To dread homeschooling

[Johan23]

I’m in Scotland where the schools don’t go back to the 11th, and for a week it will be remote learning (I imagine it will be longer). In the last lockdown my son was still at nursery, so we didn’t have to homeschool.

It was still a freaking nightmare working from home as he wanted our attention all of the time.

Our work is going through a ridiculously busy period, and we are all expected to just “get on with it”. But, I am totally stressing as I really can’t bear to go through all this juggling again.

Barbie

Generalising anecdotal pap about teachers going for bike rides is really offensive to the teachers here who worked hard,

How do you equally not get that this was typical of our experience and where do we say this was therefore all teachers everywhere?? Just as I understand that some schools abd sone teachers worked hard can you not understand that many did not?!

Yeah find a new school during a pandemic. ODFOD

@Tierful

Barbie

Generalising anecdotal pap about teachers going for bike rides is really offensive to the teachers here who worked hard,

How do you equally not get that this was typical of our experience and where do we say this was therefore all teachers everywhere?? Just as I understand that some schools abd sone teachers worked hard can you not understand that many did not?!

Truth hurts maybe?

I don't think you can do both, unless you work with your child before or after work.
It's not impossible but takes some managing.
I've known many H.ed families with both parents working, but they tend to work shifts around each other.

Silly suggestion to find a better school if I'm not happy with the "service"; I'm not buying something here. Our school is not rubbish per se, but it performed very poorly in lockdown, which was also highlighted by the assessments that were carried out on the students this autumn. All the good schools in our area are oversubscribed, so even if I wanted to "find" a better school, there isn't one that we can just access when we want.

@rookiemere

Ok let's try this another way.

What are people - particularly teachers thoughts - on the best way to support their DCs through home learning, bearing in mind most DPs will also be working themselves and are not teachers so not au fait with all aspects of the curriculum?

If we as parents have concerns, what's the best way to raise them ? I hate to be seen to be going above a teachers head, but if they are too busy to discuss things, then is it ok to go to head or governors? Or how long should I allow best endeavours to continue?

I think the best thing for schools to do is to figure out a realistic amount of daily time that parents at their school can spend helping their child, then base the provision around that. Make it recorded rather than live so it can be accessed whenever. Keep it to the basics (sorry, but that means Ofsted measurables).

For parents: Train children now to respect your work time whenever possible, get the restrictions on the iPads and start to love your screen time. Remember that good enough is good enough. Accept you may have to structure your day differently. If you don't understand the work, ask for help but maybe in your WhatsApp group first. Prioritise reading and maths skills. That's all for primary.

@Whattimeisdinner

There's a lot of comments about...'if teachers aren't going to offer full time education, furlough them'...

Are people saying that? Close entirely?

Furlough? As in get paid but do nothing?

People are nuts though. Teachers are essential to society, we would be screwed without them. Of course they shouldn't be furloughed (though would be nice to see CEV teachers have the option..)

For parents: Train children now to respect your work time whenever possible, get the restrictions on the iPads and start to love your screen time. Remember that good enough is good enough. Accept you may have to structure your day differently. If you don't understand the work, ask for help but maybe in your WhatsApp group first. Prioritise reading and maths skills. That's all for primary.

I know you mean well, and I know you said 'where possible', but for so so many of us it just isn't possible. I can't structure my day differently, that's not up to me. I can't get my children to respect my work time, the littlest one is too young, and the older ones are still young primary and just can't be left alone to get on with it by themselves for 8+ hours of the day.

I agree that good enough is good enough but I feel like I can't even meet good enough, not by a long long way. I'm just hoping that this lockdown won't be long enough to impact on my DC's learning long-term. I know so many parents in my position and it's just crushing.

I'm not asking for someone to come up with a magical way to support home learning while also doing a job (while also caring for younger DC while nurseries are closed), mind. I don't think anyone can do this. I would like it if my government didn't pretend that we could though.

Thanks @Barbie222 that's very helpful and realistic.

I think a large part of my concerns are because DS is in secondary and whilst not in an exam year, next year is his Nat 5s so a lot of the learning is this year.

There are some subjects I can support on - English,Business Management and German - and some that DH can support on, but others where we just can't help at all. Should we be trying to learn up on these subjects in the evening as well as working and trying to support school working during the day?

I think they have been working them very hard this term in preparation for any time off so I'm not too concerned if there aren't huge amounts done in the online week. But at what point should I be concerned- two weeks or three weeks in or longer? We can throw money at the situation so I'm wondering if I should try to source some tutors now, or wait and see what happens.

@GoldenOmber let's hope it is for the shortest possible time. Believe me teachers have your families in mind when we are planning things to do. We'd rather not have to do this but it will be totally out of our hands if so. I'd also say that we are likely to get next to no notice of any closure so plan what you can now.

Thank you to those trying to give genuinely helpful suggestions.

Personally, I will be happy enough with some regular contact between the teachers and the children. That was what was sorely lacking for us before and had a huge detrimental effect on one of our DC's well being. Academics can be caught up with as we have the wherewithal to support our children, which I appreciate others do not. But extreme behavior and emotional decline as a result of isolation and lack of structure and routine - that I can not deal with.

Barbie222 I'm in Scotland so we already know closure is coming (I'm sorry, 'phased reopening'), but yes hopefully it won't be for too long.

I do want to say again that my DC's teachers were just wonderful the first time round and went absolutely above and beyond, and that's just the bits of their job I could see, I'm sure there was a ton more they were doing as well. I can't imagine how exhausted they are now, just broken up for the holidays and finding out they've got to prepare for another bout of 'online learning' in January. It is just a cavalcade of awfulness.

@rookiemere

Thank you for a reasonable post! Teachers are told what to do by their headteachers so email the headteacher but bear in mind they are working very hard on the new info from the DfE and you will not get an immediate answer. Ask them to put into writing what they will be offering. Give it a week after the start of term as teachers have had no information either.

I can only give you information based on my own experience in the last lockdown which I think was fairly successful with our parents. We provided ‘live’ lessons (independent school) - sometimes I would teach a topic and sometimes I would be on Zoom for questions whilst they got on with a task, but I was always there for my timetabled lesson which meant children were supported. The lessons were recorded for children to watch later if devices were limited or parental help needed and not available. The children could email me through Google Classroom. If you asked for this, you could let your children play/relax during the day if they can’t do the work for a particular lesson and watch the videos at the weekend/in the evenings with support from you. Don’t expect children to be sitting for six hours though as it is impossible for anyone! It is NOT a as good as being in school (and will probably involve input from you) but it ‘does’ during a global pandemic. I am not sure this works at KS1, though.

I am just going to add that my state school friends do a lot more social work than me and I think that needs addressing. Teachers can’t be social workers, nurses, counsellors and still teach effectively.

@christinarossetti19

Yep. It's possible to dread home learning again and recognise that it's not the fault of teachers who are probably weighing up dreading it with relief that they will have a break from being in a highly unsafe workplace.

This sums it up perfectly

Have any of you whose school provision during lockdown one been surveyed by your schools to ask what they did well/could do better?

If not, that's pretty poor. We know we did an excellent job, but still surveyed our parents and students to find out how to improve.

It would be good if you were able to formally state "my child would have worked harder with an occasional check in with their teacher" or "no live lessons, please, but recorded would be good." I think if your school had asked for your feedback you would feel like you had more trust in them AND you might understand why they make decisions they do (as in, the majority might want the opposite to you and you would at least understand).

rookiemere

Ok let's try this another way.

What are people - particularly teachers thoughts - on the best way to support their DCs through home learning, bearing in mind most DPs will also be working themselves and are not teachers so not au fait with all aspects of the curriculum?

Schools should be setting accessible work for a start. Primary aged children will need support no matter what you do so parental guidance is unavoidable. The work should be accessible to the parents too!
For older children, the key is open contact with their teachers by email or even phone if necessary. My teens were lucky, they could email their teacher and got a response quite quickly.

If we as parents have concerns, what's the best way to raise them ? I hate to be seen to be going above a teachers head, but if they are too busy to discuss things, then is it ok to go to head or governors? Or how long should I allow best endeavours to continue?

If work isn’t being set, contact the teacher first. If you are not happy with the response contact the HT yes.
The governors AND the HT if you don’t get a satisfactory response from just the HT.

Secondaries are a different matter in terms of children's ability to engage with online learning independently and complete the work. I can't help my Y9 with his work - I teach Y1 and I don't have the knowledge. Ive come to realise that it's a sort of letting go here. I can take the horse to water by giving him the space and tech where I can, but it's also about him developing the life skills to work in this way too and have the initiative to reach out if he is stuck. I have to say his school have been fantastic switching between online and in person teaching this term.

Obviously there are going to be children who find independent work difficult, and they are likely always going to find independent work difficult, but there are a big majority of teens who are developing the skills they need to work in the adult world at this time, and hopefully won't need to develop them suddenly at 18 as has always been the case in the past. Silver linings!

@Jinglingmod

Have any of you whose school provision during lockdown one been surveyed by your schools to ask what they did well/could do better?

If not, that's pretty poor. We know we did an excellent job, but still surveyed our parents and students to find out how to improve.

It would be good if you were able to formally state "my child would have worked harder with an occasional check in with their teacher" or "no live lessons, please, but recorded would be good." I think if your school had asked for your feedback you would feel like you had more trust in them AND you might understand why they make decisions they do (as in, the majority might want the opposite to you and you would at least understand).

Yes, we asked what people wanted at the start, and then asked how they found it in July.

You can scramble and push for key worker status and put your children into school to make ‘lazy’ teachers work ...but you will end up infecting your communities and make teachers ill with this virus and the schools will close anyway

That is your honest view of parents using key worker childcare provision? Wow, some posters here make it really hard work to stay on the side of teachers. I have to work hard to remind myself that you are one randomer on the internet........

FYI, keyworker provision facilitated me to keep working, as a midwife. Where I kept working as usual to keep mums and babies safe. I wasn't trying to offload my DC 'to make lazy teachers work' and 'infecting my community'. Not everyone can work from home. I am sure you would have been delighted if all healthcare provision and supermarkets had shut down.

@ichundich
The less popular schools may provide better online education. You should move your children if you aren’t happy. I can’t take you seriously if you say you are so angry but stick with the school you have slated.

Just to addrookie, don’t forget that teachers with young children are in your position too. Trying to juggle work and childcare. I’m lucky not to be in that situation. I don’t know how I’d cope.

Ours did Jinglingmod, and several times surveyed to ask if there was more support they could give and in what form. (I also wrote to the head and the relevant teachers separately at the end of the school year to thank them for all they'd done and say how very much it meant to our DC/us as parents, even if we hadn't really been able to engage very much with a lot of it, because there was no free text box on the feedback form for 'please give your slightly weepy and emotional thanks here'.)

@PrivateIndoorXmas
No problem with genuine need from key workers but I do have issues with people claiming key worker provision to punish (and I quote) lazy’ teachers to ensure they are doing something. Please take your anger out on ‘randomers’ who want to punish teachers (also key workers) and not me. Check out some of the charming posts to which I was responding! And the point remains that the more people are in schools, the more likely it will be to close anyway so I would expect those with genuine need (like you) to support me.

It is terrible if you found your school offered poor provision on lockdown and you're not generally fussed day to day AND there are zero spaces in other schools.

Around here, the less subscribed schools seemed to give the best lockdown provision, so subsequently, many families have moved their children to schools like mine.