How much work are your Y10s doing during lockdown?

[Titsywoo]

DD is sticking to her timetable and doing the best she can. Usually does the 5 hours of lessons each day plus an hour of homework or art coursework. The school is setting work but there are no online lessons just lots of powerpoints or things like Hegarty Maths. Nothing is being marked and there is very little feedback. Not complaining about the teachers, I'm sure they are doing their best. DD seems to think most of her friends are doing no work at all - not sure that is true but who knows?!

Interested to know how everyone else is getting on and feeling about it all! Personally I'm very worried but trying not too think about it too much since it is completely out of my control!

My Y10 dd has homework set on show my homework. No live lessons but does get feedback from most teachers and there has also been some online quizzes set. Due to her struggles with organisation I help her plan and submit the work. She is due back to school Monday for 6 half days before the end of term. We have found bbc gcse bitesize a good resource when she is struggling with a subject. We try and stick to 10-3 each day but not always successful. My Son in Y9 has been getting on with his and hasn't asked for any help from me. His school is similar but more online programs being used. He will be getting 2 live sessions a week from 29th June.

My dd is doing no work at all. She suffers with stress, anxiety and depression and I suspect she has ADHD. She cannot find the motivation to do anything and can't focus for longer than 30 minutes at a time. She started off doing really well in the two weeks before the Easter holidays but since then, it has gone really downhill. She was then only managing to work on a couple of days doing one or two assignments. The last two times she has tried to work, she has ended up in tears and she hasn't done anything since about two weeks into term 5. One of DD's friends admits that he has done no work at all and I understand that there are a lot of kids in her year who have done very little work or none.

If there had been live lessons, things may have been very different but all she has received is worksheets and revision tasks, although more recently, some have had videos to watch first for things like new maths concepts. A lot of subjects, particularly English and History have been purely revising the work they have already done over the last two years.

Fortunately, she is due back in for 1 day a week for 4 weeks from Monday so at least she will have done something before the end of the year. Now, actually getting her to go to school, that's the next challenge (plus trying to actually get her out of bed before lunchtime as she has sleep issues).

My DS1 and DS2 are Y12 and Y10 respectively. I’ve told them to play the cards providence has dealt them, and insisted they self learn all their subject specifications - in their entirety. I encourage them to work hard, and play hard. DS2 will next week start with tutors in Eng Lang and Economics, and goes on YouTube to help himself on all other subjects. Y12 also uses YouTube. Both supplement this with, text books, past topical papers and mark schemes. Any school work is an inconvenient distraction, as they cover old content to a light level - it’s really a poor ‘filler’. I believe exams will happen in June 2021, and am gearing them up to finish spectacularly by the end of October - and they are on course. Lockdown has been the making of them.

Typos - finish specifications by end of October

Portico why on earth would you want to finish exam specs by October
Your poor kids will be bored senseless with revision long before the exams en.

Rosieposy4
Both play long, long, long hours on the PS4, and get to socialise with friends. They like practising past papers and checking against the mark schemes. DS1 scores very highly in his GCSEs except for a couple of 8s and a couple of 7s. DS2 is trying to best that. DS1 is aiming for A* across the board, as he wants to compete against the best at his school. I’m just exploiting and nurturing their drive with the right resources.

Good for you portico. I think most parents and teens wouldn't relate to the way you are doing things though. More are finding it hard than thriving and believe me we are trying very hard but then my kids aren't naturally academic.

Titsywoo, my kids loathe studying and see it as an necessary inconvenience to them. I don’t. I have been wfh during lockdown so can keep an eye on them. We had to find a way to adapt to Covid, learn new content, and practise topical exam questions without teacher intervention. It then means the last few months can be spent on identifying, assessing and remediating subject-content weaknesses.

@portico will your DC be going back to school?

I think that this just shows how much the lockdown has introduced inequalities further into the system. I suspect that the more academic & pushy schools have taken the stance that this is an opportunity to steam ahead, certainly my secondary school dc are covering new material and ploughing on with the curriculum. The yr10's school does have a sink or swim reputation. I would hope that they will try to get anyone who hasn't kept up with the pace to do extra support sessions in September. Other schools will have adopted a more laid back approach of just reviewing and if teachers are following union advice not to mark and suspend the curriculum then their students will be disadvantaged.

I know that some of dd's hours are optional revision (like portico's dc) but most of the hours are just following the school work set and her friends are mostly also putting in long hours too. I guess that all they can do is adjust the number of questions expected where possible- although that will also advantage my dd because if she only needs to answer 3/6 instead of 4/6 she will go with her strongest topics. They can also shift grade boundaries. It sounds as if the 7, 8, 9 zone will still be hotly contested with maybe more distribution on the lower grades. The problem too will be deciding whether to enter for higher or foundation level for some dc. A child who previously might have been heading for a 5/6 might now be more in the 3/4/5 zone.

Ineedaholidaynow - no, they won’t - and we live 150 yards from the schools. The government has not provided any reassurance. Plus we’re doing better out of school than in.

My Y10 is doing a good 3-4 hours a day. She has pre-recorded timetables lessons from teachers who set tasks and are supposed to provide feedback. We have a phonecall a week from her form tutor and she has to fill in a weekly work log and submit it.
She's had great feedback from Drama and History but not too much from others. Consequently she seems to be focussing harder on Drama and History.

She's going into school one day a week starting (for her) on Weds but it won't be normal teachers and only core lessons.

I'm a Governor and on our SLT Zoom chats they've estimated the engagement is about 60%. My Y10's tutor has said many times that there are quite a few students who have done nothing at all and are not engaging with phone calls, emails or letters.

In our case my Y10 and Y12 boys are be tasked with historical content and to slight standard. It’s probably better to practice CGP revision book questions instead. Not sure why teachers can’t deliver an online class via teams. This way students can defer back to a recording of the lesson. DS2 has finished his maths syllabus and practices full sets of papers. Geography and the sciences will be completed by end of July, RS and Spanish E/O Aug. Eng Lit by E/O Oct( he has covered Jekyll himself, working through new power and conflict poetry before he starts unseen poetry). Eng Lang Sec B and Economics are hard, and he has a tutor for each from next week, but am hoping to completing old and new content by E/O November.

Very mixed here and I’m quite worried. DS is a high achiever but also has an EHCP. He was just getting into his stride after a wobbly start to Y10 and then this happened. He did brilliantly for the first 4 weeks of schooling, until early May and then ground to a halt. He got behind, completely overwhelmed and couldn’t access anything. After half term they started zoom lessons in all subjects so he’s been attending them. We’re encouraging him to build up to doing one piece of work a day as well, it’s been hit and miss this week. He’s back in school one day a week from next week as well as two zoom lessons in the subjects he won’t be having in school. The zoom lessons are with the whole year group though so hardly an interactive lesson.

He’s getting stressed about what he’s missed, and is continuing to fall behind on but trying to help him only stresses him out more. He feels, and I think he’s right, that his potential 7/8/9 grades have completely evaporated.

Why do you want them to have done so much so early @portico, especially as there is a possibility they may change the format of the exams for next year?

portico will this be an issue if teacher predictions are used next year? Hopefully worst case scenario. What about socialising, that is what my children miss the most.

@ineedaholidaynow
The school does 2 year GCSEs; we are at a disadvantage against those schools that do 3 year GCSEs. That’s the reason. I am scheduled myself to undertake professional exams. Normally, these are at a venue. They can now be done online and enforced via online camera based proctoring. It made me think that somehow exams will happen 12 months. Exam boards and schools will always find a way. If exams do not happen in 2021, then I hope my sons do well enough on assessments for the school to submit commensurate scores to the exam boards in 2021.

Additionally, teacher pregnancies, teachers suddenly leaving the school and a flow of supply teachers left me with no other choice but to take measures. I had started back in February, as I also knew Covid would have big impacts. In fact, from January I had stopped all business trips/events/seminars.

Like I said earlier, I’m just playing the cards fate has dealt me.

Y12 son takes charge of his own learning; I rarely speak to him about studies. Y10 covers 2-3 subjects a day. Both go n PS4 online for 6-8 hours and socialise with friends. Win/win all round.

@portico what assessments will they have from school if they are not going back, or do you just mean they won’t go back this term?

@ineedaholiday
I don’t want them to go back this term, unless the school dictates that we must. I have a feeling some sort of normality will probably happen with a school return, maybe after the normal October half term break; could even be start of September. This gives the Government, Ofqual and Exam Boards sufficient time to work out how the the 2021 cohort will be tested. Therefore, my mantra is study as much as you can, to cover any format of assessments. Plus, I want my kids to be brain active. It’s not healthy to not keep the brain inactive, when at home, for this period of time.

Union guidance is no marking

That said my school makes us mark a hell of lot more than normal. No live lessons due to issues with access to IT and safeguarding. Some kids doing a lot. Lots nothing through choice. Due to this these kids will be given an extra hour day next year. Throwing teachers right under the bus there.

Kids need to realise they must try their best to engage. Just not being arsed isn’t a reason. Sometimes there won’t always be someone to pick up the pieces for you.

@TW2013
I think the studying will help any format of assessments. School has made it clear that Mocks will happen November. That’s my first milestone.

Boys, socialise with friends on PS4, by phone plus I talk, play, love, hug and tell them how wonderful they are

@HairyMaclary
Have you tried Seneca abs/or anything in YouTube

@Davinicitoad

I think this thing with safeguarding on Teams is silly. Teachers should be allowed to teach kids via online, Teams etc. After all, teachers are normally with kids everyday.

Btw, I agree teachers and heads are being scapegoated by the government and are being asked to do too much in this crisis.

I think the government should subsidise tuition for those kids on FSM. It’s an investment for the country’s future.

Ah I thought that they weren't going back at all portico hence the questions about assessment. As much as I respect those who home educate I would be worried about GCSEs in their shoes as I don't imagine that they will just accept parent assessment. I wasn't sure about sending her back but she is desperate to see her friends and teachers. She has seen friends for walks but it's not the same.

@TW2013
Sorry, if I may have confused. I’m hoping to prepare the boys for school mocks or externally set GCSEs, given that they have not been to school and are not likely to fit the next months.