bbc.co.uk/news/education-53947982

[Apc2604]

//The learning gap between rich and poor pupils has grown by almost half since schools closed in March, teachers said.//

Why? Is this down to parenting? All children were set work by schools, rich and poor alike.

[sherrardk]

It’s been a complete slog for the kids, trudging through endless online content and working in isolation. If you live in a household with little internet access, maybe younger kids to look after, working rubbish hours, etc you might not have the motivation to enforce something that you can’t see the point of or don’t think is your job to do.

Togo @ 9.49 - you’re an ***.

[maggiebee]

Agree rich and poor were set work by their schools. The difference might be that the rich would be able to afford a tutor while the poor would just have to suck it and see.

[Togo]

//Togo @ 9.49 - you’re an ***.//

Wow I'm a 3 star General now.

[ichkeria]

Teachers use Zoom with each other for meetings.

Zoom lessons may work with small classes but in general they won’t be a substitute for class. No one has planned fir this scenario and not unreasonably.
Listening to the schools minister on the TV I was appalled at how clueless he appeared

[ichkeria]

“ It’s been a complete slog for the kids, trudging through endless online content and working in isolation. If you live in a household with little internet access, maybe younger kids to look after, working rubbish hours, etc you might not have the motivation to enforce something that you can’t see the point of or don’t think is your job to do.“

Indeed, and that applies regardless of internet access or material resources although lack of those of course don’t help

[sevenOP]

From he BBC Link: "The National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) report found teachers in the most deprived schools were more than three times as likely (53%) to say their pupils were at least four months behind, compared with those in the wealthiest schools (15%)."

From the actual Report:
"Munckton, A. (2020). ‘The private school advantage has
never been greater than in lockdown’, The Spectator,
27 June [online]. Available: https://www.spectator.co.uk/
article/ The-private-school-advantage-has-never-beengreater-
than-in-lockdown [7 August, 2020].

O’Grady, S. (2020). ‘Fury as most state school students
‘deprived’ of proper online education in lockdown’, The
Express, 4 July [online]. Available: https://www.express.
co.uk/news/uk/ 1304988/ state-school-remote-learningcoronavirus-
lockdown-private-school [7 August, 2020].

A survey by the Sutton Trust (2020) found that pupils in
independent schools were significantly more likely than
those in state schools (especially the most deprived
state schools) to be receiving high-quality interactive
remote learning. Well-cited explanations include that
pupils in state schools were less likely to have internet
connectivity and digital devices and/or adequate study
space in the home than independent school pupils,
making this form of learning challenging; and that state
schools were less likely to have well-developed learning
platforms for the setting and submission of work."

-- That from just a cursory look at it.

https://www.nfer.ac.uk/schools-responses-to-covid-19-the-challenges-facing-schools-and-pupils-in-september-2020/

The challenges facing schools and pupils in September 2020 (72 pages)
https://www.nfer.ac.uk/media/4119/schools_responses_to_covid_19_the_challenges_facing_schools_and_pupils_in_september_2020.pdf

[Bobbisox1]

I get that Apc but kids will be kids and without a responsible parent overseeing the work set for them for whatever reason, then they'd ( not all) not bothered with the effort as if a teacher was present

[AuntPollyGrey]

To say there are families with little or no access to the internet due to 'depravity' is a joke. Even the most deprived homes have internet -at £20 or less a month its affordable even to those on benefits and all those types seem to carry top of the range mobiles on contracts. Its ignorance and lack of motivation on the part of SOME parents who would fall into the lower wage brackets. Not ALL. There are some families quite well off who were struggling with online lessons because of where they live, where the Internet connection is very very slow. These parents have motivated themselves to teach their children by buying books online. The 'GAP' is more obvious because the children from homes where the parents could not care a less, regardless of income, have not got any face to face encouragement from teachers at school. Some of the rural kids who have 'wonderful' lives are not sitting at the kitchen table doing work either - they are driving tractors, feeding animals, collecting eggs etc.

[sevenOP]

APGrey, you are the only one mentioning depravity. (Deprived has a different meaning.)

You profess a wide knowledge of "all those types", but 'all those types' did not mention deprivation. The National Foundation for Educational Research wo compiled the Report mentioned it... and they mention it 81 times in the Report.

[mushroom25]

// The National Foundation for Educational Research wo compiled the Report mentioned it (deprivation)... and they mention it 81 times in the Report. //


is the word "deprived" defined anywhere in the report?

[AuntPollyGrey]

sevenOP // APGrey, you are the only one mentioning depravity. (Deprived has a different meaning.)//

Thanks for the English lesson, I'll more than be happy to help you out if you need correcting in my MT which is French ;-)

[AuntPollyGrey]

// A survey by the Sutton Trust (2020) found that pupils in
independent schools were significantly more likely than
those in state schools (especially the most deprived
state schools) to be receiving high-quality interactive
remote learning. Well-cited explanations include that
pupils in state schools were less likely to have internet
connectivity and digital devices and/or adequate study
space in the home than independent school pupils,
making this form of learning challenging; and that state
schools were less likely to have well-developed learning
platforms for the setting and submission of work."//

'More Likely' 'Less Likely' What a load of rubbish. It means nothing.

[AuntPollyGrey]

// //The learning gap between rich and poor pupils has grown by almost half since schools closed in March, teachers said.//

How do teachers know this when the Schools have just opened this morning?

[woofgang]

From what my friends with children have said, this is not as easy as having one reason. State Schools could use Teams and lots did. I don't think its simply about private schools as none of my friends' kids attend them. I think whatever makes impoverished families likely to stay impoverished and that's not simply idleness

[woofgang]

based on the assessment of the work which has been sent to children at home. It was also feared/expected all along and has been continually raised as a reason to open schools asap

[Apc2604]

Interesting replies. Will have a proper read through later.
I have been out and just come back, and now going out again.

I will add this to my question. Why on earth is it that many schools are having inset days over the first few days when the kids should be straight back into learning after missing so much education? They could have had as many inset days as they wished over the last week or so.

[jim360]

"More likely" and "less likely" have reasonably well-defined statistical meanings. Whether they are being used correctly I can't say, having not read the report, but rubbishing it because of the use of "more/less likely" is, at least, unjustified.

[roslyn251254]

"No computer/laptop" isnt an excuse
They were readily available in schools...you just had to ask...

[jackthehat]

No school had 300+ laptops/tablets that they could hand over to the children for an unspecified amount of time....

[roslyn251254]

Why would they need 300?! It's only the 28% who might have needed one...not every child.
The local village school had enough so assume bigger schools would be ok too