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Original poster

Keyworker Provision - Nothing taught in school?

160 replies

Awcw1234 · 05/01/2021 19:46

Kids have a place at school as I’m a keyworker and don’t work from home.

School have informed me that they won’t have access to any of the live lessons and they won’t be doing any of the set work with them. I’ll have to do it all at home with them at the weekend. 5 days of work.

Is that right? I’ve got no choice but to send my children in but feel like my kids are really going to fall behind now!Sad

OP posts:
ineedaholidaynow · 05/01/2021 22:19

Some charities may be able to help too. Also Government are meant to be providing more laptops, but then they have been promising them for ages.

PolarExpressislate · 05/01/2021 22:25

Teachers in my own experience are just lazy, in the last main lockdown last year in week 12 I had one email from my child's teacher, that was the sum total from them, and then I see teachers arguing on here saying they never stopped?

Nonamesavail · 05/01/2021 22:26

Ours has enough KW children in each year to provide a full learning timetable. I wouldn't be able.to.replicate that at home

Fivefatsausages · 05/01/2021 22:29

I would write to the school governors, your local
MP and the vicar associated with the school (I assume there is as a village school). Make it clear to the headteacher you are writing to all these people.

You are contributing to society and your child is being disadvantaged, that is unacceptable.

NoSquirrels · 05/01/2021 22:31

Every school is (by necessity) organising differently.

A small rural school that has only enough qualifying KW pupils in to have an EYFS bubble, KS1 bubble and a KS2 bubble of mixed classes and abilities is going to organise their access to lessons and the support staffing very differently from a 2-form inner city entry school with a high proportion of qualifying KW pupils in each year group on site every day.

Sending in a device if they need one, or asking school to clarify how they’ll help them access the work without devices is all you can realistically do. And not worrying about the Reception age DC - they’ll be fine.

Lucked · 05/01/2021 22:31

This happened to us last lockdown with the hub. It was just childcare and it near broke us completing the set assignments around work.

I suspect it will happen again but at the moment we are being told to send them to their own school so I know they will get some education but last time it changed to a multi school hub pretty quickly.To be fair with all the schools in together it would be multiple lesson plans.

Abraxan · 05/01/2021 22:34

I'm at an infant school. Our remote learning is pre-recorded lessons each day produced by our teaching staff.

The key worker and vulnerable children in school will access this each morning via the IWB as a class. They will then work on paper/books rather than directly in the learning platform. We don't have the devices for each child to do it online. They will do other activities in the afternoons.

So ours at getting the same teaching element offered to them whether at home or in school.

spaceghetto · 05/01/2021 22:34

My school did this. I believe Boris said in the first lockdown that it was a childcare provision. I hated it that we went along with this. I taught the children, it felt awful to think the parents (many who didnt even realise) would have to catch up at the weekend!

NoSquirrels · 05/01/2021 22:35

You are contributing to society and your child is being disadvantaged, that is unacceptable.

They’re all getting a shit deal one way or another unless they have wealthy parents who can devote time, money and attention to homeschooling. A child of a KW in school probably isn’t getting a worst education than a child of a non-KW juggling their own job WFH.

Anyone advising complaints to governors on day 1 of a new lockdown sprung on heads the day before isn’t going to get far. Give it a week, then reassess if there’s a real need for complaint.

ineedaholidaynow · 05/01/2021 22:35

@PolarExpressislate the curriculum was suspended in the first lockdown so technically schools didn't have to provide anything, and teachers would have been guided on what to produce by the Senior Leadership team, so in most cases it is wrong to blame individual teachers.

Schools now have to provide work as the Government have not suspended the curriculum. Problem is many schools have no spare money, so can't just buy new equipment. The Government have promised laptops but there are strict criteria and even then they haven't provided the ones requested.

UsernameSaved · 05/01/2021 22:41

@Fivefatsausages

I would write to the school governors, your local MP and the vicar associated with the school (I assume there is as a village school). Make it clear to the headteacher you are writing to all these people.

You are contributing to society and your child is being disadvantaged, that is unacceptable.

I would bypass the vicar and go straight to God.

(what on earth do you think a Vicar would be able to do?)

ineedaholidaynow · 05/01/2021 22:42

If anyone writes to their MP ask about the computers that the Government have promised and complain about the lack of funding for schools. I am sure the school is not just being difficult and doesn't want to teach the pupils in school, it just does not have sufficient technology.

Local primaries I am involved with, most teachers did not have school laptops so not much help if they are meant to be providing remote lessons from home! Money has been grubbed together to fund some new laptops which will take money away from other resources.

Nonamesavail · 05/01/2021 22:43

I don't know any village school here with a vicar attached.

Nohomemadecandles · 05/01/2021 22:44

Father Brown would help. Nosy fucker.

infinitediamonds · 05/01/2021 22:45

I'm impressed so many people say their kids are getting live or recorded lessons. Both my kids' schools are still just sending worksheets home.

Jessica60 · 05/01/2021 22:45

Same here. For our children to get a place at school both parents have to be keyworkers working out of the home. The school have stated that no learning will take place.
My children went into keyworkers school provision in the first lockdown and they did not do any teaching or online work then either. They played a lot.

Nonamesavail · 05/01/2021 22:46

@Jessica60

Same here. For our children to get a place at school both parents have to be keyworkers working out of the home. The school have stated that no learning will take place. My children went into keyworkers school provision in the first lockdown and they did not do any teaching or online work then either. They played a lot.
Mine did, with their usual teacher for the most part in a group of her year group doing more work than she would have done at home.
NotGenerationAlpha · 05/01/2021 22:54

Mine went in the first lockdown and there was no learning at school.it’s craft, PE and play. Homework was BBC bite size and oak academy . We were expected to catch up afterwards. I think things will better this time. They said both key worker and at home children will be doing the same work. How so I don’t know. Last time DC in year 4 had to share a screen with 2 others and that was why they couldn’t complete the online work.

Nonamesavail · 05/01/2021 22:56

I've not realised how lucky my DC were to have had a full teaching plan last time

caringcarer · 05/01/2021 23:00

I am thoroughly sick of foster child's special secondary school. They are refusing a space for vulnerable children with HCP and a SW as well as key workers children but in September when children home learning would only teach them for 1 1/2 hours each day and then there was a break during that time so really about 1 1/4 hours each day; so really refusing to work in school and refusing to teach on line. In the afternoons it is draw a picture of this and draw a picture of that. No work is ever marked and no feedback given. Foster child hates drawing. Won't help them pass their qualifications but they don't seem to care about the children at his school. He is Year 10.

ByTheStarryNight · 05/01/2021 23:04

It's been one day! Those saying they are only getting worksheets... Don't you think you should wait a bit longer before assuming it will be worksheets for the whole lockdown? The teachers at prinary in England had 12 hours' notice, same as parents.

On a more constructive note, if you have concerns you can ask the Head about their remote provision policy, which had to be prepared in the autumn term. It should include detail about how pupils, inside and outside school, will be taught.

If, after giving the school some time to organise themselves, you are not happy, then follow the school's complaints policy. Writing to governors is not the first step (Or the vicar).

DownstairsMixUp · 05/01/2021 23:07

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the poster's request.

spacegirl86 · 05/01/2021 23:20

All staff (except ecv) are in our school in our normal classes teaching as normal (up to 15 kids). Then also providing the same work in a manner that the parents can give to the kids at home (not ideal or as good as live lessons but that's how we are doing it). Then providing feedback on any work uploaded. And ringing every child at home at least fortnightly (more for some). I'm not sure how it is either sustainable or the best thing for the children at home.

Other schools I know are having teachers record lessons which are assessed both by those at home and those at school, supervised by tas. Teachers doing this from in school too.

I think not getting anything at school is pretty awful. At the very least can't they shove it on the interactive whiteboard?

ineedaholidaynow · 05/01/2021 23:35

If TAs are supervising the class they are very unlikely to have a laptop to access the interactive whiteboard. The teacher will have theirs at home. There won't be any spares (or any that work, there will probably be quite a few dud ones lying around!)

Benjispruce2 · 06/01/2021 07:28

I have a laptop and other TAs have been given one to use.