How full are primary schools???

[mids2019]

My partner and I have 2 primary school children and though keyworkers took the decision to keep our children out of school to limit COVID transmission.

We are now aware half the school is back in and we are worried that we have compromised our childrens education as with such high numbers in school it seems inevitable some kind of teaching will be happening there (as opposed to the first lockdown where it was childcare essentially)

How full is your school and do you think there is a difference between online learning and in school?

(I am a little frustrated by this as we envisaged schools would be used sparingly as really what was the point of shutting them)

Whether not whey!

Worth bearing in mind what the impact on you might be if your child was in school and the bubble burst as well.

I think you have made the right choice for your community, and even if your children struggle a little, chances are they will catch up.

There are lots of schools with 1/3 to 1/2 of their children in. It is a real problem and unsustainable for lots of reasons.

I am surprised teachers can duplicate lessons and I am impressed where this is happening.

Though I do get impression if teaching is happening within a classroom what is to dissuade parents from sending children in? The KW definitions are wide and open to interpretation and in reality most parents faced with pressures of working with young children will take advantage of this

I'm in exactly the same position as you OP - 2 keyworkers (though me from home) so could justify the place and saw yesterday that half ds's class is in school with the teacher doing dual delivery for 4 sessions a day - 2 x registration, phonics and story time leaving the other work to be a mixture of online learning (oak academy etc), powerpoints for home learners but presumably face to face teacher led for those that are in school. I am very impressed with the provision and feel for the teaching staff who are effectively doubling their work but there is a part of me that thinks the home provision is bound to be inferior given that I'm juggling 2 different school timetables with my own work commitments (and I'm not a teacher). I think I will let it go though (for my own mental load, I wouldn't dream of raising it as an issue) - I was pleased they shut the schools as the rates are terrifying and we've had some cases very close to home that are more than just mild so from a safety point of view I'm glad they're at home and we'll just make the best of it again! Ask me again in a week and I might be sneaking them in the side gate to join the other keyworker kids though!!

Also if there is equal provision for home and in school children in terms of educational support should there be a need for 'home schooling' this time round?

We have about a third in. No live lessons for precisely the reasons outlined here - it takes up staff time and also, we have no idea when children at home can access technology to engage with a call.

Flowers .... same feeling here

Interesting point above about bursting of bubbles even now with COVID getting into schools. I think this may very well happen.

@mids2019

So with schools so full are teachers essentially doing the same job possibly with more emphasis on support than teaching?

This time round there is definitely an expectation of continued education and so are teachers obliged to do this in the classroom.

In other words have just withdrawn our children unnecessarily?

Schools here have teachers at home doing lessons via zoom (for home and school). TAs watch the bubbles in class and have minimal one on one with them. At home many children are having far more one on one (even ten mins is more!) and other than the lack of social interaction with peers are better off.

My DH teaches year 4 and there are 15 kids in school, the other 45 are at home. The 15 are in school with the TA, while DH is at home. He's making videos for each lesson that he puts on google drive, which the TA shows at school and parents can watch at home. He's also setting the work for home and school, so it's exactly the same. He's then marking work from home that parents are sending to him. The other year 4 teacher is on paternity leave, so DH is a bit swamped at the moment. The kids in school aren't allowed to take books home. The Head seems to be putting an emphasis on making the provision identical this time around.

About 10-20% in our school. They've been very clear that the quality of provision is no different in school, and DCs are telling us that they've just been working independently on the online work set, so that is actually what's happening

My ds(year 4) said there is 20 in his year out of 60. He says they spend the morning on tablets on seesaw (their homework platform) doing the work the teacher has set all pupils. In the afternoon they do art, pe, games etc. So there is obviously some benefits to being in - socially plus being able to ask the supervising staff member for help but also if there is an educated, sahp who can give 1-to-1 help at home, well that can actually be better than 1-20 at school.
I’m a secondary TA and we have 50 in out of 1200. Again the students are given laptops and have to access the work set online. They aren’t being taught. However there are support staff supervising and can help and also the benefits of class discussion with peers is they are working on the same subject at the same time.
There are pros and cons to being both in and out of school right now, but the ones in school aren’t being given any extra teaching then those at home so don’t worry about your child missing out on education

Thanks all

I have no idea about other classes, but my DC was one of 6 today. Apparently there were 7 in yesterday, from a class of 36 (not a typo). So 16%. The head is encouraging people to just send their DC when needed, which reduces the numbers in at any one time.

In the morning they are following the same videos and worksheets as the children at home. In the afternoon it's craft/colouring and a play outside. They are mostly supported by the class TA, while the teacher prepares the follow day's learning. So no educational advantage, although it's obviously nice for the DC to see one another.

We are a two keyworker family, so I would be able to send on the two days I WFH. But she's 10, and able to manage the times I need to disappear into the other room and shut the door to get on with sensitive calls. I just send her on the days both H and I need to be at our workplaces.

Our school has half of pupils in and is doing it very differently to last time when it was more childcare but with online access to the learning resources so children could work independently while there. This time, they have their normal teacher and normal teaching. The same resources are available to the home schooled but with no active teaching or interaction.

24 out of 400 pupils in.... Age range 3-11yrs...child care for little ones and ks1/2 accessing online work just being supervised.

Too many many more in all schools, last lockdown we had many schools with no pupils at all. Not this time.
STAY AT HOME message has been lost, KW places for children of workers critical to the Covid response has also been lost.
Workers in a sweet factory are expected at work...food production?
yes...critical to the COVID response....surely we can survive without Haribo.

Schools are closed except to KW & V which is nearly every child. So schools are shut to limit transmission but are open nearly fully anyway. DfE have stopped collecting attendance data, so they won't even (don't want to?) know how full the schools are.

Our military schools have nearly everyone in because of course one parent is a KW.
The definition of vulnerable doesn't help 'where there is no access to a device or anywhere quiet to work'...how on earth do HT's police that?.

Parents are demanding places, business want their workers in, no spare laptops, little social distancing, no limit to the number in a bubble...ridiculous. Poor HT's who are trying to meet everyone's demands.
At this rate all schools will be closed to everyone including our much needed doctors and nurses children and the very vulnerable just because teachers will be infected and absent.

Another government mess.

254 kids our school. Full would be around 450. ex husband teaches but i don't believe we should take a place so i am juggling full time WFH and homeschooling x 2. Its hard-like it is for so many. But am not prepared to put school staff at risk.

Yes i feel mine are disadvantaged by me being an honest sort. When many are not. Fully support genuine keyworkers having provision:

2/3rds of my DDs class are in school. My son's class has only 6. She is infants, he is junior. I suspect that plays a part, and also the quality of home learning offered last time. In fairness to the infant school, though, their offering this time is superb.

2/170 and those 2 are just in half day only. Our key worker parents are mostly NHS and are not keen on sending their kids in at all.

In year one at my DD's there are 24 out of 90.

One teacher and the HLTA are teaching those in school. The two other teachers are doing the online provision. The children with 1-1s are still in and are receiving all their provision and differentiated curriculum alongside

Our school is providing zero live or interactive learning so I have zero guilt at sending the kids in as the school approved their places. I was absolutely wrecked by the last lockdown (also no learning provided). The kids were miserable. 200 out of 400 in school here.

My Y1 son has gone in today (I am a key worker and although I can work from home I couldn’t get anything done the past 3 days). They have about 1/6 of children in (15 out of a year group of 90).

25% are in. The children are set exactly the same tasks wherever they are. In school they have 'work' time where the TAs (who are physically in) set them off.

Next doors kid is one a rota, in one week then off the next

2/3rds are in my DDs infant school class