Do schools have to provide online lessons?

[christmascake246]

One of my DD is at a school that has never provided online lessons and has already stated they will not be doing so for January even though they have said school start will be delayed for some years. They just set work to do on SMH and plan to continue doing the same, not even any pre recorded lessons. This did not work well in last lockdown or through all last terms isolations. Is there a minimum requirement/expectations for online learning? I felt like DD got a very poor deal in first lockdown compared to many other schools. At the moment DD is meant to be back at school next week as is in year 11 but obviously that may not happen. Thanks

[quote mineofuselessinformation]@Tyranttoddler 'It should be better than March. That was an emergency and this shouldn't be such a surprise'.
As far as I know, no decisions have been made, other than the 'exam years plus primary will be back in the first week, the rest of secondary on the 11th' (to summarise it), which was made on the Thursday before schools broke up.
Schools could be planning for events that won't happen.[/quote]
Yes totally but there should be plans in place for online learning. Most schools will have had children off isolating so you imagine would have something in place already.

I don't mean to sound obtuse but if it's explanation you/she want there are absolutely tons of resources online. YouTube videos to explain pretty much anything, bbc bitesize, and many more.

I don't think that's right, children have missed enough school already, they shouldn't have to be searching for online resources on top. The teacher should signpost them to the correct resource.

There is nothing wrong with work being set on SMH - messages and queries can be easily submitted to the teacher, and work submitted and reviewed.
If there is a problem with the quality of the work set on SMH then you first need to go through the school complaints process.

Personally I always link to either an oak Academy lesson, or a YouTube lesson (there are some excellent pre recorded lessons that say the same things I would, but with prettier graphics than I could!) for those who want visual.
In addition - for those who prefer reading I will either upload a lesson PowerPoint, pdf, or link to BBC Bitesize (often both).
I then set a quiz or exam style question to assess learning.

When I had an entire class out I would be available on video chat if anyone wanted help, from their classroom. There were normally a few.

Personally I think that is adequate.

I think that some people think that online learning = teacher delivering lessons via a video link or on recorded videos - this is not the case. In the last lockdown my school used Teams very successfully. Some of my students really did well with it and I was able to set work on it, link them to video clips and receive work and send feedback.

There really is a huge amount of material online if you are worried about your child's progress. Even a quick search of BBC Bitesize will link you not just to their material but also masses of other brilliant resources. I can understand that it is incredibly difficult for those students who do not have internet access, but for those who do the internet has a wealth of resources - far better than most textbooks.

Please also bear in mind that the government gives schools no notice before they make their decisions. For what its worth - I think secondary schools will not return until February - but don't expect the gov to announce that until the day before the start of the January term, giving schools no time to prepare for it.

OP, as others have said, each school is now required to have a clear and public policy as to how they intend to continue with the curriculum in the event of further / current lockdowns.
(Mine (which is the same as dd's) has so far published 3 different ones as we've gone from in-school, to online, to mixed during the course of the last 3 months. A new one due at the end of the week.)

If the provision given by your dd's school was as lacking as you say in the spring, you might have to dig around for it though! They won't be able to get away with doing nothing this time around, and as others have said, things should be up and running.

@tyranttoddler it's really not difficult for digital native 15 year olds to type a subject into a search bar though is it.

[quote Perfect28]@tyranttoddler it's really not difficult for digital native 15 year olds to type a subject into a search bar though is it. [/quote]
I personally don't think it should be what they accept as education. Many many 15 year olds are very weak at finding useful information, at critical thinking, even at reading well.

A 15 year old should be able to find useful information, read fluently and should be able to apply some critical thinking. I am concerned at the level of spoon feeding that goes on up to GCSE level. This would be an ideal time for them to develop independent learning skills.

Lots of 15 year olds cannot read fluently and this probably isn't the time to expect that they can!

How would that 15 year old be able to sit their GCSE exams this summer if they cannot read fluently? I accept that some will need support to do so, but the majority can.

I couldn't agree more @sinsingbluesilver there's often an effort thing going on, where they just want everything handed on a plate. The OP has already said her daughter is a grade 8/9 student so it's certainly not beyond her to seek out her own explanations.

I guess we have taught different young people 🤷‍♀️

If you look at the BBC Bitesize site the written information on there is age appropriate. The vast majority of Key Stage 4 students will be able to access and understand that information. In addition, many of the subjects have links to video clips which will also support learners who prefer to learn via visual or audio material.

If children are struggling to access the Key Stage 4 information I would suggest they take a look at the sections for Key Stage 3 as there are a lot of overlaps with the themes.

I'm sure all of us who teach, teach young people with varying abilities. I'm not denying that there aren't some 15 year olds who sadly can't read but this is not the case in question, whereby OP is complaining about the lack of explanation.

@singsingbluesilver

If you look at the BBC Bitesize site the written information on there is age appropriate. The vast majority of Key Stage 4 students will be able to access and understand that information. In addition, many of the subjects have links to video clips which will also support learners who prefer to learn via visual or audio material.

If children are struggling to access the Key Stage 4 information I would suggest they take a look at the sections for Key Stage 3 as there are a lot of overlaps with the themes.

Yes I agree. Surely their teachers can direct them to the appropriate resource? That's all I am saying. Rather than a PowerPoint or worksheet upoaded with no explanation.

Perfect 28, completely my mistake for moving the conversation to a different direction. Sorry op, back to you.

I think we can all agree that whatever the arangements they will be far from ideal. Being in school isn't ideal. Online teaching isn't ideal. Every option seems to have drawbacks and we will never be in a position where every single parent, student and teacher is happy. Personally I just want some clarification over what will happen, sooner rather than later, I'm sure OP feels the same. At least that way there can be some communication with the school directly about expectations.