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Lockdown learning

Related: Coronavirus forum, discuss everything related to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic.

Original poster

How many hours of live lessons for Year 7?

11 replies

OtterL · 23/01/2021 14:07

Hi, how many hours of live lessons does your year 7 child have? Our 11 year old DS has live lessons from 8:40 -4 with an hour off for lunch and is not coping very well with it. He does have ADHD and dyslexia which makes it hard also - when it came to yesterday, he was emotional and exhausted - we made him sit through the lessons but I m not sure how much he took in really. He was shattered last night and slept till 10 this morning. Just wondering whether all year 7s have the same and this is normal and just DS who is finding it hard or whether the school are expecting a bit much in trying to replicate the full school day online? I m not sure I could survive 6.5 hour of teams calls each day for work! Would be great to understand what other people are finding - our DS is at a new school since september so we don’t know any of the other parents there to ask. Thanks!

OP posts:
PhantomErik · 23/01/2021 14:17

My yr7 DD is having 1-4 teams lessons a day usuallh 2-3, but they only last 10 - 30mins each. She does the work either before or after depending on what they're told to do. So either do the work & ask the teacher if they get stuck or do the teams lesson then do the work discussed etc. So far so good.

I don't think she'd cope well with what you're describing!

shamelessmcshame · 23/01/2021 14:20

My year 7 is doing lessons from 9-3 with an hour break for lunch and a 20 minute break after lesson 2. There's 5 lessons in all

5zeds · 23/01/2021 14:22

Our school do one live tutor run session A WEEK Shock. My children are sinking with the drudge of set work with little or no interaction.

SharesinClarks · 23/01/2021 14:27

My son is yr 8 so a similar age. He has between 2 & 4 live lessons every day. The lessons are usually 30 minutes long although the length of the session is 55 minutes long. His school have made sure that there are rest breaks between each lesson regardless of whether they have live lessons or tasks set on google classroom. Any more than that is too much. Live lessons are useful but not best practice for every lesson.

SaltyAF · 23/01/2021 14:31

Our Year 7s get 50% of their timetable live; the rest is independent but related work. I think that's a good balance.

My Year 6 gets two live check-ins as of this week, but that's it. It really is important to take this up with headteachers who should help, though.

shamelessmcshame · 23/01/2021 14:39

@5zeds

Our school do one live tutor run session A WEEK Shock. My children are sinking with the drudge of set work with little or no interaction.
If for some reason they're not on live the teachers are always there over chat to support. If mine weren't following the timetable with teacher support then I think they'd really struggle
Original poster
OtterL · 23/01/2021 14:51

Thanks everyone, that’s really helpful to see the different approaches. I think a 5 minute break between lessons would make a huge difference. Just checked and DS has 6 lessons of 55 minutes each, plus 30 minutes of form time each day so that is a lot. I was so worried about him yesterday as he was in tears by the afternoon - and the school seem to think that he should be fine doing that amount. thinking about it this morning, I think I d be in tears myself if I was on TEAMs for that amount of time each day!

OP posts:
shamelessmcshame · 23/01/2021 14:55

@OtterL

Thanks everyone, that’s really helpful to see the different approaches. I think a 5 minute break between lessons would make a huge difference. Just checked and DS has 6 lessons of 55 minutes each, plus 30 minutes of form time each day so that is a lot. I was so worried about him yesterday as he was in tears by the afternoon - and the school seem to think that he should be fine doing that amount. thinking about it this morning, I think I d be in tears myself if I was on TEAMs for that amount of time each day!
6 55 minute lessons is a lot! And then with form time too... yikes
Schoolchoicesucks · 23/01/2021 15:33

OtterL my dc's school is the same - they are teaching to normal timetable. Teachers are allowed to finish live session 5 minutes before the end of the lesson and to "just" live teach for the first half of a double lesson and set work for the 2nd half.

It's really hard.

They also only have 40 minute lunch break - which isn't really sufficient to eat and get some exercise/fresh air, meaning my child either has to eat lunch while starting afternoon lessons, or wait until end of the school day when it is dark to go out for a walk.

Teaching staff can't win though - they are slammed for not doing enough live teaching, slammed for doing too much, or end up working themselves into the ground trying to provide live teaching and independent resources.

Adults found it really difficult adjusting to the isolation and mental drain of video calls all day. Expecting 11 and 12 year olds to cope with it is crazy.

SaltyAF · 23/01/2021 15:56

Yes, I believe the reason some schools are delivering live lesson overkill is because teachers were slammed in the last lockdown for being perceived not to be doing enough.

5zeds · 23/01/2021 17:18

I believe the reason some schools are delivering live lesson overkill is because teachers were slammed in the last lockdown for being perceived not to be doing enough
I think it’s because it’s easier for the children and gives so much more than “homework”

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