Is my state school shit or just normal?

[Twattergy]

I've been v relaxed about the educational side of lockdown in terms of impacts on DS's learning (year3).
But today I've just been hit by how crap I think his school has been. Or maybe it is normal (state primary?). Tell me if this is better or worse than what your state primary school has offered:

1. online hub that is extremely un user friendly in which small number of worksheets are uploaded once a week. No need to send in work. I gave up and used bitesize .
2. from next week, 12 weeks in, one 30 min zoom group w teacher. Once a week.
3. from next week, one short daily video uploaded on aforementioned un user friendly hub, from teacher introducing that days work.

Nothing else. Why the small amount of videos and zoom now, after 12 weeks, at the time when more of the staff will actually be busy with yrs R,1 and 6? Am I being harsh in judging this as crap? Btw I know what fee paying schools are offering so no need to describe to me what they are doing by comparison!

Yes, your school sounds crap.

Ours have been amazing from day one.

News letter from head each week, updating us and offering support.
Daily uploads from teacher, including interesting, relevant work.
Weekly assemblies recorded at deputy heads home.
Multiple videos from teachers singing songs/reading poems for the children. Telling them how much they are missing them.

They have been wonderful. They’ve done their best to keep the school together whilst they are apart, and I’m forever grateful to them.

We have had a weekly timetable to follow and lots of worksheets to print (y3). No marking at all, only 1 zoom “lesson” so far, no emails or phone calls, and no sign of anymore contact from now on. Some of the activities are ridiculously unsuitable for independent working, so need a lot of parent help, which is not possible for two full time working parents to do. And has also been told that they definitely won’t be taking us back until September now.

Our school have been good, but only if you have the IT. State primary in a poor pat of the West Miss.

Reception get one story recorded a week and then a few activities set off it over the week. Daily handwriting practice but on the tablet of say 3 meters or numbers. 10 phobic spellings a day (word shown the scrambled, kids unscramble it), 3 sentences insane vein. Shower maths activity say 10 qns on trekking the time. That's in the am and work is marked as its sent in, always a proper comment not just "well done". Afternoon might be quite about 3 aliens or Neil Armstrong, committee in an online picture of a rocket, rewrite the story of the week, a quiz on the weeks activities etc, so a senescence of 3 of those. Again marked before end of day. Two books set up each day to discuss any queries.

My dcs go to private school and actually what they are getting is pretty similar to some of the state school provision on here.

Year 2. I have been pleased. We have a weekly timetable of tasks and have maths, literacy and a P.E/topic lesson everyday. These each have a video taking through the task and the maths has demonstrations about how to complete the task. There is a daily introduction video from the teacher and daily videos of the the teacher reading their class book. Topic is presented with a PowerPoint and videos for PE. Differentiated sheets provided for maths and literacy daily. Plus x3 phonics activities a week and a spelling test once a week. Work has to be downloaded onto google drive daily and feedback is received daily. We have had two phone calls from the teacher.

From next week we are having weekly group chats to talk about and prep for the transition from infants to junior school.

Reception I think has been quite poor. A literacy session which is a video once a week but very basic. A basic writing activity the other four days based on a video, usually the teacher reading a book. A daily maths activity demonstrated by a video. Mostly practical but some sheets provided as templates and handwriting and phonics sheets. Topic is a video followed by a practical activity. An online ebook website to read books, which have been differentiated to suit their ability. Work downloaded on a website and feedback given several times a week. Daily intro video and a weekly plan.

Originally reception came home from school with key words and phonic cards to work through according their level.

If you are so unhappy with school, then don't send them to school. Educate them yourselves, if you think you can do better. Not a teacher myself, but these threads makes me so angry.

@Somewhereinthesky

If you are so unhappy with school, then don't send them to school. Educate them yourselves, if you think you can do better. Not a teacher myself, but these threads makes me so angry.

Ffs I have a full time job! That’s the whole fucking point is that we are having to educate our kids as well as work!!

Think yourself lucky! Our supposedly outstanding primary school has given us a few of worksheets a week to be downloaded on a Sunday. I have 3 primary ages kids and they finish everything set on the first Or second day of the week. I have to try and find other activities for them to do, all whilst my and DH are trying to WFH. Brilliant. Not heard either teachers voices since we left. No contact or how are things going, no sending work back. Letters from the HT to everyone but that’s it. I think it’s appalling really. And before anyone jumps to the MN gold stand response ‘oh teacher bashing’ no, I’m not. I am an ex teacher myself but it’s just not enough to fill a week or be of much benifit to them for all these weeks.

@Somewhereinthesky yes I could do a better job than a few easy worksheets per week! Lost people could! However I am a trying to work full time and have 3 kids in 3 classes! Wtf are you on about!!?

*lots of people

Your school is doing more than my son’s school, we have received nothing since the two week work pack at the start of lockdown that consisted of about 10 worksheets printed off twinkl. My friends sons school have been amazing! The teachers must be working all hours they have had full lessons via google classroom everyday!

@Somewhereinthesky

If you are so unhappy with school, then don't send them to school. Educate them yourselves, if you think you can do better. Not a teacher myself, but these threads makes me so angry.

If the school was providing lots of work and support fair enough, but ops school is doing the absolute minimum. It's OK for people to be critical if schools aren't doing their jobs

@Somewhereinthesky I'm not saying my school is shit and I'm not complaining. I'm asking how it compares to others as I haven't read other threads on this. I'm concluding that many others have a similar provision, and I'm not alone in finding it minimal. Whilst some others appear to have had a lot more effort put in from the school and seem to be having a more positive experience as a result.
I started the thread to get some comparison for the precise reason I don't want to complain if what my school is doing is comparable with most other schools.
I'm also not complaining now that they are trying harder. I'm (pathetically) grateful for this new 30 mins of zoom a week. Because it is the first direct outreach in 2.5 months.
I'm very pleased they are doing this. But sad that it has taken so long. Again it is not the curriculum I'm bothered about, it is the sense of interactivity or connection with the school that Im sad DS has been missing.

So, there's clearly significant disparities between the levels of support that different schools are providing.

Whose remit does this fall under? The Deoartment for Education? Anyone else?

Similar story here
Year 4 "good" state primary

• weekly pdf on school website with instructions, including links to white rose/oak academy for maths plus basic instructions for other subjects eg watch a video from BBC/Twinkl, answer questions on it. We can send work in for teacher to see but it won't be marked. I've been doing my best to supplement this but it's hard when you don't know what's coming next week.
• one phone call from class teacher since lockdown

-head has uploaded a weekly assembly video 3 times. All of this requires internet access to do the work so saying they can't do online lessons because some kids don't have a computer etc doesn't wash. It's pitiful. I can't believe it is taking them more than half a day tops to produce the weekly plan and honestly have no idea what they are doing with the rest of their time. DD class teacher has no other young kids so I know she's not at home looking after them.

PS DDS brownie group have been having zoom meetings for the last six weeks. They have done a quiz, baking, planting seeds etc and a pack of materials was delivered to us by the leader - who works as a TA in her day job. They are putting the schools to shame and they are volunteers and subject to same safeguarding regs as schools they have just put simple rules in place to ensure no problems.

Y5 here.
No zoom, no phone calls, nothing marked.
Just a few activities on Seesaw less than once a week. If you are lucky the teacher will ‘like’ the work you upload.
I think it’s disgraceful. Surely there should have been minimum standards set for provision every child is entitled to and Ofsted given the job of checking up on it. Should we be writing to our MPs asking for guarantees there will be adequate education provided if things aren’t back to normal next term? It seems like leadership from the top has been absent.

Sadly I'm actually quite impressed by most of these posts!

DDs school (infant school) didn't give then any work to take home on the last day. Wouldn't give them reading books to take home. Sent an email with links to online resources then nothing for 4 weeks.

Since then they've uploaded a bunch of twinkl sheets to their website once a FORTNIGHT! They have a Facebook page where they upload videos of teachers reading books and telling us all the fun things they've been doing at home!

No online dojo/portal so nothing is marked or commented on.

Our ‘outstanding’ primary has also been crap. A couple of worksheets and some ‘suggestions’ on a word document, access to White Rose, and two short video messages. No calls, no zooms. What the actual fuck have the teachers been doing for 12 weeks? (As I know some of them I can tell you: they’ve been spending quality time with their own children and sunbathing, on full pay, whilst the parents of their pupils try and juggle work plus homeschooling). I’m really angry.

@Somewhereinthesky

If you are so unhappy with school, then don't send them to school. Educate them yourselves, if you think you can do better. Not a teacher myself, but these threads makes me so angry.

This is ridiculous. I am presuming that most of the parents on this thread are not trained teachers. They are expecting their children's teachers - who are trained - to deliver education of a reasonable standard to their children. This is literally what teachers are paid to do! And yes, initially, it was understandable that it was confusing and stressful with everything happening at very short notice. But it's been twelve weeks now - possibly enough time for even the crappest school to get its act together and provide something more fit for purpose than a handful of worksheets and links to online resources. I have never been able to get my head round the fact that some schools are absolutely fine with simply saying: nope. Not going to mark.

If someone is unhappy with the care they receive from a doctor, do you scoff and tell them to treat themselves if they know so much about it?!

I hope someone at the D of E is seeing this thread. The disparity is shocking. I’m really angry for our children. What’s bloody annoying is as as of next
week (in our area) all the key worker kids plus y1, reception and year 6 are all getting an education at school whilst the others are left out with nothing. I’m pleased for those kids but what about the others?! It’s not fair or right. And don’t get me started on who qualifies as a key either. Two mums I know have managed to have themselves listed as key workers. One is a marketing manager at a private school, one sells books in a market and the other is a dental nurse, whose surgery is currently shut. She’s got a lovely week planned for herself next week 😡, boils my piss.

I've been quite impressed with my girls' schools. 2 of them (y8 MS Secondary, y6 MS Junior) use Google Classroom.

DD2 (y8) has had 5 lessons set per day. Feedback given either with a positive comment, or a reminder to click 'hand in' to show the teacher she's ok.

DD3 (y6) is set her whole week's work each Monday - she can prioritise as she sees fit. 3 English/tasks, 2 SPAG tasks, 3 reading tasks. 3 spellings tasks. 5 maths tasks - worksheets and SATs papers. A geography task. 4 'additional activity' tasks, ranging from creative arts to science.

DD1 (Y9 Special Secondary) has a daily 'school TV' on YouTube, which sets her challenges. She also has SumDog and the option of a weekly Zoom catch up with her class. She doesn't like to mix home with school, though, so doesn't do this.

My DCs are at state and private. Both schools have now started doing weekly zoom class and some videos. I think it's bizarre this is taking place now that schools are open! Some visual contact would have really helped DCs in previous weeks and would have been greater than the sum of the content.

@echt there is absolutely no excuse to throw personal insults about the op.

We have realised just how bad state school education is, so seriously considering home educating after this (if we can get through it all in one piece and I can continue to do my day job at night). At all the parents' evenings we have always been told the children are hitting targets and are fine, but it really doesn't seem to be the case now that we sit down to do some proper writing or maths (Year 4).

I think parents are right to be annoyed. We pay the teachers' salaries out of our taxes. Surely, we can expect a decent service in return?