Still no news or a plan for reopening in September

[EmpireFa11]

Just a big cheque for “tutoring”.

Who is going to be doing it? The best qualified are already working in schools. Those not will have limitations on knowledge re present methods and curriculum. How are they going to be trained and CRB checked in their droves?Who is going to be assessing for need?

Wouldn’t it be better to spend the money on getting children back into school.

I’m asking because none of these questions will be asked or answered at the briefing.

[Lemons1571]

research suggests having sessions three times a week for 12 weeks can help children make up five months of lost learning

Not sure the maths quite adds up here!

[disconnecteddrifter]

Oh god. I really really hope schools are back in september. I'm a teacher and planning work at home is ok, marking each piece of work in lieu of verbal feedback is mind numbing. We do live lessons and live feedback but not everyone can access or it issues and it's not the same. Obviously I want everyone to be healthy but surely the virus is almost dying out now.

[Lemons1571]

I don’t think they can get all kids back to school full time. I think they known this. Schools are too small, rooms and corridors too small, crammed with kids. Distancing not possible.

I think they’re playing for time, while they rush the Oxford vaccine through in Sept / Oct. Hence why the furlough scheme is also ending in October (a suspiciously accurate date given by Rishi back in May).

My best guess is part time in September, full time in November. GCSE’s will be modified - no tutoring scheme can create 5 months worth of time to all kids to cover all the missed content.

[MarshaBradyo]

Many children are missing learning atm

We get sent undifferentiated links which are not useful so we are using our own content online from a different year. Better than nothing but it doesn’t fit with what us being missed which is differentiated learning meeting each child.

[MarshaBradyo]

I say many not all as I know some schools are doing more.

[UrbanDox]

According to Action Tutors website, the tutors are volunteers (mostly students getting something for their CVs) and trained online.

Not qualified teachers.

[Alex50]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-52972551

[CornishYarg]

@Lemons1571 I think they’re playing for time, while they rush the Oxford vaccine through in Sept / Oct.

I agree, the "plan" is to cross their fingers and hope for either the vaccine or that infections are low in September. There doesn't appear to be any contingency planning. The government don't seem to understand/care that schools/organisations/businesses need time to plan.

I remember during the leadership contest last summer that people who'd worked with Johnson when he was London Mayo warned that he was hopeless at the details. Details bore him, essentially. They weren't wrong. As mayor, he fortunately had a number of capable people around him to take care of that part of the job. Now, his cabinet is largely full of people who are out of their depth but were put there because they supported him and Brexit so wouldn't cause him trouble.

[CornishYarg]

Mayor, not Mayo! Although I think his skills are more suited to being mayonnaise than anything else!

[ohthegoats]

Personally I think they'll shove everyone back in in September. Go hell for leather until the flu season makes things unviable again due to absences (COVID or otherwise), and there are local closures or whatever. School staff will get ill, some of them with COVID, some of them will be seriously ill or die, but that won't matter to the gov, or to some parents it seems. Schools should just be brave.

It's 10 weeks worth of lessons.

What tutors can do for children who have not done the work, is just do all the lessons set since March 20th. Use Oak or BBC Bitesize, and support the children through it.

[Lemons1571]

It’ll be more than 10 weeks by the end of term - maybe 14 weeks teaching lost in total?

[bingandflop]

At my kids school it will be 15 weeks, which equates to 38.46% of the school year. I really think teachers should be given PPE and increase class bubbles to 30. Any child who is a bit scared by the PPE will soon get used to it and it would be by far the easiest solution.

Wonder how the tutoring will pan out in real terms? Many, many children will probably not be eligible for it.

[LindainLockdown]

It is an absolute disgrace, and neither the government or the opposition seem overly bothered.

[NOTANUM]

@ohthegoats - Oak or BBC Bitesize is useless for a child in secondary. The technical subjects need to be taught to be grasped, the languages need to be heard and spoken to become proficient and it's very difficult to further critical thinking for English, RE and History without a teacher's input.

[PurpleCalm]

Was told by my child's head this week that schools won't know anything about September (eg part time/full time/bubbles/no bubbles/back at all) until guidance is released in August.

[Reastie]

How are they doing these one on one tutoring sessions? Because if it’s online then that could defeat the purpose of who they’re aiming the whole intervention at.