Spending ages finding, preparing and setting work that doesn't get done.

[DrMadelineMaxwell]

I get that it was a great message to give to parents that they are not teachers and that anything that they can do while schools are shut to help is great.

But after our school sent out that message, the amount of my class who is doing anything that I set has dropped from about half-3/4 down to a handful of kids. Sometimes just one or two.
It does mean there's less time being spent having to give feedback on it all, but also means I'm finding it tempting to begrudge the time it takes to do it.

One fb friend is a parent of a child in my class. If there was homeschooling competition then she'd win first place, but very, very little of what they are doing is anything we are setting.
Which is great - her child is learning and enjoying it. And she's happy doing it.
But I worry about all the kids who have no support at home to do anything, or who have put their foot down and are refusing to, or who just took the 'don't worry' message to mean don't bother.

I have y6 and worry about the knock on for next year for some of them.

slug we were glad school holidays were over so that DS14 has some purpose to his life. So we both got quite angry when he said yesterday that no work had been set on google classroom. DH and I were going to email the school, until DS confirmed it was an in service day .

For the OP - most of us are doing the best we can. I get frustrated wfh with my non teaching job as it seems so irrelevant, but I'm still getting paid for it so I keep on going and thank my lucky stars DS is of an age where he can do most of his school work independently.

I’m a parent and a teacher. I’ve told my own dcs to prioritise English maths science. I would imagine this isn’t uncommon! We have to send a list of those who haven’t engaged each week to tutors and slt, not to chase but so they check that all is ok! There is a safeguarding element too. I have been trying to give a choice of two straight forward tasks. Also lots of the younger ones prefer to work on paper and then take a picture of what they’ve done. I do think the tasks need to be very straightforward.

I think it's important to remember, even tho I know this is frustrating, is that every family's situation is different. With the best will in the world many family's are struggling with work loads, Internet problems and sharing devices. Some children don't have the tools to upload work for marking. Some family's will also be grieving or worried about a loved one in hospital or working on the front line. It's not normal times and children are experiencing stress, as frustrating as not recieving work back is for teachers they do need to understand that for many family's it isn't the main priority at the moment, and that is ok.

You clearly are not key workers or you'd be at work- not at home.

DH is a civil servant and is keeping a lot of people afloat (and sending briefings to Govt departments etc.). He's got a letter from his boss saying "YOU ARE KEYWORKERS, DON'T LET ANYONE TELL YOU OTHERWISE".
Even so, my DS school has tried to say that school provision is for children of keyworkers who have to go out to work. We have got a place on the grounds of his EHCP - finally - I just wish people would stop making the rules up.

Drspouse the rules were clear. As few children should be in school as physically possible. If you really feel you need the place then fair enough. But the school is right to challenge your circumstances.

Mine are REALLY struggling to keep up with the work load. It’s creating huge upset and they look grey. I’d like much less work and an early finish, so they could get some exercise and play board games/read a little.

Are you a key worker too @drspouse ?

Dd is 6 and is really struggling with being at home all the time. She desperately misses her friends and the structure of school.
Getting her to do school work sometimes is a real challenge as she is so upset. It just reminds her of what she is missing.
Yesterday however she seemed brighter and spent at least 3 hours playing nicely with her little brother. There was no way I was stopping them playing to force her to do school work.
I did however get her older brothers electronics set from the loft and she spent about 2 hours playing with it and had great fun.
I guess the difference is I have talked to her teacher about how she is struggling and they are happy with how I am doing things.

Just use common sense and stop complaining about it, you are choosing to spend a long time preparing unnecessarily.

Mine are doing the work set as far as possible. I am hoping though if the teachers are finding it frustrating putting time and effort into setting work that doesn’t get done they will understand how the parents and children feel with the project style homework set each half term. In our school it seems designed entirely to avoid the teachers marking it. So much time and effort goes into it for no feedback and leaves the kids feeling so deflated.

the school is right to challenge your circumstances.

Why?
What business is it of theirs?
They have not challenged our circumstances, as it happens. They have just made up a new definition of key worker, and circulated it to parents.
Our DD's school has read the government definition of keyworker and the grounds on which a place should be offered, and offered her a place. They haven't been making stuff up.

@5zeds I am not but that is irrelevant to whether my DS is entitled to a school place. Our DD has been offered a full time place based solely on DH's keyworker status. Those are the rules and @Hercwasonaroll would do well to read them too.

Parental judgement about whether a child with SEN needs a place is another matter. We, and our DS SW, have decided that following a risk assessment the benefits of him having a part time place outweigh the risks. I'm not going to repeat our/the SW risk assessment here. I'm assuming the adults on here trust us, as parents, and our DS SW to do the risk assessment properly.

The government clearly stated that children should be at home where possible. Their initial guidance did say one key worker entities you to a place. However the first principle on the guidance is:

If it is at all possible for children to be at home, then they must be.

So I think it is you who needs to read the guidelines.

What you are entitled to and what you take are entirely different things and no I really wouldn’t blindly trust a SW or a parent (though I’m not saying you haven’t come to the right decision).

I would imagine that since schools are asking their staff to put themselves and their families at risk that it is entirely appropriate for them to study/clarify who should or shouldn’t be in school. Presumably staff members might be able to work from home if numbers were smaller thus reducing a whole families exposure to greater risk. If your husband can work from home and you are also there I would query the set up too. Since they are also presumably aware of your child’s profile I would have expected them to feed into the risk assessment.

OP - my ds is yr6, ASD and below expected, and I really appreciate the effort his teachers are going to to set work. We don't complete it all, because I'm not his teacher and I dont understand it all (one day I think I spent more time googling what the terminology meant then he did answering the questions), but I make sure he does his maths and english every day because I dont want him to be even further behind in September. Plus it gives focus and routine each day. Please continue to set the work for those that are engaged, even if it is only 1 or 2, because us parents really really need it. So thank you, please please dont begrudge it. You are doing an amazing job

For some children of one keyworker, it is NOT possible to be at home.
They are entitled to a place at school.
How is that not clear?
That doesn't alter if the KW is WFH. My friend is a mental health nurse and WFH. She cannot have her children burst in during her sessions with clients. Makes not a jot of difference where she's holding her sessions.
My DH needs to complete his work; he isn't working on anything so sensitive that the odd interruption matters but he can't spend all day, every day with the DCs; this will be the same for some other KWs working from home.
So some KWs will need some childcare even if they are the only one in the house and are WFH.
Others will be single parent or two KW families WFH and will need full time childcare.
It is not up to a school to suddenly decide that KWs are only those working out of the home. Neither is it up to them to judge "worthy" KWs.

Yes and in those circumstances using a place at school is fine.

However plenty of people are trying to WFH and perform important jobs. Look at the teachers for example. Many of them have children at home too. I have friends in all sectors cracking on and working in evenings etc while kids are asleep to keep them off school.

The school are right to challenge it because we had reams of parents proclaiming they were entitiled and would use the space while they sat at home not working. One key worker and one non working parent means those children can be at home. Whether entitled to a place or not, the top priority is children staying at home. Why is this so hard for you to understand?

No one has said one key worker doesn't entitle you to a place.

Are you a key worker or WFH?

Look at the teachers for example. Many of them have children at home too.
The teachers are entitled to childcare. Given our experience, being entitled to it and getting it aren't necessarily the same thing, but teachers WFH can decide whether or not to take up a place, in most cases.

I am not a KW but for our children to survive at home they need 1:1 owing to my DS needs, and I need to do some work in order to keep my job (and some of that, which I can't decline, involves talking to people about sensitive issues, so can't be interrupted, and can't be done at 10pm either. I sometimes give presentations, so I've asked if a planned one can be recorded so I can do it when it's quiet. There's another one that can't be, but it's on a day DS is in school so he won't be wandering in half naked in front of my colleagues).

So we can either a) neither of us work, and give both DCs 1:1 attention or b) use our DS school place part time.
If neither of us were KW and neither of us needed to keep our jobs, we might decide on a). But DH is quite motivated to keep the country running, and both of us are motivated to keep our jobs and keep the DCs alive, sane, and learning.

Yes and in those circumstances using a place at school is fine.
That's very generous of you but it's not actually up to you.
It's up to the government (who have defined keyworker and the circumstances under which families should be offered a place), my DH's employer (who have confirmed that he is a keyworker), and our DS SW, who has risk assessed the situation, with her duty of care to DS and, indirectly, to DD and me and DH.

It's also not up to school (except in that they can't provide a place without staff, which was the issue before the holiday, and they can't provide a place for a child who is too risky to have in school - some of DS schoolmates were using spitting as aggression).

Drspouse but can you not see that the overriding principle is children should be at home. Therefore teachers aren't taking up their places even though they are entitled. Instead they are moving their work hours round.

Your circumstances sound very difficult and yes a part time key worker place is something you clearly need.

Don't be under any illusions they will be learning at school. School is childcare now.

Your school asked the question and it sounds like they communicated badly. This doesn't mean schools are wrong to challenge.

An example from my secondary school. Girl turns up, dropped off by mum. Chatting to her she says dad's out as a paramedic but her mum and older brother are home all day. We know her older brother, no additional needs so mum clearly just wanted a break.

I've got a year 3 who does all her work good as gold. And a year 7 who will not move her arse to do anything. I have tried all sorts and she's just not interested.

Sorely tempted to send eldest into school . I won't, of course, but God I wish I could! Both sets of teachers have been fabulous, so much work is going into the prep. DD2 will come out of this absolutely fine. DD1, who knows.

Your school asked the question and it sounds like they communicated badly.
They didn't ask the question.
They TOLD us that keyworkers are ONLY those who go out to work. This isn't true. They didn't ask us if DH is a keyworker, they told us that nobody who doesn't go out to work is a KW.

For my MH nurse friend who CANNOT have her DC bursting in this is patently not true. Her DCs are young but NT and just can't quite keep out of Mummy's study.

For my DH having two NT children at home might be possible but DS isn't NT and half the children at DS school have EHCPs.

Regardless of ANY of the considerations of individual families or KW jobs it is not up to school to tell us what a KW is. The government has made it plain what a KW is and school can't decide to change that definition.

@drspouse To some extent, actually, it is up to the school/MAT/local authority. In some schools, there is a very high proportion of children with keyworker parents. Having the school open to, say 40% of pupils, is obviously defeating the point of the school closures. Therefore, schools are allowed to prioritise the children they offered places to. The advice given to my school was no more than 10% of students should be in on any one day.

If necessary, a place can also be offered on another site.

I'm glad you were able to get a place in the end, though.

If neither of us were KW and neither of us needed to keep our jobs If you weren’t key workers the option wouldn’t be available to use schools as childcare so you can keep your job. I would imagine you’d just have to get on with it like everyone else. How do you keep everyone safe when dh is working and Ds isn’t at school? If it’s achieved by you caring for both children then I would suggest that the school place is to facilitate your work NOT DHs.

If your friend who is a MH nurse doesn’t have a partner then I can see she needs childcare to perform her role. If she does then I don’t see school is unavoidable.

@DrMadelineMaxwell I totally get where you're coming from- I'm secondary, and engagement is varying a lot between my classes. Some, up to 75% are engaging in some way. For others, only one or two children are looking at the work.

For Y10 students, it will have some kind of knock on effect on next year, and we are chasing gently via tutors and trying to find out if there are problems we can solve to help students engage, as well as encouraging those who just can't be bothered.

It is a tough time for everyone, but it is frustrating setting work that isn't done and it's also worrying when students aren't engaging at all, as we don't know if they are ok or not!

I am worried about trying to catch up those who've done nothing, as well!

I'm extremely grateful my job is secure.
I'm also happy to be on the rota for the hub despite not one child from my yeargroup using the hub at all.

Just use common sense and stop complaining about it, you are choosing to spend a long time preparing unnecessarily.

Thanks for that.... we are told to set work. For my pupils' sake I'm making it accessible and relevant and ensuring there is challenge for those that need it and support for others. I'd be crap of I just shoved a load of twinkl sheets in their direction.

For me, my moan is the clear contrast between the number who were engaging and the stark contrast as soon as the email went home.
I have no issue with children what they can and on some days doing nothing, apart from the concern about how to pick up the pieces for a select few who will not have held a pencil for the last 5 weeks with more weeks stretching ahead of us. It's how much learning those children are doing that mostly concerns me.