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

Two DC in Y11 and Y10. No online teaching at all, no narrated PowerPoints, no Teams, Zoom, Google Classrooms. Basically "watch this video and answer this quiz".

Teachers are not teaching KW children in school. It has been made very clear that students will complete the same work that students at home have been set and no teaching will take place.

I fucking despair when I read about other children getting so much more.

And by the way - if we had a Government capable of critical analysis they would have closed schools the week before Christmas to suppress infection / allow teachers time to prep for remote learning.

Instead we have a Gov who forced schools to stay open spreading infection, released them into family homes for Christmas, then sent pupils back to school for ONE DAY to cross-infect another ten thousand or so people before locking down.

So far ds1 who is in year 8 hasn't had any live zoom/teams lessons. He didn't last time. Neither did my primary age children. They had work set on teams or Show My Homework. Ds1 has had a few pre-recorded lessons on google classroom but nothing live.

Tbh I don't really expect it. They might be at home with their children or they might be in school teaching keyworkers children. Mine all going in 2 days a week.

It’s not that I don’t think you should expect a lot - it’s more that I just don’t believe your version of events and the language you are couching it all in makes you sound goady and like you are being hyperbolic.

Live lessons are not the only way to provide lessons to,children. Infact for many schools and many pupils they are one of the least effective methods of providing remote learning. I think some parents like the idea of them as there is then the whole 'teacher is present' idea so can't be accused as shirking off duties.

Our teachers are all in class every day as we have up to 50% of pupils in classes daily. We have a large number of key worker and vulnerable children. They are doing a full days work and then having to go home and record lessons for those pupils at home.

As of October the school must have a remote learning policy which lays out what parents should expect from school, and what school should expect from pupils and/or families. Ask to see this.

As a teacher I don't understand why schools provisions are so different. My secondary school, which is huge and in a really deprived area of East Anglia is delivering 5 hours of live lessons a day (some of which are admitidly a check in with the teacher at the start, a prerecirded activity and a live plenary), registers are taken, which then allows me, as a head of year to find out what's going on with the students and their level of engagement. Kinky teach 3 hours a day, so spend the rest of the time phoning parents and students and doing me level best to remove any barriers to learning. We have issued 69 laptops and are awaiting a delivery of another 100. However, all of our live lessons are recorded so students who share devices can catch up. Ppts and resources are also uploaded.

My yr8 son has had 3 hours of zoom lessons this week and a tonne of research this or make a poster on that- as an open ended task - he is struggling with it.

My Yr2 son has a new teacher who started this term but is off ill. Has sent worksheets, but the literacy ones we already did last lockdown and the maths ones are far far far too easy. I'm hoping that will improve once she is actually in school and can see the children's data, so I'm not holding that against her. I'm hoping for some live interactive lessons because at the moment I set him up on reading eggs or maths seed on his ip ad in the morning and then ignore him until I've finished my lessons. If I was a main scale teacher doing it 22/25 lessons a week, god knows what it would be like!

Probably should have read it before I posted ... I don't kinky teach anything!!! Opps

@kelpbeds what year is your child in?

@AppleKatie

It’s not that I don’t think you should expect a lot - it’s more that I just don’t believe your version of events and the language you are couching it all in makes you sound goady and like you are being hyperbolic.

Who am I goading and why would I exaggerate? These are genuine issues? Everyone else seems to agree it is a poor show and that others are getting a lot more.

[quote AldiAisleofCrap]@kelpbeds what year is your child in?[/quote]
Year 8

@AllDoneIn

And by the way - if we had a Government capable of critical analysis they would have closed schools the week before Christmas to suppress infection / allow teachers time to prep for remote learning.

Instead we have a Gov who forced schools to stay open spreading infection, released them into family homes for Christmas, then sent pupils back to school for ONE DAY to cross-infect another ten thousand or so people before locking down.

Agreed, incredulous incompetency!

So be proactive and get your child going on Oak Academy (free)or similar. Email the teacher to tell them that's what your child will be doing. Keep a log of what lessons they do. Plenty on there, it's proper teaching. You can follow the daily schedule or mix and match your own.

If the school are being useless, go elsewhere, don't waste energy being angry about it.

No zoom/ teams teaching for my DS either and he is really missing the social contracts. Quality of online resources is good though and I’m not about to complain to the school

@MissSueFlay

So be proactive and get your child going on Oak Academy (free)or similar. Email the teacher to tell them that's what your child will be doing. Keep a log of what lessons they do. Plenty on there, it's proper teaching. You can follow the daily schedule or mix and match your own.

If the school are being useless, go elsewhere, don't waste energy being angry about it.

That's helpful thank you

Your concerns are valid. It is very poor from the school and very inconsistent across different schools. Some people on here always try to defend schools. If they are doing a rubbish job then we can call them out.

Yes, I was going to point out that both b.b.c and oak academy have perfectly good and free lessons, far better than an average school is likely to manage, and the continuous checks into comprehension are built in, by computer marked assessments, to give a guide to where more work or a step back is needed, and where the child is actually running way ahead with ease.

In fact I suggest that school and university buildings are largely redundant and that learning should never again be something forced onto a person as a compulsory full time activity involving things of no interest, at the expense of learning things which fascinate, and at a level suited to the learner. There is nothing to stop a great grandparent learning something originally suggested as suited to a child, nor to stop a child studying something which she has learned from sheer enthusiasm up to a senior level, despite her young age.

What's not to love? Isn't it ideal to have anyone anywhere able to access individual study, to an entirely personal timetable and to any level, in any spare time, at any age throughout life, for pure interest or to earn money, and while earning money at another occupation ?

What was done in medieval times should not be the single option in this century.

I agree it sounds pathetic. Hopefully; they are sorting out a better plan.

We are teaching our usual timetable and a 30min tutor group 3 times a week. The other 60min a week which would usually be tutor times are being used to call tutees and we have to fill in a form about what we spoke about and submit it.

I would see what next week is like - I know for my secondary we are live teaching years 11-13 this week but gearing up for 7-10 for next week. It's been a massive shock for all of us.

Our school are doing live lessons, a few this week then nearly all next week. All the teaching material is on Teams.

All keyworker kids do the online lessons too in school.

It's pretty shit for you OP. Schools have had 10 months to get organised for remote learning I feel for you. Without the live lessons there is no way I could get my DS to participate meaningfully.

It took DD’s school to get sorted but they are now superb. First lockdown they used Show My Homework to set lessons and teachers provided great feedback it was good in comparison to a lot of friends’ experiences for their DCs. It lacked the Teams sessions I was hearing about from privately educated friends’ children.

During summer holidays every classroom was fitted with cameras and teachers had training on how to use, when some pupils were sent home to self isolate they could have hybrid lessons, some in, some not. It is almost easier now that all are at home, teaching is remote but happening as per time-table. This is for a Y11 DD. School up the road, less than a quarter of a mile away, I hear the parents are very unimpressed with practically zilch teaching so it is clearly very patchy.

I would add re Oak Academy it may be better than nothing but for those in secondary school aiming for higher papers etc it may not be the right level. It isn’t a stand-alone.

YANBU OP. Sadly we have become conditioned to accepting substandard education from many schools in the UK.

I absolutely don't blame teachers, they were on their knees even before the pandemic and they're now dealing with multiple pressures, last minute changes and not enough resources.

But let's not pretend that unmarked worksheets and PowerPoints is substitute for an education.

*In fact I suggest that school and university buildings are largely redundant and that learning should never again be something forced onto a person as a compulsory full time activity involving things of no interest, at the expense of learning things which fascinate, and at a level suited to the learner. There is nothing to stop a great grandparent learning something originally suggested as suited to a child, nor to stop a child studying something which she has learned from sheer enthusiasm up to a senior level, despite her young age.

What's not to love? Isn't it ideal to have anyone anywhere able to access individual study, to an entirely personal timetable and to any level, in any spare time, at any age throughout life, for pure interest or to earn money, and while earning money at another occupation ?*

You're missing the point of school which is to provide universal childcare alongside education. And the most valuable learning that happens, outside of the three Rs are "soft" skills, communication, teamwork, cooperation, conflict resolution, leadership etc. These are developed through arts, sports, drama, DoE, student societies etc. as well as lessons.

@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

This just shows how little parents understand.

No, your child does not have a "right" to live streamed lessons. They have a right to an education. They are getting what they need for an education.

This pandemic has really shown up the ignorance of parents. They want better resources for children, what resources do you think are available to teachers? You are getting what is available. That is what there is.

They want their children to sit and work independently. Guess what, so do schools. Guess what again, it is not up to teachers to bring children up to behave, it is up to parents.

They want not to be working before children get up, or after children go to bed. Guess what, so do teachers.But if you spend the school hours teaching, then most other work happens at night, - And the actually teaching of the children is the least of a teachers job, which is mostly paperwork

Thankfully, there are children in the country who are able to sit down and behave, and many of them tell me how much they prefer lock down learning, as their education is not being disrupted by the ones who have no idea how to behave.

And much as there are parents winging because they have too much/not enough live streaming, or too much/not enough resources and too much/not enough feedback, there are also parents who are grateful for the support they are getting from the school, and they are just getting on with it.

In fact, I can guarantee there are other parents with children in the same class getting the same resources who are complaining the exact opposite to you, and also others who are completely happy