Is participation in online lessons compulsory?

[MGMidget]

I ask this because I have a year 1 child who is being given a very busy programme of online lessons by her schools all of which needs a parent to sit down and work with her on. Its a private school and to justify their fees they have laid on a full day of lessons. However, very little can be done by my DD on her own. In practice the technology is glitchy and even though she is pretty good at working her way around the system, even adults have trouble with the faulty videos, the terrible sound quality on some recordings etc and some instructions are lengthy text with multiple steps clearly aimed at adults, not children in year 1. Therefore, if left to her own devices my DD can do very little. Furthermore, many of the lessons require an adult to set the lesson up and film/photograph the child. Clearly she can't film herself doing the activities. In the past three weeks or so I have felt the school has got worse in setting lessons which require substantial parental time for little educational gain.

This week a 'history' lesson ended with a lesson on baking a cake with a request for the finished products to be photographed and posted up and the children to report back on how they tasted. I think the school is taking the piss somewhat. For three weeks now they have been annoyingly suggesting baking as a weekend activity when parents are already frazzled trying to combine home schooling with everything else. Now this week it was an official lesson. This is on top of being asked to rehearse and film our children for their part in a school play and a 'wellness afternoon' when the kids were expected to do all sorts of arts/crafts/baking activities and photograph them, post them up etc.

I just don't feel my DD is learning a great deal of important stuff from this. My time is limited for home education and I want to spend it as productively as possible. The technology is glitchy (they are using Seesaw for posting up all lessons and it really feels like they are stretching it beyond what it was meant for). Some videos freeze, sometimes work cannot be loaded up and is lost, sometimes the instructions are imcomplete or the sound quality on a video is really bad so instructions cannot be heard. Many lessons seem like they are pitched at older children are are just being rolled out to all year groups. Hence there is lots of additional fiddling around just to work on the lesson, explain it to my DD and help her work through it and upload the work.

I am wondering therefore, to what extent this is compulsory? Do we need to try and work through every lesson? Much of it just doesn't seem like its going to be of long term educational value. I don't think she will miss much by not learning the 'hopscotch dance' for example.

The only 'live' lessons are really 'chat' type social lessons and even those are just the children showing off a toy.

I am wondering if we can just dip in and out and do what seems of value and leave the rest? I would rather spend the time on focusing on better Maths, English and phonics resources and other better quality factual learning. The French lessons are also dire and I have some good French DVDs that I used with my older DS. I think my DD would learn more from these.

So does anyone know what the law is on participating in online school lessons? Can we choose to do our own choice of home learning without deregistering from the school?

[Puzzler333]

Not compulsory, no. Schools have to provide learning, but parents aren't compelled to use it.

Being a private school, they are trying to prove themselves worth the money you pay them. If you're happy to keeo paying fees and do your own thing, they'll probably be thrilled (although won't tell you that!).

That said, missing some things may make her feel a bit out of step with oyhers when they go back. Maybe do more in the last week before you go back, so that DD can talk about that with her friends and teacher.

[HSHorror]

We arent doing much of my 5yo set work. Its all oak! And she wont engage so ive given up.
We are doing the live zoom. But its only 40 min a day.
Im doing mathletics
Cgp phonics books
Reading eggs.

[NiceGerbil]

Ah.

Well it's a private school and so I suppose they need to justify the money. Of course s year one isn't going to be able to get on with it. And their assumption someone is there to support is unrealistic.

I'd ring them up and discuss/ ask for a time to talk to form teacher or whatever.

I agree that it sounds shit. And that maths and phonics and fun are the main things.

I'm sure there's no legal duty on you for DD to attend all online stuff for a year 1 in a private school.

[MGMidget]

Thanks everyone, that's reassuring!

The school is unrealistically pretending that the work is being done independently by the year 1s, sending emails each week to the parents saying well their children are working independently (yeah right!). Also, annoyingly they are giving out accolades for children's work which looks like it has had parental input and the children readily mention on zoom calls that they need the parent to help them with maths, english etc!

I am seriously considering giving notice and switching to home schooling for next Autumn as I've no confidence we won't be back in lockdown next winter and don't want to keep paying fees for this! I am getting more familiar with the curriculum and resources available now to do more productive DIY schooling!