Local schools having to shut, unfair disadvantage later on in exams

[Cherryghost]

How would this work in the case of schools in hotspot areas shut for a few months but the rest of schools open and then the effect of exams later on in the year?
How on earth are allowances going to be made?

They won't be. Schools will be expected to have work ready to go and to catch kids up. They aren't going to calculate how many weeks each kid missed and adjust the grade or offer different papers

Are you just guessing, SleepingStandingUp, or do you work in this area?

Children are going to have to take responsibility for themselves. Its not that difficult. In the end, exam results come down to how hard individuals work. Teacher input comes relatively low down the list of variables affecting exam results, after intelligence, work ethic and support from home.

Closed schools are still going to make teachers available online to support students.

Many students have told me they prefer online learning from home, as they don't have to put up with other students wasting time and causing a distraction.

There are much bigger sources of unfairness to worry about in exam results rather than schools closing.

What about the scandal of homelessness and families in temporary accommodation?

Constantly moving around temporary homes is going to have a far greater negative affect on your exam results than schools closing.

Maybe channel some of your concern for fairness into this issue?

@SleepingStandingUp

They won't be. Schools will be expected to have work ready to go and to catch kids up. They aren't going to calculate how many weeks each kid missed and adjust the grade or offer different papers

no, there will be no allowances made. Nor should there be

Mosquito Of course there are other things which are unfair but my post is on this issue.
Not every child has a pc. We didn't at the start of lockdown and my son fell behind. The govt promised free laptops for kids without internet access which didn't seem to help everyone.

Surely you can see it's unfair if schools in hotspot areas shut down for months and kids without internet access fall behind? Yes teachers will do their best but I was wondering if there was any contingency for this going forward that anyone has heard

As the Scottish kids been totally screwed over I wouldn't trust anything g the exam boards do right now.

Poor poor kids. They are the generation that will lose the most

Ok so I’m my subject (non core) I’ve seen the current amendments to the new y11 re assessments and how they plan to change.

Usually we have assessment 1 (completed in class in y11 and marked by me. It takes about a term max to do), assessment 2 (completed in school with a practical assessment at the end as well as folder work which I mark and also submit to exam board) usually takes maybe a term and a half, and an exam in the summer.

We’ve been told there will be no assessment 1 but the topics and elements covered in assessment 1 will be in the exam (which is usually the case anyway, but I suspect will be more heavily weighted

than usual in the exam next summer). Assessment 2 has been simplified and less complex than before (including a 2 hour practical assessment instead of a 3 hour assessment at the end). The exam will be as usual only with special note that topics in assessment 1 will tested in this element.

This allows for tim to catch up on missed school and plans for the possibility as well that students may have further disruption ahead. I feel positive it’s achievable and I’m glad they have made allowances.

These changes are for 2021 assessment only and I’m sure each subject will have different modifications to make it as fair as possible.

@Cherryghost

Mosquito Of course there are other things which are unfair but my post is on this issue. Not every child has a pc. We didn't at the start of lockdown and my son fell behind. The govt promised free laptops for kids without internet access which didn't seem to help everyone.

Surely you can see it's unfair if schools in hotspot areas shut down for months and kids without internet access fall behind? Yes teachers will do their best but I was wondering if there was any contingency for this going forward that anyone has heard

I'm guessing based on logic. How would it work? Hundreds of schools with different amounts of time off at different times with different approaches to keeping kids caught up and millions of kids within those schools with different issues.

2 schools in the same area could be off the same time but at different points of the year so having different affects. The schools will take different approaches to keeping up and catching up. Individual families within one school will manage differently- acess to tech, working parents, intelligence of parents, learning or behaviour issues etc. How do you work out how much each student should have their grade adjusted?

It's one of the reasons full time school with no distancing is so stupid - because the more disruption, the less fair it all becomes.

Not a problem for private schools averaging 12 in a class of course

This hasn't occurred to me yet.
It's going to be an utter mess with the most disadvantaged kids being pushed further down .

@Cherryghost

Mosquito Of course there are other things which are unfair but my post is on this issue. Not every child has a pc. We didn't at the start of lockdown and my son fell behind. The govt promised free laptops for kids without internet access which didn't seem to help everyone.

Surely you can see it's unfair if schools in hotspot areas shut down for months and kids without internet access fall behind? Yes teachers will do their best but I was wondering if there was any contingency for this going forward that anyone has heard

contingency plan? How about good old fashioned text books. FGS

It's no more fair or unfair than the rest of the myriad of things that affect education though is it. Children from private or "Ofsted outstanding" and failing schools all sit the same exams. Children with chaotic home circumstances compete with those who have a battalion of tutors and supportive parents.

The playing field is not and cannot be level. This is just one more thing and smaller than most.

Just because there are other elements of unfairness doesnt mean we should introduce more or not try to overcome them.

If we took the attitude of some complacent comments on here nothing would ever get better or improve. "Its shit so never mind [shrugs]"

I disagree as none but a* kids could really teach themself things like maths?
Have you taught yourself?
I did alevel language while working it was i think 3h a week for 2yrs. I did get an A but i did have some teaching too. Certainly couldnt have done that with maths.

Op i dont think they can or should adjust for individual school closure.
But i do think everyone including primary should be PT basically so the load is shared.(including preuvate schools). As the priority shiuld be exam years.
But i also think there needs to be good online access recorded. (Kindles for example are £150 so not prohibitive.).

It certainly isnt going to be fair because
If you live in a town you will all catch more bugs so spend more time off testing. (That is also true with large family or lots of young kids). Or if you are all out places with out masks or your classmates all are...
Or towns could do better due to immunity.

Last year for eg we had

Dec dc2 fever and cough
Dec dc1 cough
Dec me flu cough chills etc
Mar dc2 cough
Mar me chills
Apr all 4 coughs

So 12 tests between us there would have been (maybe i cant remember everything. ) Sept to mar. So 2d off each time for whole family until results back. So maybe 20 school days. But of course thats not including d&v. And obviously allowing for the fact several of those times dc would have maybe still been ill with a cough.

As the Scottish kids been totally screwed over I wouldn't trust anything g the exam boards do right now.

Genuine question but I thought the Scottish results were good? Granted, I only saw the headline - was there an issue?

If we took the attitude of some complacent comments on here nothing would ever get better or improve. "Its shit so never mind [shrugs]"

no, but I put my time and effort into the worst sources of inequality first and foremost, and that is certainly accommodation.

Children in appalling and insecure temporary accommodation is what the OP needs to be worrying about, if she is worried about unfairness, not how many days children are working at home, WITH resources, WITH support

@mosquitofeast yes homelessness is a big issue...we have students living in b&bs, others sofa surfing random houses and I doubt the OP denies this is an issue.

But local school closures are still going to affect (most likely) hundreds if not thousands of children in their exams and that will be unfair. It should be recognised and discussed more than it is currently being done.

That doesnt need to detract away from the issues you raise.

@Porcupineinwaiting

It's no more fair or unfair than the rest of the myriad of things that affect education though is it. Children from private or "Ofsted outstanding" and failing schools all sit the same exams. Children with chaotic home circumstances compete with those who have a battalion of tutors and supportive parents.

The playing field is not and cannot be level. This is just one more thing and smaller than most.

Hmm, this interesting, I somehow feel it is different but agree there is no level playing field. I am going to think about this!!

But i do think everyone including primary should be PT basically so the load is shared how will everyone going pt help? There will still be some schools more open than others and surely primary schools being part time on principle is just sitting up learning issues for later on

Mosquito I find your responses bizarre telling me what I should be concerned with!
You assume that kids under closed hotspot areas will have support. That isn't always the case.
Of course temporary accommodation and homelessness is a important issue I've said that, just because there is more than one issue doesn't mean we can't discuss others.

@SleepingStandingUp

But i do think everyone including primary should be PT basically so the load is shared how will everyone going pt help? There will still be some schools more open than others and surely primary schools being part time on principle is just sitting up learning issues for later on

I do also feel PT is better, because the chance of outbreaks is much higher with ft & no distancing.

As a person I'd rather reliably have 50% I suppose.

On half time with half classes, the amount missed probably wouldn't be too much - smaller classes really help. Then homework would make it up. There could be targeted 1:1 for those who struggle on the homework side.

@Cherryghost I think you were on my thread about the Stockport McDonald's closing and are in the same area as me? Apologies if not! I've been wondering if schools here will have to close due to the local restrictions. Dd1 will be devastated if they do as she is desperate to get back to the normality of school even though it won't be like before.

See I'm a SAHP so it wouldn't matter to me, but it would be a nightmare surely if everyone is pt come September given that you'd likely have siblings in at different times so some moms parents still wouldn't be able to go back to work. The two week closures will be bad enough. And I'm not sure really if spending say 3 hrs together will lower the risk that much compared to 6 hrs. And we're still back to the issue of parents being able to get their kids to do the work / being able to support the learning enough that the 3 hours at school isn't just spent dreaming with yesterday's homework which hasn't been learnt. Teachers would actually get about 2 hours out of 3 teaching because they'd constantly be trying to help those kids who did nothing yesterday afternoon

Bercows Yes that's me .
I don't honestly think the schools will open around here in September. Even before this latest local lockdown there was heavy hints from the head teachers letter on the last week that school would be part time.

@SleepingStandingUp I think there's a real risk there'll be major disruption anyway tbh. Personally I would choose planned disruption over unplanned disruption!

It isn't the number of hours that makes it lower risk - it is the fact they can distance due to more space in the classroom.