn't happen (at least not at secondary) and the teachers at Minerva know and truly care about the kids. Many of the teachers have moved from top schools because they believe in the ethos, and they also believe that traditional school is broken. The teaching crisis just lends more weight to this.

Once mainstreams school can sort out the huge failing that are leading to more and more children not being able to cope with the environment, then maybe pushing for attendance at all cost will be more suitable. As it is, school is certainly not right for all, is not leading to well rounded confidence, happy people, and for many of us taking action to address that is vital.

Just stop after school club? They get 13 weeks off a year...