Is homeschooling compulsory?

[PumpkinP]

So I was under the impression work sent home wasn’t compulsory, my ds try’s to do his work but for some reason the app doesn’t seem to work very well on my phone and seems you may need a laptop or iPad to complete the work properly. I have noticed several times because the app is on my phone notifications pop up the teachers have said that they will be calling parents whose children aren’t completing the work. Has anyone else had this?

Just because someone isn’t doing proper revision at the moment doesn’t mean they aren’t learning well it means they aren’t learning what they have been set. Many teachers are spending time and effort to try and keep their classes up to speed, I don’t think you should sneer at that. Why don’t you log in and see what they have been set?

What I would do if possible, I'd work on things he might be struggling with/doesn't get/needs practice.

For example DD (y3) doesn't really get time , only very basic things and gets confused a lot. When things started going tits up they were doing it in school so not a lot went in then either. So we have been doing time activities,worksheets,games etc, made her some visual prompts and went through the basics again.

By the time they do it again in y4 she'll still be behind the kids that just get it, but hopefully at least have a better understanding of it.

It’s a legal requirement to ensure your child has an education. It’s not a legal requirement to that be following everything (or anything) the school send home. They are acting outside their legal powers if they suggest that it is.

(When schools are shut)

@OnlyFoolsnMothers
And does it really matter that the work set isn’t done?
It’s not compulsory for starters.
When he is ready he will log on and do some.

He is also aware that if it was compulsory, it would be down to him to catch up. And as a teen this is how it should be anyway. A lot of work on the curriculum for where he is at the moment, is pure revision and no doubt a long list of books.

I am not sneering at anything. Just at the moment it’s way down the list of priorities, as will be the case with many families. Telling them that by not doing this will disadvantage them in some way isn’t going to help them at the moment. Telling them oh they won’t catch up on the work etc

canigooutyet well we will agree to disagree on this one. Your logic may vaguely work with regards to primary school children but any secondary school child who isn’t attempting the work will be massively behind.
I think you have a very dismissive- almost appalling attitude to education, and a complete disregard for the hard work teachers are putting in to help students. At least call it what it is, don’t dress it up as a mh exercise or a different form of education, it’s lazy parenting.

I know the Primary schools I am a governor for, will contact parents if they have not received any communication from either the parents or the pupils for about 3 days. This is partly to give a nudge about work, but also to check up that everything is generally ok, and not just in respect of schoolwork. They were originally only going to do this for those that they thought were most vulnerable, but thought that might highlight that a bit too much with certain families, so will ring all families, even those not on their radar.

OP I would have told them your DC are struggling to access the work and see if there is a way they could get it to you in a more user friendly format.

If the school closures are going to go on as long as September I would be encouraging even the younger children to do some school work, even if it is just to stop them getting bored. The novelty of baking, craft may well wear off after 3 months.

DS is in Y10 so as far as I am concerned school work is non-negotiable as long as he is coping doing it, which he is. Teachers will not be able to recap fully the topics they are doing at the moment, especially if this is going to be an on/off situation for the next year/18 months. I am assuming they may have to change the format of GCSEs for the current Y10s but I am not banking on that.

Oh, I love when posters start making assumptions based on a couple of words on a screen.

But do please explain how a teen will be disadvantaged from not doing official school work at the moment?

How old is the teen @canigooutyet? Also depends on the school system too I suppose. DS is Y10 he will be very disadvantaged if he doesn't do schoolwork at the moment as he will not be able to catch up on the GSCE curriculum.

But do please explain how a teen will be disadvantaged from not doing official school work at the moment? is that a serious question? This isn’t a weeks holiday. Your child may not go back to school until September, so March-July he would have learnt nothing on the curriculum.

No, it’s not compulsory but it’s a good idea to try and do reading, and maths. Look on BBC bitesize.

For what it’s worth, our head teacher (state secondary school) wrote to parents to say not to get carried away with school work, home schooling can’t replace normal school work. He said to maintain a good school / home life balance and not to get stressed. He also stated teachers would ensure when school returned no child would be left behind.

Its not compulsory.
My kids schools seem to be at opposite ends of the spectrum in how they are dealing with this.
DDs nursery: Will phone once a week just to check we are OK and remind us they still have a foodbank
DS's school: Will hide work over three different difficult to navigate platforms and periodically send out passive agressive emails about how no one is doing it.

So which app is it, and is ALL the work done via the app?

My 8yo was initially sent home with a week’s worth of sheets. Further sheets have been emailed. We don’t have a printer so she’s using an exercise book and a pen!

"This is partly to give a nudge about work, but also to check up that everything is generally ok, and not just in respect of schoolwork. They were originally only going to do this for those that they thought were most vulnerable, but thought that might highlight that a bit too much with certain families, so will ring all families, even those not on their radar."

Yes, this is what DD's nursery is doing.

And as much as I have grumbled about their intrusive do-gooding in the past, it feels entirely appropriate on this occassion.
I imagine a family can go from fine to vulnerable very quickly in these times.

They may call us up one week and find us both horribly ill, with no food in the house and too poorly to care for the children adequately. I mean, heaven forbid. But it could happen.

We had a lovely letter from DS primary school, that they would love the children to do the tasks set. But there was also a list of "other" activities like playing board games, going for walks, eating together,... that are just as valuable!
DD secondary school in the other hand seem to have abandoned their y11!!

I know it is not a weeks holiday.

Clearly the school are happy with the situation. When he was off last year for a few weeks, I was discouraged from getting the actual work in case I taught it wrong. Because as part of the written work they need the tutorial, not all schools have the systems in place to do this.

It's not compulsory so where do they miss out?

He's learned more in the past few weeks about politics and disasters for starters, than he would by logging in. This week he's been looking more at other countries, just not the suggested ones that he would be learning. He's learned more about empathy, and why it's good to think not only about yourself, not that he was selfish, to begin with. He's learning more about humanity and what can be done.

He's learning more from my lazy parenting than he would be writing an essay about Romeo and Juliet. Never mind all the real-life coping things he will need as an adult.

When are his exams @canigooutyet?

If they are still off next term will you be doing schoolwork then?

All the things you describe eg empathy aren’t an either or with the syllabus. It is possible to parent and glance at the set work.
Fingers x pandemics is on the gcse paper when it rolls round.

OP I feel for you things sound tough. Just remember that there will be countless other people in your position for various different reasons. Don't be hard on yourself

But he will be tested on Romeo and Juliet, not necessarily stuff you have taught him. It is great to have a child who has a wider understanding of the world but that doesn't translate to GCSE grades on a piece of paper.

Ds2 is year 9 and I know they were meant to start R&J after Easter so yes I will be covering that with him.

Having had a child go through GCSEs I know how much work there is on the syllabus. Missing a term of GCSE content is huge. Ds2's school sent them home with paper work booklets which have been fantastic. After Easter work will be coming though on Google Classrooms.

I think some children will be disadvantaged by not doing work set by school. Primary is a time to work on times tables and the division facts, reading but being asked questions about the book, sentence structure, identifying adjectives or nouns etc. This is easily done in a very short amount of time at home. By the end of year 4 they should know all their times tables anyway. They can work out maths questions quicker and get more work done.

I think if you have been in a primary classroom you would know there is a lack of TAs (LSAs now, learning support assistants) and if you are lucky enough to have one in the class they are usually there to support a child with SEND or a child with behavioural issues. I think the gap between lower and higher ability is going to widen after this.

He would be having exams soon, but obviously all have been cancelled until further notice.

Next term? We will see what happens then. At some point no doubt he will log in. If he logged in now it would be simply to log in. If it becomes compulsory to teach the curriculum then I will make this happen. Me logging in before him why? Once he looks then we will talk about it.

Who knows if this stuff will be on the curriculum.

But still waiting to hear what stuff he and others like him, are missing out on by not even logging in.

Don’t listen to horrible people slagging off your parenting skills OP. You’re son will be fine and you’re not lazy.

So is he Y11? My DS would be missing out probably on pretty much everything he is being taught online at the moment, as the teachers won’t have time to cover it fully again

But still waiting to hear what stuff he and others like him, are missing out on by not even logging in I mean the answer to this is to log in and see

I wonder if pupils who haven’t been doing the work set, especially in Secondary, will have to do extra sessions in their lunch breaks, do homework club instead of other extra curricular activities and get extra homework once schools are open again, to catch up with their peers.