Headteachers letter to parents with teacher training link.

[itsgettingweird]

I just saw this and thought it was brilliant.

apple.news/AL86JlzklRQ2AoWEC5HeXKg

There's no denying this isn't easy for anyone.
Those WFH and homeschooling have it hard.

Many teachers are also doing this.

But there does seem to be some parents who think they can do it better and yet also cannot wait to send their kids back - because it's hard!

Yes, I saw that too.
Hopefully put some parents in their place.

There's also some schools failing to provide adequate home learning like my children's school. It's awful. Absolutely awful.

Susanna Reid just read it brilliantly.

If any school isn't offering adequate learning contact heads. Teachers will be providing what they've been told to provide. Doesn't make them bad at their jobs.

I loved it.

Fully aware that some schools are not up to par - and this is unfair and needs to be sorted.

Also aware that what is deemed adequate varies considerably. And that even that is based on a whole load of factors - some are focused on content. Some are focused on how long it takes. Some are dead set on live being the only option. Some say adequate is just pure old fashioned academia - maths and English.

But back to the letter - I thought it was great. I’m so thankful that the bulk of my parents have been extremely supportive and feedback constructive and my school have taken lots into account and changed a few things accordingly. Thank you parents

Most parents are pissed off they are expected to home school alongside a full time job. I’m also pretty sick at being expected to take the place of a skilled professional who has been trained in the current teaching principles and with years of experience in how to help children engage with learning.

If I had decided that wanted to take on responsibility for my children’s schooling I would have made sure if undergone some training myself. Instead the expectations from my children’s school is I can just slot into the gap left by their teacher and hit the ground running. Well no, if I could do that then teaching would be an unskilled profession.

Agree justanotherneigh I was honestly hoping this thread was going to point me to some basic teacher training I could use to get myself in a position to teach my child!

I am the child of two teachers and so I obviously have the utmost respect for the skills, experience and training that make a good teacher. Home school is making it abundantly clear that I have none of those. Schools and govt pay lip service to how hard it must be for parents. But when it comes to actual support on how to manage your child's learning...very little. I don't think this is the school's job, by the way, this is exactly the sort of thing govt should be providing on a national scale. But I think it's pretty mean spirited of schools to be sending out letters like that. Maybe parents are, like me, at the end of their tethers with demotivated children who they can see falling behind and who they feel they are failing. Their frustration may be misdirected, sure, but a little understanding would go a long way.

I actually think that message is a bit ridiculous.

It’s so hard teaching kids at home for parents. Also, while teachers may be expert at classroom teaching online is totally new to them and individuals might benefit from some feedback. I know someone (himself a secondary teacher) who sent some suggestions about improving online content at our primary after sitting through the early lessons with his kids.

I really can’t see why suggesting something that might help kids learn is a huge problem.

In my role at work (non-teaching) we are certainly expected to take on board external feedback from non experts.

I think it's pretty mean spirited of schools to be sending out letters like that.

When parents are using the (excellent sounding) support the school provides to send rude messages and tell teachers how to do their jobs it isn't mean to say that's unacceptable.

The use of irony to make the point makes it a light hearted letter where it would have been hectoring.

The problem with generic letters like this is parents who are being unreasonable will just ignore it and carry on as before; however, a lot of parents who had genuine concerns/queries, but are worried about bothering teachers, will now think they can’t email.

It’s like keyworker places. My kids school sent a generic email about parents only taking places if needed and no other options. So there are working parents frantically trying to rearrange work/swapping to night shifts. We also have families with one SAHP just ignoring and carrying on as before.

The Head would be better just addressing those parents directly in an email. I do think some Headteachers are more worried about getting 5 mins of fame with their wonderful parent letters then actually assisting their staff.

We actually don’t know the messages were rude, as they aren’t included/quoted. All we know is the head feels they were inappropriate

I think it’s awful. My DCs school sends out a survey asking parents for feedback, positive and negative, to help the school improve remote learning. The headmaster that wrote the letter could do with some training himself.

Certainly in my job this would be considered incredibly unprofessional and I have no doubt I'd be sacked if I did something like this.

This is without even getting into the question of whether the school is providing acceptable online learning. Whilst many are, many others certainly aren't, and this consistently gets ignored among the 'teachers are all working so hard' narrative.

It's unprofessional to have a tantrum in people's inboxes. The author needs to grow up.

There are ways of providing constructive feedback. It sounds like some parents at this school were not contacting teachers appropriately.

Good to see a head teacher supporting the staff.

There are differences between feedback on how to engage students (or just your child) better, and feedback on the content/explanations.

I guess most of the feedback was the latter and probably not constructive either.

Instead the expectations from my children’s school is I can just slot into the gap left by their teacher and hit the ground running.

I have every sympathy, teaching isn't easy. What are your school providing and how old are your children?

FYI schools have been forced to provide 3 hours of work for KS1, 4 hours for ks2 and 5 for ks3, 4&5 so please don't blame schools for too much work. That ones on the government.

I think the letter is a fair response and seems to be a response to those who are making unhelpful comments and suggestions rather than those who are struggling or need more support. Remember parents are not normally privy to their children's daily lessons but now we often are sitting in the same room and hearing a live feed of the teachers. I can just imagine that some parents who will disagree with what is being said or the methods or say 'that's not how we did that in my day' forgetting that the teachers have to follow a certain curriculum.

"Most parents are pissed off they are expected to home school alongside a full time job."

People who say this, imo, are forgetting that the teachers are in the exactly same position, homeschooling their own children, alongside full time job as a teacher.

So many parents are complaining that they can't work properly/efficiently while homeschooling their own children, why they expect the teachers can do perfect job while homeschooling their own children? I don't think teachers have magic powers that non teaching working parents don't.
Tbh, school and teachers are doing great job under the circumstances.

Christ that letter irritates me. I work full time and am working into the early hours of every morning so that I can ensure my Y1, Y4 and Y6 do their school work adequately during the day so if I have an opinion on the less that adequate provision some days then I bloody well will. If the schools want us to effectively teach our children then they need to work with us. Perhaps some understanding that parents are also working 2 jobs (teacher and actual job) at the moment and might be run just as ragged as teachers would help him to understand some of the frustration that parents might be feeling which might have led to some of their comments. Take it up with them direct too. Or if there are so many it warrants an entire school letter then look at where the problem may lie. Not all teachers are good (just the same as any industry) and not all schools are providing great provision. For those commenting that this is a great letter, you have no idea of what this school
Is like.

@Xerochrysum

"Most parents are pissed off they are expected to home school alongside a full time job."

People who say this, imo, are forgetting that the teachers are in the exactly same position, homeschooling their own children, alongside full time job as a teacher.

So many parents are complaining that they can't work properly/efficiently while homeschooling their own children, why they expect the teachers can do perfect job while homeschooling their own children? I don't think teachers have magic powers that non teaching working parents don't.
Tbh, school and teachers are doing great job under the circumstances.

Absolutely none of the teachers at our school are home schooling their children, they are all in under key worker provision.

Teachers are stuck in the middle at the moment. Expected to teach one group in person, provide learning for another group at home. Demands of parents. Demands of Headteachers/Governors. Demands of their own family. All while being called to account by social media and journalists

I hear the exhaustion in my younger DDs teacher when I get the weekly welfare call. The home learning is far from perfect. But it's not lack of effort.

I think the letter is a bit ridiculous. But, unless we start being more understanding towards teachers, we won't have any in a few months.

a number of parents have taken advantage of this new access to send highly critical messages of advice to teachers about how to do their jobs and questioning their training, skills and competence.

I would be surprised that so many people are defending this, but I'm not new here.

Do lots of parents think that teachers don’t have children? Of course we understand how hard this is. Most of us are still having to teach bubbles in school, provide home learning and mark work for those at home then somehow magically find time to home educate our own kids as well! All any of us can do is our best.

I provide a full week’s home learning covering the full curriculum for my class because that it what the government requires me to do. Schools have to show we are doing this and Ofsted can check this. However, I also tell my parents just to do what they can.

Likewise I get 5 full days of work for my own two primary kids and just 2 days to do it with them. So again we just do what we can. Teachers are parents too and are struggling as much as anyone with all of this.

If you don’t like it, ask the government to place more emphasis on health and well-being than test targets. That way we could have a more nurturing a less stressful approach to home learning.

Teachers have had to deal with this since last March. They’ve not had a reprieve.

So I’m not surprised a head teacher has done this to be honest.

I’m still angry at this government for the lack of support to parents who are having to home school.

Wankers

That's just so silly and narrow minded of the headteacher. Why shouldn't parents constructively suggest improvements? The school should welcome it if they care about the children. Teachers have little to no experience with remote learning and can't be expected to get it right when thrown into the deep end so fair and well considered feedback might help improve things.

Our dc spend hours and hours on the computer which is going to be detrimental for their eye sight and is quite age inappropriate in terms of sitting and staring at a screen. However, I would think twice before suggesting anything to the teacher as I know they are fire fighting. But if there was something important that could adversely impact the health and wellbeing or education of my kid sure I'd say something.

The headteacher's stance is the typical, haughty top down approach of some in the teaching profession. Patronising, boring and predictable, not to say old-fashioned. On the other hand the amount of moaning about learning content from some parents is just tedious albeit understandable.

"Absolutely none of the teachers at our school are home schooling their children, they are all in under key worker provision."

If that is the case, then it's not hard to imagine that they are teaching at school as well as need to provide the remote learning to those who are at home, and go home and help with their own children, so under even more strain?