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Secondary education

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Original poster

GCSE Computer Science, but no teacher

40 replies

coldandalone · 05/11/2018 20:48

DD (year 10) has just started her GCSE computer science course and we've been told the teacher is leaving at Christmas. There isn't another teacher and, given the well publicised shortage, it took the school forever to recruit this one so I'm feeling really pessimistic about her getting anything other than second-rate cover any time soon. What can I do to help her through this? We have the GCSE OCR CS revision guide by CGP. Will that be enough for self-study or are there more resources we can get to help?

OP posts:
BubblesBuddy · 05/11/2018 21:14

Drop the subject? It’s not necessary for the degree. Hopefully they will recruit.

Original poster
coldandalone · 05/11/2018 21:17

She wants to do it whether it's necessary or not, so I'm not giving up that easily.

OP posts:
BakewellTart01 · 05/11/2018 21:19

I am really unsure of what is in the revision guide but W3 Schools will have lots of tutorials online. My suggestion would be to have your DD try some tutorials related to her course and this can help you determine if it can be self taught.

I did a computer science degree and i learnt a lot in labs and tutorials online based on the course content.

RednotWhite · 05/11/2018 21:20

Doing it wether its necessary or not is not entirely up to her though. Does she want to do it regardless and get a rubbish grade on her otherwise glowing GCSEs or would she rather count her losses and choose another subject she's got a good chance of getting a high grade in. Which is more important to her?

RolyRocks · 05/11/2018 21:25

Sign up to Craigndave.com for some excellent resources-they have a free YouTube channel as well. Also, get the PG Online textbook, as well as the Python textbook they have. Best resources out there. Your DD will be fine if she is able to go through this material over the next two years. It will be 100% graded on both exams, at the end of year 11, so don’t panic about not having a teacher to ‘mark’ any coursework as there isn’t any-just a programming task to try but the success of it does not matter.
Have faith they will get a teacher!

JeanPagett · 05/11/2018 21:25

Given the teacher isn't leaving until Christmas can you not share your concerns with her/him and if (s)he has any recommendations for resources or any lesson plans etc (s)he would be willing to share?

Original poster
coldandalone · 05/11/2018 21:33

Something like 30% of the year group are doing the subject - they can't just all drop it and do something else. It would be a timetabling nightmare. So if they don't get a teacher I assume they'll just have to have some sort of cover and self-study.

OP posts:
mysteryfairy · 05/11/2018 21:47

A relative who is a maths teacher taught gcse computer science and basically had to teach it to himself to teach the kids - he said he was literally a couple of lessons ahead. Presumably this means if you are inclined in that direction you could do the same.

physicskate · 06/11/2018 08:36

Campaign your mp for better educational funding and better working conditions? Discuss your concerns with the head, not the teacher. They have the right to leave/ change employment and badgering them about resources for after they leave isn't fair.

Kazzyhoward · 06/11/2018 08:43

Have faith they will get a teacher

Yeah, right. My DS didn't have a res mat teacher for the entirety of year 11. School just provided random cover teachers who hadn't a clue - literally different teacher almost every lesson, none of which were actually tech teachers. If they'd have been honest at the start, DS would have moved to a different subject or just used them as free study periods, but it was always promises of a "proper" teacher "soon".

They'd even said they were changing the timetable so that the cover teachers would be allocated the younger non-exam lessons, but that never happened either. Never trust the school!

BubblesBuddy · 06/11/2018 09:20

The mp, nor anyone else, can find a teacher for the new year, even with double the funding. They are not there!

There are vast numbers of computer science grads but few want teaching. It’s partly wages but it’s partly the poor working environment and poor management people find in schools. It’s just not where many grads want to be. Some schools seem to be run like a police state.

BubblesBuddy · 06/11/2018 09:22

Wanting to do it isn’t the same as needing to do it. Move to a 6th form that offers it if it’s vital. I wouldn’t get a crappy grade by sticking to my guns.

physicskate · 06/11/2018 09:25

@BubblesBuddy - approaching the mp is a long term strategy so they are aware that not just teachers are worried about pay and working conditions!! A wake up is needed that this actually affects children!!

BubblesBuddy · 06/11/2018 11:01

I actually think most MPs are awake to teacher shortages. However, when grads appear to prefer other forms of employment then it is difficult to persuade them to be be teachers. It is not all about money either. Not all grads make more than teachers and a successful teacher can earn a lot as an assistant head and they will not need to be much over 30 either. It is a very decent salary if you life in an area of cheaper housing.

I sometimes wonder if they would have more success in persuading older people to teach computer science but teaching has such bad publicity I can see why they would not want to. My local secondary school, which is very good and well supported by parents and largely middle class, has a new head, and guess what, massive clampdown on uniforms. The children coming out of the school always looked OK to me. It is this sort of attention to "rules" that turn people off wanting to teach. They don't want to be picking up children for minor issues all the time. The whole atmosphere in some schools is not attrative.

Kazzyhoward · 06/11/2018 11:09

The mp, nor anyone else, can find a teacher for the new year, even with double the funding. They are not there!

So the school needs to cancel the GCSE course and offer the pupils other options rather than letting them be lambs to the slaughter.

physicskate · 06/11/2018 11:12

It's not 'rules' that turn people off to teaching in my experience, it's lack of support, lack of time, crazy expectations and having targets based on the performance of teenagers. Disrespect from parents and slt, when you're absolutely working your guts off for 60+ hours a week doesn't help you feel like you're doing a worthwhile job. It's a demoralising profession - you have to be resilient as hell and aren't allowed to have bad days (basically you can't be human). At least, those are the things that drove me from teaching after 7 years, along with a fair few colleagues along the way.

Oh and spurious and instantaneous curriculum changes didn't help!!!

Original poster
coldandalone · 06/11/2018 11:38

I was actually hoping for some more positive responses about resources we could use at home. DD is a bright girl, predicted high grades, so it's not beyond her to self-study. I just need to know what materials would be most helpful, or whether the revision guide already contains everything we need to know.

BTW, it's a great school with great management - no issues there. There's just a shortage of CS teachers, especially good CS teachers with both teaching skills and subject knowledge, and they're being constantly poached by private schools.

OP posts:
3Muses · 06/11/2018 11:51

I think that schools struggle to recruit decent Computer Science teachers. DS had an ICT teacher in year 11 who just didn't teach them as according to him she had no understanding of the course and when I went to a parents' evening she didn't know who he was.

He predominantly used the CGP OCR revision book that you mention and to a lesser extent his text book OCR GCSE (9-1) Computer Science Paperback – 15 Jun 2016 by S Robson. He also did free Python stuff online. He ended up with a 9. He is equally unimpressed with his A-Level teachers. Good luck!

Original poster
coldandalone · 06/11/2018 12:07

Great, thanks 3M. Good to hear.

OP posts:
Seeline · 06/11/2018 12:11

We have the GCSE OCR CS revision guide by CGP.

I am assuming that this is the actual course your DD is studying? All the boards set different exams with different content so it is important that this is correct.
Does your DD have a text book?

Aventurine · 06/11/2018 12:16

Is GCSE BITESIZE any good? Or youtube tutorials?

BelfastSmile · 06/11/2018 12:26

It's probably the kind of subject she could teach herself, to be honest, if she's reasonably bright and enthusiastic. There are good revision guides and plenty of online resources.

I would try to arrange a meeting with the school as a first step. Maybe see whether the teacher can leave resources that she could go through herself.

Another obvious option is to get a tutor, if you can afford it. Even if it's someone who she can just bounce questions off. Possibly approaching your local university would yield a student who'd like some extra cash?

Teaching herself, with someone to answer questions, might well be the best way to learn.

Original poster
coldandalone · 06/11/2018 12:33

Seeline, yes, the revision guide was provided by the school so is the right board.

OP posts:
Seeline · 06/11/2018 13:16

My DS used the science CGP books for his GCSEs last year. They were very good, but I'm not sure they would have been enough on their own.

MillicentMargaretAmanda · 06/11/2018 13:56

Won't necessarily help with the gcse but see what www.stemettes.org have got going on in your area, to help keep her enthusiasm up. Good luck to her and you!