My child isn't getting lessons in lockdown

[kelpbeds]

My child is in secondary school but the school are only delivering worksheets and powerpoints etc... during lockdown, which are unmarked.
My child is not getting access to any online lessons via Zoom. Seems that the teachers aren't doing an awful lot to be honest and I'm not very happy about this.
Do children have a right to online lessons led by a teacher (zoom, skype, teams etc...) during this lockdown period (as I know happens in many schools) or is it a case that it is up to the school how they deliver lockdown learning?
Thanks

No they don't have a right to online lessons led by a teacher.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools#res

Do you mean they aren't offering it in the future either? Our KS3 are working from powerpoints and sheets this week but we will be doing live lessons from next week.

Whilst it's not great for you that they aren't offering live lessons there are some great ones offered online by the BBC and Oak Academy.

I mean they aren't offering live lessons at all during lockdown.
I think it's pretty pathetic and a total cop out. Why on earth shouldn't teacher be teaching? We have the technology to do it really can't see any reason why not.

Our secondary school is giving 5 hours of online learning a day.
I would think not getting online learning was unusual for secondary.

Powerpoints and worksheets ARE online learning. Are the Powerpoints narrated? Sometimes a powerpoint with a voiceover is much more useful than a live lesson which can be disrupted, connections lost etc. Students can go through powerpoints in their own time, stop to look things up or make notes. They're extremely good teaching tools.

They do have lessons? What is a power point and worksheet if not a lesson?

There should be some marking and feedback (not every piece of work) but give them a bit of time to set up a schedule for this.

I mean, the teachers are also teaching the key worker and vulnerable children.

Hard to be in two places at once

Many schools aren't offering live lessons. It's hard to be sure all the class can be online at the sane time. Some share devices with other siblings.

As long as work is offered then the school is doing it's job.

Some people want the moon on a stick.

I think that’s quite unusual, especially if they are not planning on doing it at all in the coming weeks.

All the secondary schools I know of are doing live lessons all day. My daughter has 4 lessons each day following her normal timetable. They can also access class resources, all the powerpoints used in live lessons etc at any time so they could get the same information if they did miss the live lesson for any reason.
If they’re not going to do any live lessons, your child needs to go through each PowerPoint fully and do any work provided.
If there really is no marking or feedback and your child is unsure or struggling I would get in touch with the school and ask how they can help. My daughter has to upload work onto teams or email it to her teachers. They then mark and give feedback. She can also email her teachers at any time with any questions.

I haven't marked anything yet - but that doesn't mean I won't be doing. The rhythms of the school week need to be considered... I teach the bulk of my lessons Monday / Thursday / Friday so my marking gets done on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Please remember that schools were not expecting this. They were either teaching face to face on Monday (primaries) or prepping to be mass testing centres (secondaries) and then expected to u-turn the following day. They’ve got work out to you. That’s pretty good going given the circumstances. More than the govt can do. Please give them a chance.

So between teaching key worker / vulnerable children who are on site in school full days, preparing those home school resources, marking, calling parents twice a week, and with ppa time being obliterated from the schedule, when do you think teachers ARENT teaching?

@Anyoldname12

So between teaching key worker / vulnerable children who are on site in school full days, preparing those home school resources, marking, calling parents twice a week, and with ppa time being obliterated from the schedule, when do you think teachers ARENT teaching?

1. There aren't that many vulnerable children in schools as a % of normal children.
2. None of the work my child has done has been marked (and this includes a long stretch before lockdown!)
3. We have never had a phone call

So in answer to your question I expect a lot more. And I certainly expect some lessons to be delivered by teachers and that is what they are being paid for.

@BadTattoosAndSmellLikeBooze

I think that’s quite unusual, especially if they are not planning on doing it at all in the coming weeks.

All the secondary schools I know of are doing live lessons all day. My daughter has 4 lessons each day following her normal timetable. They can also access class resources, all the powerpoints used in live lessons etc at any time so they could get the same information if they did miss the live lesson for any reason.
If they’re not going to do any live lessons, your child needs to go through each PowerPoint fully and do any work provided.
If there really is no marking or feedback and your child is unsure or struggling I would get in touch with the school and ask how they can help. My daughter has to upload work onto teams or email it to her teachers. They then mark and give feedback. She can also email her teachers at any time with any questions.

Yes totally agree. They get about hour and half of work per day and no feedback and no indication from the school that this will change. Thank you

@GravityFalls

Powerpoints and worksheets ARE online learning. Are the Powerpoints narrated? Sometimes a powerpoint with a voiceover is much more useful than a live lesson which can be disrupted, connections lost etc. Students can go through powerpoints in their own time, stop to look things up or make notes. They're extremely good teaching tools.

Totally depends on the powerpoint. None are narrated, some are generic and there is no feedback. That isn't teaching.

klaxon

House!

‘Being paid for’
‘I expect’
‘Normal children’
‘None of the work’
‘Pathetic’
‘Cop out’

What do I win?

Teachers will still have a lot to do organising the right online resources that will work for their class, and the power points you are being sent presumably didn’t make themselves. You don’t have the right to insist on live lessons.

Talk to the school if you don’t think that what they are providing is adequate, but it’s probably worth waiting until next week as I know a few schools won’t be fully functioning with their online learning until then.

I think that’s poor OP

My DC are at local comp and local 6th form and they are getting their normal schedule, taught by a combination of zoom “live” lessons, YouTube vids, work sheets (they give the DC the mark sheets to mark their own work after, then feed back to the teacher how they did)

They have also done online tests marked by teachers

Key worker kids and vulnerable children do the same online classes but inside the school, that way teachers don’t have to split themselves in two

It is not ideal, but doable.

Very unfair on kids whose schools are not putting enough effort in

I'd give it a week for schools to get things sorted, tbh, before I started getting annoyed. But at some point if that continued I would get annoyed.

@AppleKatie

klaxon

House!

‘Being paid for’
‘I expect’
‘Normal children’
‘None of the work’
‘Pathetic’
‘Cop out’

What do I win?

Meant to say 'normal % of children in lessons'

Rest of it I don't see a problem with.

You really telling me I shouldn't expect something from my children's education. Are you also telling me that 11/2 of powerpoints per day unmarked with no plans to change isn't pathetic etc... It is a cop out.
I stand by my criticisms. My child has a right to be taught and isn't getting that.

It’s strange as most secondaries have had plans for 2 weeks isolating in place since September. I’m glad dd doesn’t have 5 hours of live lessons and will have a mix instead. I feel our balance I right but I know a local school is doing 5 hours a day live lessons. I don’t think that’s fair on teacher or child. My concern with your school’s set up is lack of feedback. Dd always submits work and it’s marked with a message from the teacher. For me that’s more valuable than live lessons with 30 dc.

@unmarkedbythat

I'd give it a week for schools to get things sorted, tbh, before I started getting annoyed. But at some point if that continued I would get annoyed.

I'd be happy with that.

Live lessons are not some kind of gold standard. As a parent and as a teacher I would not want my / other people's children sitting in front of a tablet or laptop for 6+ hours a day, not to mention the massive safeguarding issues. Cameras on - how do you know Freddy's weird older brother won't expose himself in the background? If just teacher on screen, how do you know people aren't recording the teacher? If it's just voice to avoid the above scenarios, it's like a 32 person phone call (mayhem) OR a dull as dishwater lecture / monologue by the teacher. To make it more interactive needs planning time which we haven't had yet. Mine will be this weekend.

Give schools a chance. We only got closed down in the last few days. Recording resources etc takes time - I've spent the last 8 hours putting together lessons that are accessible for those with wifi / devices and those without. Yesterday was a 16 hour day. By Monday things will have found their rhythm.