Schooling Failure as Poorer Children Miss Out

[BelleSausage]

The Guardian article below outlines what many of us said would happen- children in poorer areas are missing out on schooling because of high infection rates.

The schools are open. We did what was demanded and deprived children are the ones now missing out.

Something needs to be done to create a more consistent system. The children in exam years in these schools should not be made to sit GCSEs and A-levels.

The exams need to be scrapped. The government needs to invest in remote learning for all students.

I really hope all those who were concerned about disadvantaged children when the drum was banging for school reopening will shout just as loud for online provision to help them keep up now.

www.theguardian.com/education/2020/oct/30/children-in-poorer-areas-of-england-missing-more-schooling-study

It is really shit. Definitely shows why we're really not 'all in the same boat' on this one.

This is just abysmal:
The union is compiling a list of contractors who will not grant full sick pay if employees get Covid or need to go into isolation. “We already know of several large contractors denying staff full sick pay, and they each have contracts with hundreds of schools,” said Jon Richards, the head of education at Unison.

@GoldenOmber

Really sad and one of the horrible by products of the academy system. Staff and kids in these schools are being disadvantaged.

The deafening silence on this topic is quiet interesting. Where are the Us for Them campaigners now. Schools are open. Was it enough?

There was only cries of ‘what about the disadvantaged children’ because it suited the ‘schools must open’ narrative. Schools are open. Disadvantaged children and the problems they may now face in accessing education because of the on going situation is, apparently, a non issue. As long as the middle class have what they need, no one else matters.

These kids are the ones really suffering. Exams going ahead next year is not going to be fair at all.

Even SATs for year 6 aren't fair to be honest. We've had year 6 children being kept at home by anxious parents, children isolating who have missed whole chunks of learning. It's been provided for with our remote learning - we were good at that right from the end of the Easter holidays - but use of it is poor. Some children did no work at all, and it's often those who have more people in a household, so more chances of having to isolate.

@Enoughnowstop

As a member of the middle class I heartily agree. All of my friends are worried about COVID but adamant that their DC school stays open full time.

Even in my leafy rural school we are down to 85% attendance, which is terrible for the time of year.

The government need to do something about making schooling more consistent and safe. Otherwise the whole thing becomes a joke.

The cries will start again as soon as full school opening is threatened.
As is so often the case our disadvantaged youngsters are used either as blame or shame material. Shame you for not putting them first and blame you for putting them first to the detriment of their little bundles of joy.

Exams going ahead next year is not going to be fair at all

No. Although to be fair about the unfairness, middle class children are also impacted when it comes to exams. Some children will have to isolate more than others, some schools will close bubbles or close in full more often than others. Some teachers will be off long term, some will be covered by supply, some won’t. Some schools will be able to shuffle teachers round to help, others won’t. Doesn’t matter whether you’re rural, urban, state, independent, good catchment, poor catchment, what happens in individual schools and each and every subject is going to be down to luck.

@ohthegoats what is that supposed to mean?

The sad reality is that poorer children are always disadvantaged in education. Children from failing schools and disfunctional homes compete against those from the leafy boroughs and elite private school every year and no one blinks an eye.

Seems to me that all sides of the political debate are not above waving the "poorer students are disadvantaged card" to back up their arguments.

And if you cancel exams, is using coursework any fairer? Why?

@mumofsend

She is trying to say disadvantaged children are badly behaved and/or need more attention than those who,are not disadvantaged. I chose to ignore. It’s not worth it.

Yes I agree Enough. Some areas of the country may escape with little disruption whilst others will be in and out all year. But the disadvantaged will be even more so if no parental support for whatever reason.

My dd is doing GCSEs and I don't know what to think.

@enoughnowstop I was hoping I misread it!

She is trying to say disadvantaged children are badly behaved and/or need more attention than those who,are not disadvantaged.

It's true. It's not a problem, I work with disadvantaged children. I just expect lots of people, on MN particularly, might be surprised by the reality.

Some disadvantaged children are hard work, agreed. Some middle class children from very good homes with supportive parents capable of maintaining appropriate boundaries are also equally hard work. Why single out those from disadvantaged homes?

Because that's what the thread is about.

The thread isn’t about how disruptive disadvantaged children are.

SATs for year 6 aren't fair to be honest
I really think that the SATs should be scraped this year. After 18 months of disruption what are they really going to tell about the school or the child. Let the secondary schools assess them over the first year of secondary.

This thread absolutely shouldn't be another opportunity for disadvantaged and/or SEN children to be slammed for disrupting the education of other children.

I don't think a lot of people really grasp how many barriers there are for disadvantaged children right now and schools have just had their tech allocations slashed.

I was responding to another post.

I do get what what you were saying @ohthegoats and don't think it was meant in a negative way towards the vulnerable/disadvantaged kids. It was more about the hollow concern for these children many posters were expressing when demanding that schools must be opened. In different times they would probably be the ones moaning about teachers having to devote more time to disadvantaged children than their little prince or princess.

OhTheGoats, I have a child with multiple SENs. Very intelligent. Very well behaved in school. Impeccible behaviour record. He is an asset to his class. Home learning was a disaster because with his ASD, he can't cope with his experienced teacher mum being his teacher. He can't cope with the kitchen table being his classroom. He can't cope with his sibling being his classmate.

We are fortunate with time, technology and experience, but it's not enough. He needs a formal, dedicated learning environment with his peers. I didn't use his SENs to send him in last year because school were offering childcare not education and it was the side of school that he finds hardest, not the benefits. It wouldn't have solved the problem and unstable staffing and pupil patterns would have been worse for him.

There isn't a neat answer. Disrupted schooling (particularly as until recently more deprived neighbourhoods were most affected by higher rates of cases) is obviously far from ideal. But the alternatives still open the rifts in advantage. Home learning, part time learning, blended learning all disadvantage those with SENs, lack of space, lack of support, lack of time and those in need of external structure. Having children in and out of school is worse because of a lack of continuity of learning for those struggling to learn out of school.

Formal assessments should be largely teacher based this year. Socially distanced exams aren't a problem in themselves but there is no neat way to solve the disparity between the advantaged and disadvantaged.

Politically no one care"s about the children or youth especially the poor ones because they don't vote. The average age of death from covid is 82 but the average age of death in general is 81.75. That tells you where the priorities are.