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.

Of course it's blindingly fucking obvious that a double glazing salesperson isn't a key worker. However according to the guidelines they are. They also had a letter from their employer stating they were a key worker. So forgive me if I take such a letter with a pinch of salt and dig slightly deeper.

You are clearly entitled AF and hard of thinking if you can't see that any kind of salesperson operating from a call centre is not a key worker.

But you are at home @drspouse so why does your DD need to be at school? The guidance for for key workers and children coming into school states very clearly that if your child could be at home they should be at home.

Anyway OP, I really feel for you. It must be so hard when you are putting so much effort in, and not getting anything back. And then probably having to do it all again when the schools reopen.

I understand how difficult it is for parents to juggle work and homeschooling, but the number of parents on various threads who have said they are not even bothering to look at what is being sent or encouraging their children to do at least some of the work does amaze me.

DS is in Y10. His school is following the school timetable and as long as he is coping with it he will be doing all the work set. I appreciate everything his school is doing for him and his classmates. It cannot be easy for the teachers to have to rewrite their planning for remote working.

Sounds like @5zeds isn't a teacher and doesn't think children should be in even a very empty school, not realising that the chances of catching CV are related to the number of people with whom you come into contact. I think it’s YOU @drspouse who don’t understand that the chances of catching CV19 is based on the number of people who you come in contact with. That’s why the rest of us are keeping our children home EVEN if we are working.

If school have set it - we've done it. I don't think they have set anything of any particular merit - it's definitely been "busywork" to pay lipservice to the idea we've sent "work" home and it's only been faffy topic stuff making models and not the Maths and English I actually have as a priority for the kids. No one has expressed any interest in marking or seeing anything - so we've photographed all the models, stuck the pictures in a book, along with all the other stuff we've done, and if they get back to school they can take it into school for a "wooo well done stamp" and it being completely ignored.

Other kids' teacher was complaining earlier today that the school have bought into some swanky learning platform - they've all logged in, spent hours fiddling with their avatars and only one has done the work on it properly! (Mine's the one who's done the work - because I sat with her and made sure she did that bit before the avatar fiddling began - I know what that age group are like!)

Maybe your children dont have ehcps and a social workers, as well as a key worker parent.

I've mostly given up on school work at home. Our internet connection is dire and I'm trying to work from home myself. My work is such that I can't wait and do it in the evening. I'm a single parent with 2 children at school age and the youngest needs constant help to manage google classroom as it's unfamiliar to him - the school didn't use it up to now.

We don't have a printer so that doesn't help and I just don't have time to mess about with it all. As long as they're reading books sometimes I've left it at that.

I am struggling with internet at certain times too.

As I teach a core subject and an option , I keep hearing that my SLT has encouraged year 9s to focus only on core and that parents are also telling DCs to focus on maths and English.

As an English teacher this makes me weep into my tea. As an option teacher this also makes me weep into my tea.

To answer your original point, I am getting about 40 to 50 per cent of work back ....70 after a nag. Sixth form are the worst!

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

They should read the government definition of key workers. DH and I are both key workers, but not front line and we have both been WFH for 5 weeks. My work are being quite sensible about the key worker stuff, we are being encouraged to WFH where possible and have all got letters saying we are key workers for if we are stopped in the car if we need to go to work (about 1/3 of staff have to still work on site) DH got a letter from his work for school saying he was a key worker and entitled to put the kids to school! We haven't used it, we are working shifts round each other to cover work and childcare but we are lucky with space and computers so apart from the 7yo daily tantrum when he tells me I'm mean to make him do his work we're coping.

Just wanted to say to the OP that you should definitely keep responding to those that are doing the work. DD2 is Y6 and her teacher's comments on her work really keep her motivated so thank you to all teachers who are working so hard at the moment.

Wow. This thread went on a massive tangent OP. In Staffroom not AIBU too!

Anyway, I get what your initial post was about DrMadelineMaxwell and it’s ok to vocalise the worries about the unknown coupled, with the future. Basically, I hear you, OP.

Thank you @ChloeDecker

I wish teachers could have discussions/post their concerns/worries etc to share with other teachers without parents constantly jumping into threads. It's called The Staffroom for a reason.

Neither is it up to them to judge "worthy" KWs.
Well, actually, I think that schools DO have a skin in the game, if they are asking staff to come out of isolation in order to supervise those children.

Sorry OP I was part of the derail.

Your concerns are entirely valid. This new "online school" isn't good for anyone. It's just the least worst solution. As teachers we want to do our best at all times and so much of this isn't the best but there's little we can do to make it better.

My replies to your OP were written in a very cranky moment this morning.

Sorry @Ihavenoregrets totally guilty as charged. If it helps we massively appreciate what you guys are doing and it’s making a huge difference to my family. Sorry for being intrusive and taking up your space.

@5zeds The nice comments are appreciated...it's the whiners and complainers who make it so hard. Sorry...I probably sound like a right misery. Like everyone am just struggling a bit today...feel so overwhelmed. Am responsible for home learning and assessments for nearly 500 students. I wake up in a cold sweat most mornings

Sorry I am guilty as charged too. Although I am a school governor as well as a parent so have been known to venture into the staffroom of my schools

Hope you are feeling better drm. The children that do appreciate our efforts REALLY appreciate it so maybe think of them. The ones that don’t, don’t anyway! It is desperate to think of those that want to work and can’t, I think it is going to be an evolving thing though, with ideas and plans being changed if it turns out not to be working. It is taking a very, very long time to prepare lessons in any more than a ‘here’s a work sheet / do some research’ way. On the plus side we will have learnt lots of new IT skills!

@Hercwasonaroll , @5zeds and @ineedaholidaynow.
No worries. A lot of threads get derailed in the same way these days, it's a very emotive issue. And we are all entitled to be cracnky from time to time. My being cranky was probably the cause of my thread in the first place!

Drspouse is a parent in a v challenging situation which must be incredibly hard. However she never come across well when discussing her dcs education, and talks to everyone like dirt, whether they help or challenge her.

My DD has EHCP ( year 10). Her school sent out h/w without differentiation. At school she has 1:1 so at home she needs 1:1 too. I’m SAHM, but even so the homework is on the level of NT year 10, so needs a lot of my work to make it accessible for her. She also was quite nervous about what’s going on from the beginning so I was taken very slow approach with lots of relaxing activities like playing in the garden with her, doing arts and crafts.
We’re doing Maths and English but haven’t opened Science homework even once. I sincerely hope that her science teacher is not disappointed. I’m trying my best and really grateful for the feedback we’ve got already. DD was beaming after she received a positive feedback from her maths teacher. She’s working really hard but due to her needs she can’t do more than 2.5 hours of formal teaching in one day, it’s just too much for her.

I'm a primary teacher (upper KS2) and the parent of a Y6. I really appreciate all the time DD2's teacher has put into planning each week of learning, the overview she produces each Monday so children can see the shape of the overall week. I am also a massive fan of the school's very clear message that the work is being provided for those families that want work provided for their children, that no more than two hours a day should be spent doing formal learning and that if the family wants/needs to do only some if it or none of it, then that's fine. There's no need to submit anything so no expectation of feedback although I'm aware children who need more contact and/or input from school are either in school or having regular phone calls.

Because DH and I are both teachers and DD1 is in Y10 (so needs to be accessing what her teachers are setting) accessing three school networks at a time is already proving to be rather too much demand on our rubbish wifi. I'd discussed this with DD2's teacher and suggested I plan offline things for her myself but using her teacher's learning objectives. This is what we've been doing for maths and English and it works so much better than the few days we were all battling with wifi. She's doing other tasks as set by her teacher but there's no monitoring so her teacher won't know that.

One thought @DrMadelineMaxwell, have you used Seneca with your Y6s? It might be useful for setting science assignments for your class to help them revise the content that will be useful in Y7.

I haven't, no. I will check it out. Thanks.

@DrMadelineMaxwell - I would keep setting the work and know that the pupils who are doing it are benefiting. But perhaps appreciate the complex situation we find ourselves in as parents.

I have 4 dc across 3 year groups and 2 key stages. I don't want to spend all day doing school work when I also have to 'keep house' - luckily as an LSA I am only needed in 1 day in 3 weeks at present. I also have 2 SEN children - SEN support rather than EHCP so while their school is well placed to offer interventions and support, I don't have access to the same resources. I don't have enough tech for the children to have one each so they are having to take it in turns with the online activities.

I know a lot of other parents who similarly have children across year groups and key stages, who don't have enough tech to allow one per child, who have to work from home as well as care for their children.

As parents we are doing out best with what we have. But I don't think all teachers are thinking that in depth about the family situation of individual pupils. I know from a conversation with a colleague last time I was in, that person certainly hadn't thought of the family set up beyond the child who was in their class and hadn't thought that the reason their pupil wasn't online every day was because maybe they were having to take turns with sibling(s), so to appreciate that they were engaging with what they were able to.

Of course, there will always be pupils and families who are seeing not being at school as an extended holiday. But the rest of us are doing the best we can with what we have.

I am also a parent.

I had an issue with not getting childcare for my child too drspouse. I'm a KW, partner not. But the guidelines were if one person is a KW. It has meant partner has to take leave every day that I go out to work, which is great. Not.

In terms of setting work - mine started well, 60 out of 80 viewing videos at least, but it's dropped off a lot. I'm going to reduce the amount of time I spend on it all - using classroom secrets/twinkl etc rather than spending ages recording my own videos. I've videos myself reading a story Jackanory style, which has had more engagement - I did an 'explainer' lesson video for the historical context of the book, which again has been engaged with quite a lot. I gave them more links to the history stuff via BBC etc, and that'll do. Thinking about using some Oak National Academy lessons too.

Think my time is better spent on curriculum planning for September really.