OnLine schools

[GruffyLove]

Anyone who works for any online schools - UK based please can you say whether you have spaces left this term for Year 3?

Also those that use them do you recommend - are they ability based?

Very concerned about what Sept could hold for the kids moving forward - esp kids who have been doing some learning will they be lost in a bubble amongst those who are playing catch up?

Ds goes to Interhigh now (y4) ... I don't think they do a year 3. He loves school and learning and was getting v down. He is so much happier now. There is quite a bit of homework so I don't know whether it would suit a child who wasn't so motivated!

Myonlineschooling looks good for a child who doesn't want such a busy schedule as you can pick and choose subjects

Happy to answer questions!!

Thanks @NeverTwerkNaked !

I will look into all this - my worry will there be any schooling this year? And should I buy half a term of school at an online school?

It's a tricky one isn't it!

Am happy to answer any questions (if I can)

If you want to try them with just some taster online lessons you could try outschool?

Or if you go with myonlineschooling then it isn't such a big cost if you could just pick a few subjects. Myonlineschooling also allows you to just give a months notice.

We went with Interhigh just because we had missed the enrolment deadline for myonlineschooling by the time I finally decided to take the plunge, but I am pleasantly surprised how well it is going.

I suppose the best would be to buy it and suck up the loss if school is back to normal?

My child is very sociable needs friends - really
Missing the school community and friends

That's my plan!

DS has enjoyed the chance to chat to his classmates and they get a chance to do small group work in most lessons which is good.

Outschool is a good option if you want something more "adhoc". The platform is usually just zoom but works pretty well and my children have enjoyed chatting to other children from all over the world. You do have to really work the filter to narrow down the classes though!

(here's a link that means you can try an Outschool class for free if you are interested).

The children have mainly done science/STEM classes but there is a huge variety

@NeverTwerkNaked maybe you have to DM me the link? If possible please? Thank you

I'll look at the adhoc one too but tempted to lose some money to get something of a higher quality if possible

I just forgot to post it outschool.com/?signup=true&usid=oJXLafjD&utm_campaign=share_invite_link

Sorry ! Brain is fried from long days at work

Agree for my son he wanted the full curriculum and plenty of work and so a proper only school was the right choice for him

What are the lessons like on InterHigh? Are the teachers on the screen like on zoom? How many are in a class? Sorry to bombard you

The teachers are on a video in the corner, the majority of the screen is a "whiteboard" where they can show a PowerPoint or video etc, there is a chat thread where the children can post (the teacher can turn it off as well), there is a button to put up your hand and you can also pm the teacher. The teacher can give them the microphone to speak or let them write on the whiteboard.
The teacher can also put small groups into breakout rooms so they can do group work.
The children aren't in video for the lessons but I think they can be for the breakout rooms

In y4 it's about 15 X 40 minute lessons a week. They are all in the morning/early afternoon which gives us the afternoons to get out for walks etc. They have a tutor group session and a "common room " session which is a bit like an assembly but with lots of input from the children from what I can tell.

I think the class size is normally kept below 20 but they have about 22 in DS class at the moment as a temporary response to the influx of Children.

All the lessons are recorded so they can be watched at another time if they have been missed due to illness /other commitments. They also can access all the resources shared in class (PowerPoints, videos etc) if the child wants to check something.

There is quite a lot of homework so I don't know what that would be like with a reluctant learner but in quite a few subjects they are given a choice of what aspect of the topic to research and how to present their work (vlog/podcast/poster/newspaper article) .

In KS2 they stay with the same children for all lessons but all the teachers are subject specialists and my son has been delighted with that. He's even been inspired by his teacher to be exited about his art homework where normally he would totally resist doing art

*influx of Children due to school closures

I work for my online schooling

Oh thanks @Mrskeats!

I have just been looking into a rolling contract and saw you have an early bird discount.

How are you finding it? Are many taking you up on the offer?

I really like the look of myonlineschooling @Mrskeats .

Yes we have lots of new students but we tend to start new groups so my biggest class size is 16

It works very well as students can pick and choose subjects and the platforms work well.

That's good to hear - and how does it look for kids who are of a higher ability in their year group? Do you cater for those who might things easy?

It's all very flexible so we can add more work for more able students. We set homework tasks and students often have a menu of tasks so they can choose different levels.

I think the other good thing my son has found is there is no disruption as the teacher can control the microphones (and the chat feed if any of them get silly) so the lessons feel more focussed. At school he found the Children who didn't want to learn really frustrating

Yes that's true. There aren't really any distractions. If children are a bit shy they can type or when/if they are more confident they can use their camera and mic.

I teach for an online school as well (Net School). Like the other providers, our provision starts are Y4. Classes are small (usually 6-10 children) and there is flexibility in the package of education you choose.

My home-educated daughter has been a pupil at online schools for many years (part-time) and she has found it a very effective way to learn. What is also maybe relevant is that she still emails girls she met in class when she was 9 and now (age 15) is in online book clubs/group chats with other Net School pupils. There is a definite sense of community in online schools. This is partly achieved by the schools organising 'extra-curricular' clubs and the children themselves making friends.

typo - at Y4 (not are Y4)