How long have schools been closed where you are ?

[habibihabibi]

KSA
School closed March 2020
Still closed 😯
Everything else is open, pools , parks, malls, indoor playareas, sports activies.

Normaigai It’s not really the internet that’s the issue with online teaching.
It’s if classes are live, full or part time, kids have enough technology for one per child, room in their homes to work, resources at home etc etc. Just wondered what other places were like.

Those places that have been online learning...how well did it dies it work? Is broadband , tech etc an issue?

HK has a similar problem to UK in that it depends on income. A lot of working class families wouldn't have broadband or a laptop at home - they just use a tablet or big Android phone and use mobile data as it's dirt cheap. A lot of those kids of primary age wouldn't have their own device so would miss live lessons and have to work when a parent is home (evenings). Ironically though, the teaching style of HK public schools and the requirements of Chinese literacy (rote learning) lends itself relatively well to remote learning, assuming the kid motivates itself to copy characters all day.

Degree and quality of live teaching varies massively across schools and systems (local public, local independent, international). My dc are at an international school and it's blended (3 zooms plus 2 bits of independent work done through google classrooms), which although requires more inout from me, I prefer. Some schools do 9-3 Zooms. Some do barely any.

I feel like my kids are getting through the curriculum and not falling behind but they just really miss being in school - ds particularly is a really collaborative learner. Also, just missing the fun things that make school fun- all the assemblies, shows, sport, guest speakers etc.

@Thewinterofdiscontent

Normaigai It’s not really the internet that’s the issue with online teaching. It’s if classes are live, full or part time, kids have enough technology for one per child, room in their homes to work, resources at home etc etc. Just wondered what other places were like.

But you specifically asked if broadband was an issue. What issues were you thinking about there?

Access to tech is an issue worldwide of course, but less of an issue to the people on this thread (although it will be for some) because often they will have children at international schools which already had bring your own device policies. Of course in every country there are groups who can't afford multiple devices in a family and children are being disproportionately impacted. In the UAE there has been a lot of government aid distributing devices to low income schools, far more than seems to have been the case in the UK, but it's still an issue. There are not many really low income families here though because of visa restrictions and the cost of schooling.

Although, I should say, the group of low income families does (anecdotally) seem to be growing as families stay in the UAE after job loss in the hope of getting another job rather than repatriating. That group has an access to education issue more broadly as they also can't afford to continue paying school fees.

Our internet is problematic at times, even though we have every booster and upgrade available. School gave all the primary children ipads the day school shut in March. They were all upgraded over xmas.
Secondary kids have personal devices.
School distributed stationary, science and art supplies.
This week they have started pods where a class will go in and be split up in groups of 7. Seems it will be only once month though.
Still staff issues made worse with Emirates stopping flights to the UK as Dubai was been used to quarrantine for the 2wks before being being permitted back in the Kingdom. No direct UK- KSA flights allowed

Our school provided tablets and laptops to anyone who needed them and the major phone companies gave extra giga free, and free giga when needed.

Connection can always have its off days, but (at least with me) it's been me, not the kids with a dodgy one, which I've put down to ancient laptop. The kids (many of them use their phones anyway rather than a PC or laptop) have more up to date devices. We were on Zoom in the spring which was tech heaven compared to Meet which we're on now, but hey ho, it's better than nothing.

Re: the space issue. I have about 250-280 kids. Families here are small- a fair few only children or two child families.
I'm also secondary so no parental help needed etc.

When I last did a lesson in a classroom, (3rd March) our school had 90 teachers and 3 interactive whiteboards. They've put them now into all the classrooms ready for any blended. Which I'm off to do for the first time in an hour. Weird to be putting my shoes on to do a lesson.

Can I ask, in the places where schools have been closed long-term, are nursery/early years settings? Just curious, as in England they have remained open during most recent lockdown whereas here in Scotland they are still closed.

Some nurseries have been opened here in KSA as they are not under the directive of Minsitry of Education .
I seriously doubt school will open before September and that is with a only a tiny amount of cases in comparison to the U.K.
Now we have an app that must be shown to enter malls and shops.

France, like others have said my kids have been back full time since beginning of June (wearing masks, regular hand washing). Surprising as we are in 1 of the areas which always seems to have higher than average cases but no cases in either class just a couple of kids absent now and again as have been in contact with someone who has tested positive.

I understand that lycée are on alternate weeks, friends with kids at this age seem to think it's working ok.

I can't speak for other schools / parents but have been generally happy with ours. Both sent out information back in september laying out what would happen if your child needs to isolate or we have another school closure (school has ordered individual text books for every child so they will always have the necessary books at home and there is a system to borrow laptops if you dont have 1 at home). All parents given log in details for online systems and we have had online info evenings for parents.

Tbf, I was pretty happy with both schools during the first lockdown. No live lessons but well thought out activities and lessons (considering the short notice) and teachers responding to messages same day / checking in regularly with the students etc..

That said schools / shops are pretty much all that is open, we have a 6pm-6am curfew, closed borders, restricted travel, limits on meeting up and cases are rising so we may have another complete lockdown with school closures in the coming weeks maybe to coincide with the feb school holidays to minimise disruption.

@Ijustcalled

Can I ask, in the places where schools have been closed long-term, are nursery/early years settings? Just curious, as in England they have remained open during most recent lockdown whereas here in Scotland they are still closed.

Our scuola Materna (nursery equivalent but more formal- runs from 3-6) have been open throughout, schools that were totally closed during the big lockdown in March have always also been open for students with SEN. That's in my region- I think each region decided what to do itself though.

Texas closed schools at spring break mid March and then did online through end of school year in end of May. Reopened in august with the first 2 weeks online then those who wanted went back to school. We had 50% in person, 50% virtual in our school district. At the end of each grading period (6/9weeks) we can switch. As of now there are about 75% in person at my D.C.s schools. I have one in school, one virtual (he doesn’t want to go back for the rest of the school year). As far I as my son tells me they wear masks on bus and in school, they no longer change for PE, not really any social distancing in class as there are too many students. The band teacher sits behind a Perspex screen as he has a dozen kids blowing trumpets at him during band class. Poor bloke.

@Normaigai

At my school (UK in SE very rural large grounds , very affluent area) the internet is shocking actually.
I’m guessing overseas is better than the U.K. but I didn’t know if it was an issue so I put it in a list of “how did it work”.I wasn’t about rich and poor , more about how is your school managing.

The saga continues
School will not open this academic year at the very least.
Anyone else considering boarding as an alternative to remote learning ?

In Japan, schools are open here. All kids aged 3 and over wear masks to school and there's no talking during lunchtime when masks are off.

3 weeks in total over the year. One week either side of the Easter school holidays last year. It was optional before and for a couple of weeks after . Then the kids had the first week off after the summer holidays in February. Western Australia. Life is pretty much normal here

Also, we had a very short summer holiday in Japan last year to make up for school closures at the beginning of the school year. My kids school only had 10 days off in the summer. I really feel bad for everyone who is still homeschooling. It must be hard, especially if you are juggling WFH as well.

We are in Maryland. Our kids walked out of school with all their belongings on March 13th 2020. This coming week, March 11th some kids (not all) are going back into classrooms. So 1 year.

@habibihabibi

The saga continues School will not open this academic year at the very least. Anyone else considering boarding as an alternative to remote learning ?

Oh that really sucks. I'm in Dubai and my school has been open since Sept 2020 - we only closed for term 3 last year, which was compulsory. We have all pupils in every day apart from the 7 pupils still doing home learning, which is a pain and not a good use of resources but is an option we have to offer.

Today it was exactly a year that schools closed in KSA.
All the posts of children flocking back to school in the UK have got me down.
I just do not know what to do anymore.
My children are depressed and there is no end in sight of schools returning.
😓

Op that sounds very tough

Schools in many parts of India haven't reopened since they shut in March last year either. My DC have completed nearly a whole school year without stepping into a school or meeting their friends. Online provision by their school has been excellent though with a full timetable of live classes, so academically at least they're on track.

I’m in Turkey. Most kids went back last Tuesday full time, after pretty much a year of homeschool (they went back for three weeks in November before we were locked down again). It’s been awful. Shops open but nothing else. Full weeekend lockdowns so not able to go out. Live in a high rise apartment (not a big one...) so feel really cooped up.

It has relaxed a bit now but infections are going up (because many people ignored the lockdowns and because shopping malls are open and no one here seems to understand social distancing!). So I expect we will be locked down again in a few weeks.

They will desperately want the tourist season to be lockdown free as they rely on the money. So we will see what happens with that....

In the Netherlands primary schools closed from March 16 to june, them open for about a month/6 weeks before summer holidays. then open Sept to mid Dec. Closed until mid Feb, open since then.

Its been far more restricted for secondary. Also afterschool care still closed. DH and I both WFH full time. its been very difficult. Most social stuff (restaurants museums, swimming pools,) also closed and we have a night curfew from 9pm. We get more announcements next week, so I predict an opening up of more things (also it's the general election next week, so am sure there will be some positive news from the government....)

South Aus
Our schools haven't closed really, only school sports between schools shut for a bit, now on again
We took dd out for 1 week before holidays early last year when it was all new, government extended them same holidays by a week. So 4 all up at the beginning
Everything is open, we have fringe festival on right now and looking at 40,000 strong crowds for footy in a few weeks

I just do not know what to do anymore.

I sympathise. I was literally about to pull the rip cord when the school announced that they would test teachers fortnightly and that would allow them to operate half days 5x a week after Easter- the government, in their wisdom, put that decision onto individual schools rather than mandating a policy so you can imagine how toxic that has become, given that a positive test= 2 weeks in a government quarantine centre which is like a prison (not an exaggeration) for all your close contacts. Has really pitted teachers against parents and parents against other parents.

I think I also just feel really claustrophobic due to the 21 day inbound hotel quarantine (not to mention the fact that flights from the UK are currently banned). Plus all the other crap that's going on here.

How old are your DC Habibi? Would you consider boarding school in UK?