What online provision is your primary giving?

[WhatWillSantaBring]

My primary is stating that it is complying with DfE minimum guidance. We are getting worksheets and lesson plans uploaded, links to online lessons (from third parties) and one zoom call a week.

Am i being unreasonable to expect more? The KS1 lessons need almost permanent adult support and the lesson plans are really hard for me (as a non-teacher) to follow.

If it makes a difference, we're in an affluent area, the school is a pretty well funded faith school. I know we're on day 1 but I want to know whether we should be asking for better.

Yr1.

Three or four subjects a day. Last two days its taken us around 2hrs - 2.5hrs to do.

Tomorrow we start daily zoom registration.

Omg the parent chat went into melt down at this, as a number of parents clearly thought they could do nothing and the kids could just dick about for 6 weeks. Im not exactly happy at the idea, but the reaction of parents immediately made me realise why its being done. One complained her 5 year old couldnt get up in time for it.

Registration is compulsory or you get marked absent. Then theres least one small (not large full class) zoom meeting a week. Also compulsory.

The set work has been a mix of 3rd party stuff (which was stuff i did last summer off my own back - so its repetition but it was really good and DS got a lot out of it) and sheet work / power point stuff. Its largely parent intensive.

Last year the school had complaints about both too much and not stretching the kids enough/it being insufficient in quantity.

Personally i think it favours the kids with more parential engagement and willingness to get involved. But at the same time from the reaction today there were clearly also number of parents who need a kick up the arse and can't hide behind the 'but im working' excuse because they aren't. I think it has stressed some of the parents who are working from home, but i do think the amount set can be juggled over the course of a week (work isnt supposed to be done daily but over a week).

The thing thats foxing the parents most however seems to be their own literacy and ability to read information from the school rather than the work itself. There seems to be a lot of parents unable to read text messages or open emails.

And there's one or two who quite frankly need a good slap and are so belligerent to the mere concept of taking on even part responsibility for educating their child they are digging in hells and taking it out vindictively on the teachers. At the expense of their child (who surprise surprise is struggling).

Its certainly revealing.

I think 2hrs of 1 to 1 time a day is MORE than sufficient for 5 and 6 year olds. Those who manage it will fly, but even those who do half will be on target (i read up on what they need to do by the end of the year).

I'm quite happy with how much there is and whats been set.

@3littlewords

What would you rather have?

Red - what about parents who are working from home so won’t be able to supervise learning or families with several children and one laptop?

@Parker231

Red - what about parents who are working from home so won’t be able to supervise learning or families with several children and one laptop?

As soon as the kids can read, then can manage most of what is set themselves. Its deliberately pitched to be at that level. Only the youngest years are problematic in that respect in needing to be monitored from what ive seen.

School have made it clear to contact them if there are mitigating circumstances like this so they can try and help in other ways and prioritise by other means.

School have also managed to source extra laptops or devices for these families by lending school ones (long term fundraising project i believe to get ipads for the school over the last 5 years. This clearly has been a godsend).

There is still people bitching. One parent complained that she was now worried she'd break it so didn't want to use it or have it in the house.

School really really can't win from what ive seen today. No matter how much they go out of their way or bend over backwards. Its disgusted me at times tbh. The pisstaking and entitlement from some is monumental.

@ArosAdraDrosDolig apologies- I thought you were not keen on either option. However that absolutely illustrates the problem- parents like you want some slack and are happy with little input, others like @Nikhedonia want more. Neither of you are wrong as you probably both have different needs, children, circumstances. But we can’t cater for both groups effectively.

I can imagine how frustrating it is for everyone.

DS1 is in Reception, we picked up a work pack for today but from tomorrow there's 2 prerecorded loom lessons in the morning, 2 independent activities in the afternoon, one whole school assembly per week and one small group "show and tell" (welfare check) per week.

(Faith primary in an affluent area)

They would like us to do as much as possible but are flexible with when we do it as most families have 2 working parents.

For those of you wanting something interactive, Jane Considine is doing sentence stacking lessons live on YouTube from Monday and she is fantastic. She did them last time too, suitable for all primary children. If you help them with the first one so they know how it works then most ks2 children will be able to access with no help. Just google her and it’ll come up. Hope it helps someone and as I said before, if anyone does need to ask something or needs help then I will try.

I agree with you Toastybutt and I think schools are in an impossible position.

@Toastybutt I agree. I think this thread has really opened my eyes that it's a very difficult balance for schools to strike. I would have assumed that all parents would have wanted as many resources and educational options as possible (like me) and I suppose this may overwhelm other parents.

From what ive seen our school have been good. Up and running Monday when closure was called 4.30pm Sunday. And they have got most of the 'but what about' situations covered one way or another.

Those without wifi are overwhelmingly classed as vulnerable for other reasons anyway so have a place in school from what i gather from friend working at the school.

Their preparation last term has been good and whats been set is better than last year.

The primary my dd goes to are doing 4 live zoom lessons a day (40 mins each) for each class of around 20 children. These are being done daily by their teacher, so English and maths each day with the other 2 sessions on varying topics and worksheets in between. It seems to be set up to practically mirror what they would do in class.

We had assembly and singing via zoom this morning as well.

There is also an online maths program that she has to do a minimum of 1 hour per week on.

I've also ordered some reading books so that she can keep up with the accelerated reader program.

I'm really impressed with the school, especially considering they did next to nothing for the first lockdown.

dd is year 4 and it's a primary in a fairly affluent area, but not private.

I've been pretty impressed actually. Last time understandably it was pretty dire. I think we got a worksheet a week. This time it's been a live lesson each day 6 to 7 exercises. I have to say they are so generic I've added some of my own because no way in hell will I keep ds1 attention if there isn't a hook somewhere. (Preferably dinosaurs or space) and in all fairness I know his teacher does something similar but no-one can expect them to cater for every individual need in this.

A little frustrating for me I will admit that with two DC in one school at different ages they booked online lessons at the same time. So ome was on the laptop and one on the phone and I needed to be with both as ds1 has additional needs and well ds2 is 5 and will wander off after a butterfly or the dog. In fairness though it worked. Sort of. Fortunately ds2 was muted so noone could hear him tell me about his nemesis (thanks DP for teaching that word) but he stayed in one place with my arm clamped around him.

It would be more helpful of teachers conferred about timetables but that is a minor gripe and totally understand they are under a lot of pressure.

I think they did really well this time. Doing it with two DC of different years and different needs isn't a cake walk but the school definitely helped.

I will say the oak academy maths lesson chosen for ds1 yesterday and today was beyond dire. The teacher was awful. I have written and delivered online and video training so I do understand it is hard but my God. Fingers crossed they move to a different unit soon.

Oh and we have education city and times table rockstars to work on

Sorry will go away now. It's been a long day and the schoolwork was a bit painful until I threatened ds2 with losing every possible privilege ever

Year 3 and Year 5 state primary - London
We were new to the school having moved them in September following the dire provision from our previous school in the last lockdown.
From today (first start of term )
Regular parent updates on class dojo as well as personalised messages to parents on what to expect :
Google classroom
Morning live check in / register - 20 mins
4 pieces of work uploaded by 8am - teacher online all day to answer questions.
Marked immediately with constructive comments
Work had presentations and videos through out to explain what the children had to do.
Live Assemblies and other social events planned weekly
They have merged the classes in the year though with some teachers and ta's doing the key worker children and the others online. Very very well organised - have no idea if they will maintain this pace because they must be exhausted
I emailed them to thank them

No idea! Eldest primary child is in school as vulnerable. Youngest will have provision from Thursday, supposedly via google classroom but I'm not holding out much hope to be honest. The attached junior school have blown the infants out of the water in terms of provision.

For today and tomorrow we were sent a set of truly bizarre lesson plans that apparently came from the LEA? Really odd. I have ignored and DD did a maths workbook today (yes, the whole thing. Her choice, little weirdo ) and we'll do some baking and crafty stuff tomorrow I'm sure.

[quote Nikhedonia]@Toastybutt I agree. I think this thread has really opened my eyes that it's a very difficult balance for schools to strike. I would have assumed that all parents would have wanted as many resources and educational options as possible (like me) and I suppose this may overwhelm other parents. [/quote]
I am secondary, but we had complaints last lockdown about both too much and not enough work. The content some kids will fly through will leave others completely overwhelmed. Obviously we can try to differentiate, but some kids are made anxious by not being able to do all the work set- even if some of it is labelled as "extension" etc.

We have issues providing live lessons, as our catchment is quite rural and many families don't have great broadband. We will start them up next week, but we know many students will not be able to access them for various reasons. Live lessons are great for those who can access them, but we can't leave behind those who can't.

It is a really tricky balancing act, and I do think nearly all schools and teachers are trying their best.

The announcement last night was a real shock for all schools, and primaries that were open have really been given no time to sort anything out or plan. I imagine today will have been chaos in some schools.

Yes, we have kind of been expecting this for months- but without knowing when, or what the situation would be, it is really hard to plan.

And even with a plan in place, specific resources still have to be produced, rooms still have to be reorganised for socially distanced small classes, someone still has to collate a list of the kids coming in, and so on!

Nothing at all so far!

@2020out

Honesty not a very affluent area at all. NE mining village/town. I'd imagine there will be a mix of families with very vastly different incomes and situations.

The school is a state catholic school and does have a good reputation locally although it is also known as being the more strict/work heavy school in the area.

[quote Bluewavescrashing]@3littlewords

What would you rather have?[/quote]
I'm fine with it.... I think......I'll let you know tomorrow. Im not working now so I'm available to supervise him but if I had still been working would have found it difficult.
I'm expecting some teething problems as hes only 5 and has never learned this way before and hates doing homework but I'm hopeful after a few days it will get easier for everyone involved. I've got 2 other dc with similar timetable aswell however they are older so I think they'll be able to manage the work , and the teams meetings, themselves.

I'm fortunate that I have got the time to dedicate to them even if it means im now piss poor and wont be able to work any time soon maybe im being naive and underestimating my dc, Can a 5/6yo work independently online all day without being tempted to put you tube on instead?

All praise and respect for you teachers though, I wouldn't want to be in your shoes for all the tea in China! Trying to engage 30 5 and 6 yo virtually instead of f2f and deal with the million questions you'll undoubtedly get off the parents who don't have a bloody clue what they are doing. You deserve medals!

Any parents who are not happy with their school online offer - please contact the head teacher directly and express your concerns.

As previous posts have stated, the school leadership team are the ones who set the expectation for their staff. The teachers will be following what they have been told to do.

Comparison is the thief of joy. Not all schools are created equal, nor are communities or cohorts of children in schools so depending on the make up of your community, there may be some live sessions or there may be per recorded videos for you to access when you are able to.

My school is currently posting at least 3 pre recorded lessons per day alongside additional work set in line with the normal school timetable. We are planning this week to introduce live sessions via Teams next week and attempting to timetable this so there are no sibling clashes will be key. Depending on the uptake and feedback, we will then either increase these or continue with the pre recorded videos for main sessions and move to live for things such as assembly etc.

I can't stress enough how important it is for you to voice any concerns you have directly to the leadership team of your school. Some schools will be doing an amazing job and others, quite frankly, will need to up their game.

I am a bit jealous of all these live lessons/being taught as if at school 9-3. Ours is better than the first lockdown but I would still like some live lessons.

Son in year 4, and we get 3hrs work a day, to be done between 9-3, plus once a week science and topic work. All done on teams for sending the worksheets out, and submitting back.

@Raindancer411

I am a bit jealous of all these live lessons/being taught as if at school 9-3. Ours is better than the first lockdown but I would still like some live lessons.

Son in year 4, and we get 3hrs work a day, to be done between 9-3, plus once a week science and topic work. All done on teams for sending the worksheets out, and submitting back.

A lot will depend on what your school has discovered about families' online access. We were planning some sessions at our school, but when surveyed over 25% of families said they wouldn't be able to access them. Schools are obliged to ensure equity of provision so in these circumstances live lessons cannot be carried out due to discrimination against those who cannot access them.

Thought I’d update as it is better today. Mostly because a video from teacher was supplied so it seems this will be one method of teaching which is fine by me. As long as they see their teachers like this for new stuff.

Also just read post elsewhere about room being scanned to show twenty friends’ faces and a few online, having to wait while teacher explains stuff off camera. I’ll take this over that for sure.