It's 'school at home' not homeschooling

[Blueblackrose]

Our teachers are still there- there will be lesson plans emailed most days by most school as well as other resources issued by the school no doubt.

Lots of us are trying to juggle full time jobs WFH or stop businesses from going under. I am not home schooling - my dds are instead doing school at home. They are stressed and anxious from what they cannot escape hearing and seeing- they cannot easily deal with this. They need time, love and support. They can make up a bit of 'lost' school time and this is not the time for hot housing.
Websites (MN included) need to realise this and not pile more pressure on to parents that they are not homeschooling well enough when some are worried about possibly dying.

My DC's primary isn't providing anything either, apart from a few links.

I will be trying to stick to a timetable just to try and maintain some sort of routine and my sanity and to alleviate boredom on both sides.

Our school isn’t setting work. Just given some ideas e.g find out about Ancient Greeks and make something like a PowerPoint or a piece of art or a story inspired by it. Read a book and write a review. Make something in the kitchen to practise weighing and measuring and following instructions and of course read , read and read.

I only have a nursery aged child and a baby. This is week 2 for us and the teacher in me did create a plan for my sanity. It has been revised many times since then. My priorities are keeping my family alive, supporting their mental health and if she learns something that’s nice.

It's the WFH bit I'm struggling with - I can give my dds a fair bit of my time during the day in little bursts, but my employer also has expectations.

All this talk of DC now being homeschooled (I have early secondary/ late primary dds so they need direction, help and things explained regularly) - how am I realistically to do that? And before you ask yes I do have a DH and he is carving out time but is frantically trying to save a company (and hence a shit load of other people's jobs).

I don't know what I want, but I guess someone to say - we know that working and schooling DC at the same time is a near impossible ask and we're going to try and put some large scale teaching programmes in place.

My son is schooled at home. He was due to sit for his A-level exams in April/May 2020.

He was not registered with an online programme or a resident college. For two years he had been working at his subjects and was ready to sit for his exams until Covid-19 happened.

Now, those students at Colleges and online programmes are to be given deemed results based on essentially coursework for the past two years. Yet, linear exams meant that the only result that matters at A-level is the performance in the exams.

Schooled at home students will, according to Ofqual and the exam bodies, have to write an exam in Autumn 2020 whereas their peers will be awarded deemed results. That means a loss of six months at least relative to their peers.

The Autumn 2020 exam itself might not happen as the NHS might be overrun again with early winter problems plus residual Spring and Summer 2020 Covid-19 infections. This exam also might not take place. A loss of at least another six months.

How are students who are registered for A-level exams, and have been ready to sit for the exams treated differently just because they are schooled at home and not resident or with an online college?

From a public policy perspective this seems unfair. My son could lose up to 18 months relative to his peers for no fault of his own. That he was registered to sit for his exams is indicative that he was ready. How can he be penalised?

I have contacted my MP because this is a matter of public policy. Ofqual and the Exam Bodies are treating students who had been registered for the A-level exams differently.

Could I get an idea of the experiences of other parents in this regard?

Thank you Mumsnet.

I agree with MyDcAreMarvel, im glad my school doesnt expect to be present at live streams. They have also thought things through properly. They have a programme we follow and can access at anytime of the day, no pressure. Nothing new and all mainly revision of what has already been taught in school. I'd be damn if I had to teach my children anything new, I'm not that clever to begin with and I'm not about to make myself look stupid infront of my children. I also only own 1 computer and I have 2 children, life stream would be a disaster for us.
Since the lockdown, I've lived my life children led. If my children doesn't want to do school works, then fine. I'm not pressuring them. I don't know what stress they're going through, being out of school, cabin fever and missing their friends. I'm not going to be the one to add to the pressure. Days when they dont want to do school work, we usually end up watching an educational videos or documentary. Cook together, clean together, laugh together and just enjoy one another. I'm not doing this conventional homeschooling business, anyway if you asked any home schooler, they too would tell you that this is definitely not the definition of homeschooling. I've seen many home schoolers out and about, busy with group meeting, activities and lots of fun stuff. What we're doing here is definitely not homeschooling. We are in lockdown, our normal has changed and I'm going with that change. Don't expect me to keep up with normal routine when nothing is normal right now. I really hope that op, you also stop pressuring yourself. You're already doing the best you can being mummy, cleaner, cooker, nurse, teacher and I'm guessing a whole lot more. Just take it easy.

Have you spoke to the school to let them know how difficult your children are finding it?
I bet they're finding it hard to gauge how much work to set and I'm sure they'll realise that many families won't have the time, resources, mental energy etc. I bet they have a very variable response from each child, but it might help them to have more of a picture of how your children are doing.

We've had to let my son's school know that he's having constant headaches and his school have let us know what to prioritise, so that stress levels around education are decreased greatly.