Related: Coronavirus forum, discuss everything related to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic.
Related: Coronavirus forum, discuss everything related to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic.
Lockdown learning
Maybe repeating the year would be better?
foibles2011 · 27/01/2021 08:46
Ok I understand I'm probably going to get some very heated views from this but I can't help feeling that at this point the best thing for our children would be to repeat whichever school year they are in beginning in September. And no I am not just a lazy mum who can't be bothered to do the homeschooling - I am running myself into the ground trying to educate my two children and their school have been amazing in providing resources/live lessons and more but nothing can replace what they have lost in terms of school experience and then there are those children who are going to miss exams etc. The stress and mental toll that homeschooling brings just doesn't seem worth it when we could all be focusing on keeping our families happy and healthy, keeping our jobs and admit that educationally the last year has been a write off! What do you all think?
Wolfiefan · 27/01/2021 08:51
Been suggested before. Wouldn’t work. What about the kids who should start reception but can’t as others are repeating a year? What about the kids who should be off to uni?
Xerochrysum · 27/01/2021 12:40
Personally, I don't want my dc to repeat a year.
But yes I agree that if individual children needed to repeat the year due to lack of progress under the circumstances, maybe they should be given a choice.
PotteringAlong · 27/01/2021 12:44
Completely unworkable.
Where are the children going to go who are start reception? Where are you magicking up extra teachers and classrooms from?
At the other end, how about universities and collages? They will probably go bankrupt with no first year students.
You’re basically making education until 19 for the next 15 years. How much more will that cost in child benefit payments? What happened to CMS payments for child support if we extend the school leaving age?
Dinasaurcatcher · 27/01/2021 12:48
My teen should have been Y13 this year. I kept them back to repeat Y12
GlowingOrb · 27/01/2021 12:48
I think that my child has excelled with distance learning and shouldn’t be asked to repeat lessons.
For kids who are struggling, wouldn’t it make more sense for parents to work with them over the summer or get them caught up?
Xerochrysum · 27/01/2021 12:51
You say you are stressed up about your dc's home schooling, so I assume your children are still young, in primary. They will have enough time to catch up eventually. Just do what you can, and keep up with basics like reading and maths, and I'm sure they will be fine.
ThePricklySheep · 27/01/2021 12:52
@GlowingOrb
For kids who are struggling, wouldn’t it make more sense for parents to work with them over the summer or get them caught up?
Presumably the children who are struggling are struggling because home learning doesn’t work for them. Just making more of it won’t help.
Sunplanetearth8 · 27/01/2021 12:55
@Wolfiefan
This. I can’t think of a workaround for that.
It’s not great for the kids, but there isn’t another way really. Rather than repeating a year, I am sure schools will go over old ground next year quite a lot.
Such a tough job for teachers who already work so hard.
SoupDragon · 27/01/2021 12:55
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/lockdown_learning/4146254-Adding-in-an-extra-academic-year
This is the most recent
foibles2011 · 27/01/2021 13:12
Apologies i didn't realise this had been brought up on "so many threads" already - I've been too busy homeschooling and working to browse mumsnet 🤣
All valid points raised i just feel so bad for what they have missed and guilty that I won't have done enough for them.
SoupDragon · 27/01/2021 13:15
There is no answer to this that will work for everyone. For example. DD has a full online live timetable which is why I can sit on the sofa browsing MN for hours a day 😂
LST · 27/01/2021 13:21
I think so. No idea how it would be implemented but my kids are really struggling. Especially my 7 year old. I have pulled him out of the online lessons. Still not heard from the school. Really annoyed by the whole experience
cautiouscovidity · 27/01/2021 13:24
@SoupDragon
And this highlights the problem exactly.
Your DD is very lucky and it sounds like it's almost 'business as normal' for her school.
Sadly, the same can't be said for most many other schools. Some schools are providing very little for the pupils, perhaps a few worksheets or the odd video lesson here and there. My 9 year old (yr 4) has had no 'live' contact with school this term and although bright, is massively disengaged with his learning. My 11 year old (yr6) has a single 20 minute live assembly once a week and that's her only contact with the school. She's had enough and is really worried about the transition to secondary school in September when many of the other kids (there are approx 20+ feeder primaries) will have had a lot more teaching than she has had in the past year.
cautiouscovidity · 27/01/2021 13:24
Forgot to say - both DD and I would be delighted if she had the chance to restart yr 6 in September.
SoupDragon · 27/01/2021 13:43
Your DD is very lucky and it sounds like it's almost 'business as normal' for her school.
Exactly. How on earth do you balance her experience against those who have had crap online provision? I have no idea how they are going to sort this mess out and that's ignoring any knock on effect down through the years.
Any "one size fits all" solution is going to ensure those who had good provision are further ahead (or those with poor provision are penalised). Even if you have summer schools for those who need it means that they will miss out on important rest and recreation time which penalises them in some other way.
foibles2011 · 27/01/2021 14:13
Wow @SoupDragon that is amazing! I am teacher and TA for both kids who have 5-7 PowerPoint and worksheet lessons each per day and one live lesson each - they both need support throughout! I can only dream of my sofa 
I also try and work in between and at the end of the day its chaos here 
DigitalGhost · 27/01/2021 14:22
Realistically they should as they've missed so much.
But my DD is starting on Reception in September, the week after turning 4 and I think she'd be bored with another year of nursery. Not to mention they'd be no room for her 🤷
EssentialHummus · 27/01/2021 14:23
I think some sort of "yes it's Year 2 but we will have to cover a lot of Year 1" (and on up through the age brackets) system is needed, perhaps with exam content adjusted or differently weighted. I know it'd be hugely complicated to implement. If parents could adequately work from home while teaching their kids (leave alone additional needs, parental issues, lack of tech, everything else) schools wouldn't exist in their usual form.
HSHorror · 28/01/2021 18:16
I really dont think they should spend time going over the previous year. It will put everyone behind. for primary anyway.
But in maths anyway they have to sort of cover the last year to go from say 2 to 3 digits or 3 to 4 etc.
I honestly think the biggest issue is for ones not in school who are missing out on friendships especially in yr r. While other kids are in. And you arent even meant to meet up at the park etc.
HSHorror · 28/01/2021 18:18
Sorry but yes it would be fine with everyone starting this year again as long as some flexibility for some to still move up.
Generally more flexibility for kids to stay back a year needs to be put in place after this. The summer borns already at huge disadvantage then missing half a year. Often my dc only got the topics towards the end of the year
SoupDragon · 28/01/2021 18:30
it would be fine with everyone starting this year again as long as some flexibility for some to still move up.
Where do you propose they put the Reception 2021 starters?
LadyCatStark · 28/01/2021 18:51
The thing is it wouldn’t help to bridge the gap because schools that have been doing and had good engagement will just move their children on and by the time it comes to GCSEs etc all the children who have been offered good learning and engaged with it will have had an extra year to prepare, if that makes any sense.
For example DS’s outstanding Grammar school is doing a full timetable on Teams and has 100% attendance. If he was made to repeat year 7, all his school would do would be to move onto the year 8 curriculum. In fact they’re already doing the year 8 curriculum in many subjects so I guess they’d move on to year 9.
The only way to even try to bridge the gap is catch up lessons somehow.
Duckchick · 28/01/2021 19:00
I have a year 1 DS who had poor provision the first closure, and patchy provision now. However, the school has done much better at catching up some subjects than others as they seem to have struggled to catch up where they have don't have a very coherent approach to teaching. The class are significantly behind on reading (based on their guided reading which they do as a whole class) but as far as I can tell where they should be in maths. The reading / English home learning continues to be scattergun whereas the maths works well so it's not going to get any better. I suspect this isn't unusual. I'm not sure repeating an entire year would be the right approach given many DC won't be behind across everything, adjusting the curriculum for next year sounds more sensible.
cautiouscovidity · 28/01/2021 20:23
@SoupDragon Either:
A) delay school starting age to 5 (turning 6). 4 is too young to start school anyway so this could be a good chance to reform our education system and make it more in line with the arguably more successful German / Scandinavian systems.
Or
B) Split the new intake in two based on age. The oldest cohort would start reception in September alongside this year's reception children who would be repeating, making a year cohort approx 1.5 times its normal size.
For the younger half of the year that's due to start this September, they would delay starting school until next year (so that they become the eldest in another cohort 1.5 times its usual size).
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