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?

Ours is just keyworker/vulnerable from 1st June. Then the next yr group to return will be yr6. No dates given for that or any other year group. No information about breakfast/after school provision either.
I just hope they dont do half days that's completely unworkable for most people going out to work.

Independent so can accommodate all the children in R and y1 and already teach as small groups so will have staff to teach as usual other than no mixing at all for games, break and lunch etc.

My DS school is still only open for key worker children. It is a really small school and simply don't have the space to accommodate all the years on top of the keyworker children so we will be continuing to homeschool for the time being.

're cross contamination. You have to remember that the Head, deputy, dinner ladies, Senco, first aiders in schools already have probably had contact with all or most the children and some with their families already. Secondary has cleared teachers staying in a classroom whilst children move rooms.

In some cases you can not avoid several staff moving groups or not take that year, or consider not opening. You can't eliminate every risk you have to reduce it to a reasonable risk.

Thanks everyone for sharing what is happening in your school. It is interesting to read how much difference there is between schools. Our school is independent and are going to sit down reception and year one children at desks with ipads to follow their remote online school programme in the classroom with an ‘adult’ present ( unlikely to be a qualified teacher). This seems to be poorer provision than many schools and against the intentions of the government in getting young children back into the classroom as some of the guidance I read indicated the priority was to assess gaps, focus on literacy and reading, differentiate teaching to deal with gaps identified etc. Our school planning to deliver the same online programme to everyone with no differentiation apart from a teacher giving feedback online to work submitted online. I am very doubtful that 15 young children are going to learn effectively (or at all) by being hooked up to an online programme all day with an adult supervising to keep them at their desks! I have found it hard to deliver the programme to my Dd at home, keep her motivated and helped her follow the instructions and that was working one-to-one with her all day and full-on so one adult assisting 15 children could be chaos!

Bubbles of 15 with one teacher, one TA who will cover lunches as well. Staggered starts. Not enough teachers available for work, so not all year 1 and reception are going back. Four day week to allow for deep cleaning.

Bubbles of 15 for my year 1 DS, 2 days a week with usual class teacher and a TA. Same for reception and year 6. Focus on well being and readjustment with some academics. I'm pretty impressed. We haven't yet decided whether we'll be sending him.

D nephew is back full time, groups of up to 15, packed lunches provided wrap around care available only if you get a letter from your work confirming you need to work past 3pm (lots of families with sahm and wfh use wrap around care in normal times).
Breakfast only available to free school meals kids. But it's a tiny school only 15 in a year which helps!

Thanks everyone for sharing what is happening in your school. It is interesting to read how much difference there is between schools. Our school is independent and are going to sit down reception and year one children at desks with ipads to follow their remote online school programme in the classroom with an ‘adult’ present

Good luck to that adult! Unrealistic to think that Rec and Y1 children can sit in rows all day and work independently increased an iPad. I can tell you now it won’t work!

My dc's school hasn't come back to us with any arrangements at all yet, so no info about when or even if they're going back. Parents who are both working from home are tearing their hair out.

I actually have no idea about that, doesn't bother me though.

To be fair, it isn't the children most at risk when the teachers are working in different bubbles morning and afternoon - its the adults most at risk, the teachers, TAs and potentially parents.

What does everyone think about wraparound care?
My child goes to wraparound care morning and after school she's year one. I don't know how many children there are but to me, this will be harder to deal with than school. What does everyone think about this?
It's like there will be social distancing at school but not here. Are you all sending yours to this kind of setting? If they're school age I mean

@ghislaine

The HT says that because of safety concerns this is the best solution. I have to disagree.

So what would you do to ensure the safety of the pupils and staff?

Our school is not taking reception or year one back.

Ours is 2 days a week for reception and year 1 (separate infant school so don’t know about yr 6). Groups of 10 with a teacher, TA and an allocated midday assistant. Staggered pick up and drop off. My DD is year 1, they’ve said children will be taught work set by the year 1 staff, but it will be the same work for everyone, no setting. On the 3 other days home learning will be set and for those not at school work there’ll be home learning available. There’s two thirds of year 1 returning.

The bubbles use pretty much all the classrooms and teachers so I have no idea how they’ll accommodate year 2 or any extra children if parents change their minds in a couple of weeks!

It has to be childcare so that kids who can't return as they are shielding aren't disadvantaged although they will obviously not have the social advantage of being at school.

I would have tried harder to ensure that all children whose parents wished them to return to school would be able to.

This solution means that half of Y1 return to a full curriculum with a private school style ratio (15:2), and the rest are left to what the school has admitted will now be a reduced online learning provision. This is not equitable. It increases the learning divide. It exacerbates mental and emotional health problems. We have not been told why some children are allowed to return (ie those outside the categories of SEN, disabled, key worker parents - I'll bet my house on the no of those children being less than half of the year) and some not. A lack of transparency doesn't engender trust.

@purpleme12 I'm surprised your wraparound is going to be open.

Nothing at our school. Key worker children only. We have high numbers of key workers in our village.

@sandiecheeks it's a nursery with a section for school age children for wraparound.
The whole thing is going to open
But this is what I'm querying
There'll be no social distancing at the wraparound from what I've read from them so far and it'll be harder anyway just from the setting. At her school they're planning to social distance

@ghislaine

Have you pressed for more information? Inequity in the same year doesn’t seem fair.

@ghislaine

So how would you do it?

Purs have set out the plan but no mention of what the learning will be. 4 days a week with a deep clean on a Friday. Y6 split into two groups of 15 each in two classrooms with social distancing. YR and y1 in groups of 3/4 to stay in one spot each in their classrooms. Keyworker children full time in the hall. Nursery max of 15 in a day in bubbles of 3/4. Staggered drop off, collection and break times.

@purpleme
Our school won't be offering wraparound and our usual club cannot make it work with all the restrictions so they remain shut.
Summer is going to be a nightmare!

half of Y1 return to a full curriculum with a private school style ratio (15:2), and the rest are left to what the school has admitted will now be a reduced online learning provision

@ghislaine if more than half the parents wish their children to return, how will the places be allocated? First reply, first served? Drawing names out of a hat?