What is the education provision for rec3ption and year one children in your child’s school from June 1?

[MGMidget]

I am interested to find out how my Dd’s school compares to others in what they will be offering to reception and year one children from the return date after June 1. We have been offered bubbles of 15 with an ‘adult’ supervising (probably a teaching assistant) whilst they follow the remote schooling provision on a tablet. Obviously some of this is necessary to meet goverment requirements, so they must stay within the same bubble all day and not mix with other bubbles which I am happy with. However, I am concerned about the idea of 15 of them following online/video lessons with one ‘adult’ supervising and doubtful this will enable much learning to take place. Is this what other schools are doing? It feels to me like nothing more than childcare to free up the parents to work (like the keyworker provision in many schools over the past few weeks). I thought the intention was to get young children back in the classroom because they needed the teaching as well as the socialisation or are they just supposed to be getting socialisation?

Our school is taking all yR, 1 & 6 children that want to return, plus keyworker children. All full time. Smaller groups (max. 15). Staggered drop off/pick up by surname, staggered breaks and lunch times. Separate areas of the school and outside space for each group, moving around the school areas each week to ensure the yR & 1 especially have access to the whole curriculum in the time they are back.

Ours is 5 full days, staggered pick up drop off, bubbles of 15, proper teaching will be outside if the weather permits, packed lunch only in a classroom.
I'm impressed with their offering. I only know the reception guidelines so don't know what offer is for Y1/6. I think most of the class will be going back.

Such a wide variation of offerings. There’s going to be no national parity across these year groups, surely the ones that go back will end up ‘ahead’ of the ones that don’t.

Y1 going back from 10th, 4 days per week. No wraparound care available. Bring own packed lunch. Bubbles of 15 kids, no mixing in the playground. As much outdoor learning as possible. DC is so excited.

Newshoes- ours is reception so it's okay based learning anyway normally. This will have to change slightly due to the restrictions and guidance. It's also not always going to be the same class teacher and ta as the children had before, and some groups will be taught by staff from different year groups.

We won't have all children return - some are clinically vulnerable, others have household members who are, others are choosing not to. So we will be doing the home learning planning in class in the core subject areas. These have been planned and prepared by the current reception staff, including videos by them, following the curriculum but with some recap too.

It will be different to normal though as we won't be having 30 children sat on the carpet all together, and the same level of play will be restricted as some items won't be allowed anymore such as soft toys and sand/water trays.

Online learning only until sept. My dd is at a prep school

Ours are offering half days (3 hours everyday) in groups of 15 with staggered start : ends. From 8th June. No breakfast / after school club. They are trying to do something that could be sustainable if more of the school is back but they are only expecting to have rest of school back for 2 weeks at most - and probably not until September.

4 days per week, closed on Friday for our Yr 1 child. In bubbles of 10 with a teacher, not sure about TAs.

Documentation provided was comprehensive, positive and encouraging. So much so I think it's changed my view of no to yes. I have a few questions for the head next week but otherwise hope my child will be returning.

What did it say to make you change your mind?

My child will be returning (as mentioned 5 days a week all day) with regular teacher so should be as normal as can be. I too worry about the educational divide between those attending and not attending in some cases. My rationale is - September is too long to wait to return to school, it’ll be about six months. We may return to full lock down again in autumn/winter so I’d rather that they get some education in now.

I'm a Year 1 teacher. We are teaching properly from 1st June (in small bubbles of 10 or less). I am planning all the work for the Year 1 children on PowerPoints and sending these home to all the parents what's home schooling. There will be maths, English, phonics, guided reading and topic powerpoints. Just like there have been during lockdown 💓

Two days a week, class of around 12 with a teacher and TA.
More "traditional" teaching with individual desks.
Normal curriculum for children in school but no/limited home learning provided for children being kept at home.

Key worker children are in a separate bubble with TAs, no teaching just childcare.

Oh and yes...in terms of the school bubbles, sadly these have to be really strictly adhered to I'm afraid. No mixing, very bare classrooms, staying sitting at tables, few resources...everything they need for the day will be on their own table in the morning...sitting by themselves, playing outside on their own in a space, maintaining distance at all times, teacher standing behind a taped area at the front and not allowed to cross it, set toilet times due to cleaning and actual numbers! It's awful...I'm utterly miserable at the thought and it's making me so so sad that I am having to go through this with my gorgeous 5 and 6 year olds. Most of my class will not even be with me! Some will have the year 4 and Year 5 teachers who they have never even met 😢 Sad times!

Thepilotlightsgoneout

I'm not sure who will end up ahead/behind from all this... I'm a keyworker so my two have gone in full time since March; they have done craft and sport - with a different teacher every day - and no Curriculum work deliberately to make keyworker provision unappealing.

By contrast some of the 'SAHM kids' have had a stab at home learning. (And some with 2 wfh parents IF they've had flexible working arrangements)

I was advised by the teacher to have a go at the work that was emailed home during the evenings and weekends. This has all proved pretty stressful and I'm currently taking a weeks unpaid leave to home school!

To those of you whose children will be going back to Reception/Y1 or Y6 part time, eg two days a week. Will the Teachers who are teaching your child on those days, be teaching other bubbles of children on the other days and does that bother you, if so?

From a cross-infection point of view.

@Fedup21 I actually have no idea about that, doesn't bother me though. None of my kids are vulnerable or have any underlying conditions so covid worries me about as much as chicken pox to be honest.

@NewShoesRub I feel like I’ve let my children down by having a job...they go to key worker school and are safe but not “supervised“ at all: they play games on the iPads that I carefully loaded the online work on to; the school work is ignored as they can’t understand it without help or support. So they are now 7 weeks behind their peers who have had a mum or dad free to sit with them all day and home school.

Fedup21 my DC aren't due back yet as they're not in the right year groups, but the answer to your question is yes, at our school the teachers will be teaching two different bubbles for half the week each and no, this wouldn't bother me if my DC had the option of going back.

The thing is that there will inevitably be transmission between bubbles because of siblings in different bubbles, not to mention children going home to their parents who may have been out at work (now that non key workers are starting to go back to work). So I think if you aren't happy with that level of risk, it's better not to send your child in.

@kalejuicer

Same! My two have been unattended and unguided all this time. Extreme guilt. My DD has been upset and lonely.

I can't help but think my DS has probably been harder to work with from their perspective as he hates craft! If he'd had some maths put in front of him he'd have a crack at that.

I actually asked my boss if I could go part time but with those off/shielding etc we would not have enough staff, then I felt guilty from that perspective too. Can't win. I've ended up having to do more hours not fewer (for toil which I'll get back god knows when).

Ours is offering 4.5 days a week to all eligible children. Key worker children will remain as previously.

Each “family” (headteacher doesn’t like the sound of bubble) will have a teacher/HLTA plus a TA. They’re planning for up to 15 per group but I suspect it will be half that number at first. They’ve asked that people give five days notice if they intend to return. Full curriculum to be offered (Although PE will be done in uniform), with “appropriate” measures taken to ensure everyone is as safe as they can be.

Some questions remain about how they will handle increasing numbers to other years, but it seems that may be on a rota basis.

I am really pleased with our school’s approach throughout.

DD is reception. Teaching with a focus on maths, reading, pshe and wellbeing. 8 children and a teacher and TA. In 4.5 days a week. All activities are in daily "resource" packs

Only Keyworker/ vulnerable children from June 1 and Year 1 from June 15. No mention of other eligible years going back. Tone from SLT evasive, obstructive and negative throughout. Other local schools have more year groups going back.

One school is admitting Yr 6 and Yr 1 only, each for just 2 days per week. No provision for R or Nursery.

Other school is only opening for Yr 6 on 4 days per week. No provision for R (this school doesn't have a nursery class).

We're having Year 3

We've been told for our reception DC it's from June 1st as normal in terms of curriculum, full lessons all subjects covered as already planned. Just that they do it in smaller groups and try to social distance. They've also pulled all online learning support for people who don't send their DC in - understandable otherwise the teachers are doing far too much. It's quite an academic school though and the home online support has been extensive compared to some other schools nearby who were just sending links to videos.