Where is the help?

[donutqueen]

I know this is a divisive subject and I'm not here to criticise the many hard working teachers, but I am getting to the point where I'm very p'd off. My DS attends an ofsted outstanding primary which offered the bare minimum of support during the first lockdown (no emails, no calls and just a few links to websites). I raised this with them six weeks in and was basically told to go away. This time around, they have subscribed to a learning platform where they upload a 3 min video each day and then link back to the same websites which they gave us last time. I know that the kids of friends and family go to ofsted good schools and they are getting much more provision, so why can't our school do the same? My DH and myself are trying to hold down full time jobs and I am also looking after elderly parents who are ill and I am expected to teach a full time curriculum on top of this? To add insult to injury, I uploaded the work which we had managed to complete to the learning platform and the teacher feedback was 'good work, but are you going to do the rest of it?'. I am hopping mad that there seems to be no oversight for these schools. Other parents are starting to complain, but there seems to be no changes. Can anyone who has kids in state school give me an idea of the type of provision which they are receiving at this point?

My son teaches year 5 in a state primary school and he teaches from 8.45 till 3.00 including reading to his class. Last week, one teacher took the whole year group (they are using Teams) for PSHE where they had to write about the person who has inspired them. They are doing Maths and English every day (in sets) and the work is marked. They held online Parents’ Evening last week over two evenings. The school has made sure that every child has a laptop at home. They did all this last March.

Sorry - you should contact the Governors and the LEA.

My DD is only in reception so it might be different for the rest of the school but her plan is something along these lines...

Daily.
Phonics, pre recorded video from the teacher on reading a new sound or writing a new sound.
Maths, an activity set by the teacher.
Writing, usually some drawing or mark making activity, story map, labelling pictures etc. Sometimes has a video from the teacher to explain what to do.
Other activity, experiment, crafty activity or game
PE, online yoga, ball games, balance type activities.
Story time, 3 times a week teacher reads, online story the rest of the week
Reading and tricky words.
They will often upload educational videos or games to watch/play independently.

There’s 2 live teaching lessons per week, one for writing and one for maths and a big class live story time.

Ours seems to be working well, there’s no pressure to do it all and when you upload pictures/work online the feedback from teachers is always good. I always get really quick responses to emails or questions too.

It’s a mid size, ofsted outstanding school.

The expectations for remote education
Schools are expected to build on their existing remote education provision, ensuring a strong offer is in place for all pupils.
The amount of remote education provided should be equivalent to the core teaching time pupils normally receive. As a minimum:
◼ Key Stage 1: 3 hours a day on average across the cohort, with less for younger children
◼ Key Stage 2: 4 hours a day
◼ Key Stages 3 and 4: 5 hours a day

Schools are expected to:
◼ identify a named senior leader with overarching responsibility for remote education quality and delivery
◼ ensure pupils make good progress through the school’s curriculum as a result of clear planning for each subject
◼ set meaningful and ambitious work each day in an appropriate range of subjects
◼ deliver live or recorded direct teaching as well as setting independent tasks
◼ use a digital platform consistently across the school that allows for interaction, feedback and assessment (ensuring staff are trained appropriately)
◼ overcome barriers to digital access by distributing school-owned laptops or providing printed resources (such as textbooks and workbooks)
◼ check pupil engagement with work on a daily basis, and work collaboratively with families to find solutions where engagement is not as expected
◼ identify pupils who have difficulty engaging in remote education and who may be eligible to attend school in person
◼ tailor their approach and make reasonable adjustments according to pupils’ age, stage of development and special educational needs (SEND), considering the demands being placed on parents’ help or support
◼ publish information for pupils and parents about their remote education provision on their website by 25 January – an optional template is available to support schools

Thank you for your responses. It is becoming apparent that aome schools are trying really hard to meet the guidelines. We had an online session for 15 mins yesterday where the teacher just asked the kids about their weekend. No teaching at all is forthcoming, so I think I need to follow this up.

If you really get no where trying to resolve this with the school, you can flag it up with Ofsted.