PARENTS REVEAL CHALLENGES OF HOME LEARNING
FROM all-day, live-streamed lessons, to none at all, parents across Wales have shared their experiences of how remote learning is working for their children with schools shut again. And their responses highlight huge variations from area to area.
While some described home learning as “a nightmare” others praised schools for their response and said it has worked well for their children.
Many felt guilty, worried, frustrated, or all three, as they described “trying to teach” their children when they don’t feel qualified to do so. They agreed faceto-face teaching is best.
Parents Martyn and Elle Barrass work for the police and the NHS and are classed as critical workers, so their 11year-old twins, who are in their first year of secondary school, are eligible for places in school during closures, but they can’t always get them.
While classrooms are shut to most they are open to vulnerable and key workers’ children, but even this provision can depend on where people live, staffing and what their school can offer.
Like many parents, they did not want to name their children’s school, but wanted to share their experience of home learning.
Martyn, who is stepfather to the twins, said: “My stepson has special educational needs (severe dyslexia) and as such it is very difficult to educate him effectively, not being a teacher let alone a special educational needs teacher.
“Motivation is low and eagerness is just as low. Sometimes lesson assignments aren’t posted on time and sometimes not at all.
“The assignments they post can often take less than half an hour, leaving the rest of the hour with boredom or poor behaviour.
“Couple this with both my wife and I being critical workers in the NHS and police. Finding time to do all of this plus manage the home is tiring.
“Initially we were told by school that there was no provision to accept the twins when we were at work because they were not classed as vulnerable. It took a few days of intense stress and arguing to finally make them agree to accept them on ad hoc days.
“It’s been an absolute nightmare time. Neither of us are teachers yet I’m having to teach them intensely, using Google and YouTube as my guide and reference.”
The Welsh Government confirmed there is no legal requirement for the amount of online teaching schools provide, but there have been calls for a national remote teaching plan from
Plaid Cymru, head teachers, parents and others.
One primary school teacher, who runs a hub for critical workers’ and vulnerable children, and whose own children attend another hub, said even this provision varies too much. She didn’t blame schools, but said the Welsh Government announced schools were closing this term at the last minute, leaving schools little time to plan.
“This is a stressful time for us all – we need clarity, not more confusion. There was so much uncertainty – and it was so unfair to do this to teachers alike who have planned lessons for the classroom, now causing them to have to change it all last minute.”
Katie Davies, a medical receptionist from Pontypridd, works two days a week and the other days she is at home with her six year-old son and eight yearold daughter helping them with schoolwork. She said home learning means she is more involved in their education.
“We try so very hard every day to do their schoolwork and we do always manage to complete it in some way or another.
“I do really feel for the teachers, they seem to get a bad reputation all of a sudden during this pandemic, which I really don’t understand.
“We spend at least three hours a day just doing maybe two to three pieces of work with each of our children, and while I secretly love doing the work with them I have found myself shouting “I’m not a teacher!”, “I can’t do this”, but we always manage to do it somehow.
“Daily schoolwork really does help give us a focus and something to concentrate on.”
Teacher and parent Karen MacDonald said teachers have adapted fast and many, like her, are also combining work with helping their children learn remotely.
“Remote teaching is something we’ve all had to embrace and we’re getting on with it. We’re online daily and then we have to adapt our teaching for online. So that takes hours. I’m at a computer screen most days for 12 hours.”
She said her sons, aged 17 and 14, are doing well and getting good remote teaching from their school, Ysgol y Strade in Llanelli.
“From a parent perspective, I have only positive praise. My eldest is in year 13 and has been accepted at the top universities. He is working every day. He was even working over the Christmas period to get his coursework done
in order to secure the high grades he needs to attend university. Teachers are setting work and have high expectations of their students.
“My younger son is at his laptop all day, completing work set by his teachers. It is not the same as face-to-face teaching but currently the world is not the same, everything is different and the majority of schools/teachers are trying their best in these challenging times.”
Parents fear differences in how schools and local education authorities have responded will mean some children lose out and fall behind.
“I’d like to know why there is such a difference between the provision the schools are providing, especially in the area where my daughter’s school is,” said one.
“We just want to know if other schools can do regular live or recorded lessons why can’t her primary do the same?”
Another parent with three children in the house studying for GCSEs, A-levels and university, said the work is going fine but she’s worried about increased fuel and Wi-Fi costs as closures continue.
“We have iPads and laptops that need charging. They have to be in separate rooms for online lectures and classes and I had to buy better Wi-Fi and boosters. It’s ridiculous.”
Parents of special-needs children said the work sent out is often not geared to them. One parent of a six year-old boy with speech and language problems, but who attends mainstream school, said: “Homeschooling for us has not been straightforward because my son struggles with his communication due to problems with speech and language.
“The work that the school has set is impossible for him to do as it requires him to communicate at a level that he is unable to right now, leaving me to coach him through every single step and effectively do the work on his behalf, this is also highly frustrating and upsetting for him.
“I did say this when one of his teachers contacted us to check how we were getting on and I was told they would send work better suited to him for the time being. But I was sent one day’s work and nothing more.
“I have had to come up with work for him based on how well I know he can manage it so he is not currently following any schooling that the school has set.
“What does the Government deem as a vulnerable child? From my point of view my son is vulnerable, he is already behind and much less capable than his peers and every day he misses school the gap to him catching up gets wider and wider.
“Covid has already delayed panel meetings regarding him being provided a one-to-one during term time to help support him in class and now this is set to be delayed even more.
“I think if his assessment had been carried out then he may have fallen into this bracket of vulnerability, but sadly for my son he is in a grey area and has been completely abandoned. So no I don’t think it’s being managed effectively. I think it’s a complete shambles.”
Clare Brokenshire is deputy headteacher at Academy21, a Monmouthshire-based online education advice and lesson providing service, which works with the Vale of Glamorgan, Cardiff, Monmouthshire and Flintshire councils, and their schools. Academy21 is also partnered with Crickhowellbased online school, Interhigh.
Clare said live online lessons should be no more than between three to five hours a day, and far less for the youngest children.
No more than three hours was best for children aged three to five, four hours for ages seven to 11 and five hours for 11 year-olds and up.
Children need good Wi-Fi connection and devices and teachers should keep tasks interactive to keep their attention.
“Teaching online is not simply a case of replicating classroom teaching; it requires a different skill set, and one we shouldn’t necessarily expect teachers to already have and be able to conduct in the same way they are used to in a physical classroom.”
She said class size is important and online lessons need structure so that students are clear about what is expected throughout the day.
“Some families may experience a lack of motivation and struggle to get their children engaged with their work. This can often be due to the way content is delivered – for example, simply being asked to watch a video or work through a PowerPoint. This lack of interaction may lead to students “switching off” and procrastinating rather than engaging with the lesson content.
“It’s important to provide regular communication streams with parents to ensure they are aware of what lessons their child needs to attend as well as any homework or tasks being set, and how they can best support.”