Minister threatens headteacher who wanted to move to online teaching

[DecemberSun]

www.theguardian.com/education/2020/dec/12/minister-threatens-school-heads-over-pre-christmas-online-lessons?CMP=fb_gu&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR1w1oeCcjoUnPnz4jdlJq0CfyPlyMfnS_gNYuBp6yZo9K7zLVnycfEgmzY#Echobox=1607767566

I suspect that most schools don't have enough IT equipment to loan it to those without it at home and there is the question of having broadband.

But leaving that aside, the government needs to trust HT to make decisions that reflect their local situation, the needs of their pupils and staff. It's not like you actually get HTs who don't give a toss about education.

Witht the greatest well in the world marsha Whitty is not an education expert. there is not one single educationalist on SAGE.

In any evet, the closure we are talking about here are four day closures in the last week of a long Autumn term. Any parent, from any sector will tell you on MN that this is not a peak academic learning week.

Schools invested massively heavily in IT training and equipment, instructed by the government to ready themselves for remote learning pending closures in high incidence areas.

What a waste of teachers' time and school money.

@donkeysliveaverylongtime

Witht the greatest well in the world marsha Whitty is not an education expert. there is not one single educationalist on SAGE.

In any evet, the closure we are talking about here are four day closures in the last week of a long Autumn term. Any parent, from any sector will tell you on MN that this is not a peak academic learning week.

He will be taking on board pedagogical advice. And across the board the messaging re children’s well being had been pretty consistent.

@eddiemairswife

I think Gavin Williamson is out of his depth. Since he became Education Secretary he has not put forward any ideas about his vision of what education in this country should be moving towards. At least Michael Gove had a few ideas, bonkers though they might have been.

Williamson would be out of his depth in a puddle.

When the government are announcing how many people have sadly died in press conferences in January. Someone had better remind the bastards that schools tried to prevent some these deaths are were prevented from doing so by the government.

@MrsHamlet

It might be due to research on dc falling behind so much even when kw etc were in.

What research would that be then?

Really? Surprised this wasn’t more well known. Do you work in education?

here

I think there a combination of factors here:

1. they don’t want to have to deal with the threats of court cases brought by the nutters at U4T.

2. They don’t want to put any kind of money into the education system they have been carefully bleeding dry for the last 11 years.

3. School staff are public servants and therefore easily replaced and therefore an expendable resource.

Essentially, the government CBA to do anything about risk in schools.

For what it’s worth- we have an enormous problem with Yr11 girls and mental health this year. It wasn’t the lockdown that has given them anxiety. It’s being pushed at high speed into exam course and coursework deadlines as if this is a perfectly normal year and nothing has happened. I think what is being done to them is cruel in the extreme. It suits the adults but not the kids. No one is actually listening to what they want or need.

They didn't. They gathered tenuous research form other countries.

If you actually read their report it is all 'low confidence'.

Just as recently they said they were not budging on exams, because other 'very successful' countries were still running exams. Ignoring that those countries have fully tackled covid in a range of different ways so don't have the attendance issues we have. One of the countries named doesn't have terminal exams!!

Even Sweden is closing its secondary schools before Christmas!!

@BelleSausage

I think there a combination of factors here:

1. they don’t want to have to deal with the threats of court cases brought by the nutters at U4T.

2. They don’t want to put any kind of money into the education system they have been carefully bleeding dry for the last 11 years.

3. School staff are public servants and therefore easily replaced and therefore an expendable resource.

Essentially, the government CBA to do anything about risk in schools.

For what it’s worth- we have an enormous problem with Yr11 girls and mental health this year. It wasn’t the lockdown that has given them anxiety. It’s being pushed at high speed into exam course and coursework deadlines as if this is a perfectly normal year and nothing has happened. I think what is being done to them is cruel in the extreme. It suits the adults but not the kids. No one is actually listening to what they want or need.

The opposite here! I know I don’t have access to data. But I keep seeing this and it’s the total reverse. Yr11 responding well now.

That is so evident in year 11s I know belle.

@MarshaBradyo

Misuse of the word ‘study’ there. It was a survey questionnaire done in July. And only 3,000 teachers out of a possible 450,000.

They should have asked Teacher Tapp to do it- bigger sample size and better survey design with trackable repeat questions over time.

@MarshaBradyo

Which kids are you talking to?

Better than what I often see quoted about student well being. A study in May.

Do you think Whitty is incorrect when he cites harms being greater out of school than in?

Tbh I am not really sure what that survey or Chris W's proclamations really have to do with a a 4 DAY closure in late December, with online learning and KW provision and parental backing.

Ds and his friends re secondary. Primary even more pronounced as easier to talk to parents on school run. No it’s not multiple schools but the feeling could not be more different to what I see on mn if it tried. I find it surprising.

@donkeysliveaverylongtime

Tbh I am not really sure what that survey or Chris W's proclamations really have to do with a a 4 DAY closure in late December, with online learning and KW provision and parental backing.

I am responding to the claim the research isn’t useful.

And yes I do think giving one school permission is problematic. Because you will get others following and poor provision for those who might depend on it.

For 4 days??

Yes of course. Even teachers whose schools stay open will have issues of their dc primary does remote. Even that one day is throwing up a mix of reactions and people gave to sieve childcare short notice.

And for dc yes they should enjoy ore Christmas fun.

The HT was doing it for wellbeing and MH reasons so it seems churlish to trot the MH line out.

The research used by SAGE is extremely open to question and has very very little credibility. It included 'best guesses' as to what 'might happen' and was stated with 'low confidence'.

@MarshaBradyo

I talk to hundreds of kids a week. On my area the prevailing though amongst kids is that they don’t know why they can’t do some of it from home and that they are sick of being pressurised by school and parents.

Exam pressure has been an issue for a while but this year seems completely out of control. As usual, many students feel it a bit but can cope. What is worrying is that the proportion really struggling to get into school because of anxiety has grown.

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It's a secondary school and the parents were in favour.

@donkeysliveaverylongtime

It's a secondary school and the parents were in favour.

The other one that had a hard no was primary, people got all up in arms about that too.

@noblegiraffe

And people wonder why heads haven’t been going against the DfE guidance.

Exactly. The government are bullying teachers, families and children. Even doctors! What Hippocratic Oath? We should all be very angry right now.

If you’re not happy with what is happening in schools and it is in the best interests of your child or family, please vote with your feet.

This thread is about a specific situation though marsha