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Schools shut- will they repeat the year?

35 replies

Homkaismycat · 19/03/2020 20:59

Apologies if this already asked but we were discussing this today outside our school.
My daughter is in year 4 .
Now with schools being shut until September ( probably) that’s good 4.5 months of missed education?
What will happen then?
Would they repeat the year 4 again?
I just can’t imagine they would just jump into the following year like this?
Also I’m saddened that my with daughters swimming, her school only has swimming classes in year 4.
She could not swim at all and had a huge fear of water before her lessons started and she was doing really well in those schools lessons with her schoolmates. Now all this is gone and if no school until September, then no more swimming lessons.
I get that she can have normal private lessons, but she had so much fun in her school lesson, I just feel sorry for her..
Anyone has any input what will happen in regards missing a big chunk of school year?

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LokisLover · 19/03/2020 21:14

She is in year 4 and will be absolutely fine. Everyone else is in the same situation and she has so many years ahead of her to learn what she needs to.

nicknamehelp · 19/03/2020 21:16

think of the year 10s and 12s expected to take exams next year which affect their futures.

MsTSwift · 19/03/2020 21:17

I’d be quite glad it’s year 4 she’s missing. It’s the kids in years 6 11 and 13 I feel sorry for. My year 6er is crying herself to sleep. Am less bothered about my year 9 as it’s a plod year like year 4. You should be pleased.

CanICelebrate · 19/03/2020 21:24

I wouldn’t worry at all. My year 10 and 12 (who I am now attempting to teach remotely) are understandably worried but I think even they will be fine.

Pinkerpellosa · 19/03/2020 21:25

They can't repeat the year because there will be incoming children in Sept and schools will not have an extra room for them. I'd imagine next year's teacher would start halfway through the year 4 curriculum rather than start at the beginning of year 5. With a heavy emphasis on literacy and numeracy

superking · 19/03/2020 21:32

Does anyone else wonder if they will change term dates to try to fit some school in over summer? It's too early to know at this stage, but if say it looked in May like things were sufficiently under control to be able to reopen schools at the end of June, they could make June a "holiday" (so no remote teaching/ studying) and then open schools over July and August. Obviously there would need to be some flexibility over pre booked holidays (if they were able to go ahead), and term dates would need to be tweaked for the next academic year too.

This is something for down the line, I know, but curious if it might be possible.

Homkaismycat · 19/03/2020 21:36

Yes, I forgot to add that I feel very sorry for year 6 and 11/12 who literally end up like this, without a proper goodbyes, missing on trips or prom and last says etc..
Yes it’s all over very sad.
In her class was today only 9 kids, the rest it’s home already.
It’s just she mentioned how strange it all felt.

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Homkaismycat · 19/03/2020 21:40

@superking
Yes that’s a good point actually.
If things improve, say in June, maybe they would adjust the term times.

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cabbageking · 19/03/2020 21:46

I am sure schools will need to get creative but we could not afford to open a month early for example without additional funding for cleaners, catering, care taker, grounds maintenance etc. The teachers unions would need to agree and there would be some teaching costs as some may be working as normal even though some may be off. What is doable in one school can't be accommodated in another.

qweryuiop · 19/03/2020 21:52

@superking

I'm a teacher. Lots of us were as emotional as the kids today about how we may well not teach them again. We were saying how great it would be if they just pushed back the time that children moved up a year. So whenever we do get back to school, children could have
a few more weeks in their old class before moving up. This would be especially important for those transitioning to a new school. Only time will tell whether this is feasible (there will be so many issues to sort when schools do fully reopen if they're as closed as long as July)

Mamato2gorgeousboys · 19/03/2020 21:53

I think they’ll just be playing catch up for the next couple of years I think. There will be more homework and hopefully parents will be more supportive of the school if contacted that their dc isn’t listening/distracting others/not doing classwork or homework. We shall see if that’s the case though...

DrMadelineMaxwell · 19/03/2020 21:59

It's half of year 4 she's missing(ish). And she will go into a year 5 class who are all in the same position and who have missed the same amount.

If the school is setting remote learning then keep up with that as and when you can and it will further limit the loss of learning.

I wouldn't worry. Suddenly repeating a year for which there is no planning as they've already 'done' a term and a half would be problematic.

MaryBear · 19/03/2020 22:01

My 3 are in years 6,11 and 13. Tomorrow I am doing the school run for the last time in 12 years to the primary school. It's just struck me that I won't get to say a proper goodbye and thank you to the fabulous staff that have helped me guide my children and support me through some tough personal times.

They're all missing out on so much, not just academically but socially. There will be no prom, last residential, leavers hoodies, shirt signing, leavers assembly or the excitement of collecting exam results. It's just so sad and disappointing but it has to be that way.

I'm sure this situation will be taken into account when it comes to colleges and universities, well I hope it is!

MsTSwift · 19/03/2020 22:12

Our head and dds year 6 teacher were both in tears today

thesunwillout · 19/03/2020 22:57

As a parent of a child who missed year 9, and has gone on to get GCSEs, and hopefully A levels I am sure your child will be fine.
They'll all catch up together. Every year is in the same boat.
Honestly, it will be ok. X

LondonGirl83 · 20/03/2020 00:16

They won't repeat the year. Its already been made clear those meant to be going to uni will still go through an alternative grading / marking system. Therefore everyone will move up. It would only compound problems to delay the start of reception for younger kids and schools don't have capacity to have a new intake without moving previous students through the system.

Every single child in education will be in the same boat. Schools will naturally have to adjust teaching and the curriculum across the board to take into account what's happened. Those still in primary have the most time to make up lost ground so I really wouldn't worry about it.

Homkaismycat · 20/03/2020 06:56

Some schools in my area doing today the levers hoodies etc..
Very emotional.
I know my daughters it’s only in year 4, but still we find a sad especially she she really loved her teacher ( who sadly was off for second week as not well) so the kids won’t even say goodbye to her- they all loved her.
It’s just so horrible!
I just so wish everything went back to normal.
Yesterday me and my daughter were saying what we would normally do if Corona would not happen- going about our lives as normal..

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Cherryapplekiwi · 20/03/2020 22:28

I think that 23 weeks at home, isolated away from friends is far too long for a child of any age. If this is looking like the likely length of time,then I do hope Boris announces that soon. Our children will be fine, but different children will react differently to this situation, that hopefully will be taken into consideration.

They have made many changes and alterations this week. We basically don't have anything to do any more apart from work and stay at home. If they can do all this for 4 months, then they can do other things for our children to settle back into school. The fact that this has never happened before means none of us really know what exactly they will do. The teachers don't know anything, anymore than we do at this moment in time. I saw an interesting point on Facebook earlier about keeping the kids back for a while and using a temporary classroom for the new 4-year olds.

my daughter's in reception and definitely one of the more sensitive once. She's taking a little bit longer than some of the children to pick up her phonics etc and she still needs a lot of guidance from another adult. I will do a lot at home with her but her set up at school is all she knows and she absolutely loves it. I think some other kids in her class are so confident and they will just adapt to anything pretty quickly. Then there's children who won't adapt so quickly and they will be very confused and anxious about all this changing their lives at the moment. I've seen a lot of upset kids today in different year groups and it's really sad to see. I hope the primary reception-year 5s can stay back at least a few months. Especially the reception kids who will be expected to sit alot more in year one. If that's forced on them after 4 months back at home they might loose their love for school. Currently it's play, outdoor learning and basic work.

I'm definitely sad for our children this week. This horrible virus has caused alot of misery for them.

LondonGirl83 · 21/03/2020 08:29

Holding them back doesn't make any sense though. Schools are much more likely to adjust what the first few months of the year 1 curriculum focuses on to take into account the disruption. In fact, the first few months of every year group's new class curriculum will be adjusted.

All children across the nation are in the same boat so formally holding the kids back isn't necessary. Its better to just start reception as normal for those kids starting in September so their education isn't also disrupted.

Cherryapplekiwi · 21/03/2020 14:33

I know but to be exact. They are missing 14 weeks of school if they don't go back. That's 420 hours of learning. There is no way a teacher can easily sqush all that in with next year. Kids will have to miss some areas of learning. Which in the long run means they miss out on alot of stuff. Teachers are only human.

They tell us enough times that when you get below 95 % attendance you have missed over a week at school. They feel that's bad enough for your education.

The quote on my DD school site ... Children need to attend school over 95% of the time. When a child does not attend school regularly the teachers will struggle to help them to catch up on what is missed.

I've also seen teachers write on here that if a childs off too much and they've missed a certain phonics sound etc it can be tricky to get them to catch up with their peers

Yes these are exceptional circumstances but our children shouldn't pay the price long term. The teachers also don't need the extra pressure to squash so much in.

MargotsLine · 21/03/2020 21:42

Everyone will be in the same boat, however, you can help her with just simple things for year 4 children. Reading and comprehension, so asking lots of questions about the story, why does someone feel that way, why did John do that do you think, what do you thing will happen next? Write an alternative ending. Look at the language used to describe how someone feels or how they look.

For maths, telling time on an analogue clock, then a digital clock and understanding the different ways we say time, such as ten past and ten to. Converting am/pm on a digital clock to a 24 hour clock, understanding that we add 12 once we get into the afternoon because 12 hours has already past.

Times tables and the inverse, so 5x6 = 30 but also 30 divided by either 5 or 6. Learning all the way up to 12x12 will be incredibly beneficial. Play with coins, tip out a pile and push coins towards her and get her to have a running tally, if she struggles, have a pencil and paper handy to help. Doubling numbers, looking at place value, bus stop division.

This is just off the top of my head (I volunteer in year 4) but you can ensure that she can progress her education whilst she is at home. Swimming lessons are great but the practising is what really helps. I always liken it to a musical instrument, having 1 lesson a week is fine but you need to practise inbetween lessons.

LondonGirl83 · 22/03/2020 08:51

Missing school while others are in it is a completely different issue to everyone missing school. Your child isn’t missing a phonic sound everyone else has learned and therefore fall permanently behind their peers.

Next year’s curriculum will be adjusted so they cover everything missed in the year before that is essential. Assuming your child is in reception now that might mean the teacher can’t cover everything you’d typically learn in year 1. Education builds on itself though so they won’t just skip vital areas of learning not covered because schools closed. It might take a few years of curriculum adjustments to catch up but the entire cohort nationally will be in the same position.

Honestly it won’t be that difficult for Reception kids as it is largely play based. It won’t take anywhere 14 weeks to cover the learning essentials they would have been taught in reading and writing during that time.

BrieAndChilli · 22/03/2020 08:59

They will have to assume that children have learnt nothing during the shutdown - I know most of us will be doing our best to ensure they keep up with work and literacy and maths etc but unfortunately there will be lots of children who’s parents either don’t care and just let them play video games all day everyday just to keep them quiet or parents who don’t have the ability to teach thier kids (are illiterate themselves), so in order to enable those kids to catch up I think whatever they do it will have to make sure lids are all starting from the same page.

hopeishere · 22/03/2020 09:02

It's going to be really hard for schools.

Staff and pupils will have lost family members so they will have to cope with that alongside trying to reintegrate students who were in their first year. Students who were in pre exam years and new pupils.

Some kids will have thrived with online / home learning. Others won't.

LondonGirl83 · 22/03/2020 09:23

I agree BrieandChili

Its not just that some parents won't care / don't have the skills. A lot of parents will be working from home and simply won't have the time if they want to keep their jobs. Schools will have to assume no on has learned anything in the gap and start from there.

hopeishere, every year schools have to integrate new pupils. That's standard. While what is happening is awful, we also need to keep some perspective. The government measures being implemented are designed to keep the death toll from the virus to below 20,000. The UK is a country of 60 million people. Many more deaths occur in a given year than this for other causes. The amount of pupils and teachers dealing with loss shouldn't be dramatically higher than a normal year proportionally speaking.

Schools are also very used to children being at different levels during the school year. Children end every school year having made very different amounts of progress (some at the end reception will be on pink book band while others will be on blue books or even free readers). Schools are well equipped at teaching classes like this.

I really feel for children in exam years, particularly those who will be judged on mocks they didn't realise would count for anything and didn't prepare for. That's where the true difficulties and challenges rest.