Furious parents have revealed how their children are getting no online learning after Gavin Williamson today admitted some schools in England could remain closed beyond the middle of February.
Mr Williamson stressed he wants ‘schools to be closed for the shortest period of time available’ but warned classrooms could continue to be shut in ‘areas of particular need’ – even after lockdown starts to be eased.
The comments led to anger with parents hitting out at current provision for online learning.
Some spoke about the disparity in teaching quality within their own family, with one child getting a better standard of teaching than the other.
Others revealed how their children’s teachers are appearing over Zoom to take classes while teaching assistants are left to teach the children of key workers still attending school.
The Government is hoping a majority of pupils will be able to return to classrooms soon after the first review of the national lockdown on February 15.
Reacting to Mr Williamson’s comments that the shutdown could be extended, one parent said: ‘Online learning this lockdown is a joke.
‘From the 30 minute session, seven minutes actual ‘teaching time’. Other 23 minutes are getting kids logged on, taking register, repeating ‘todays script’ hundreds of times for children ‘not hearing it’, ‘late entry to sessions’.’
Gavin Williamson today suggested that schools in hotspot areas could remain closed beyond the February half-term
Another wrote: ‘I fully support teachers working from home. The majority have stepped up to the mark.
‘However, a few still think posting class plans online is teaching. Understand with children under five if on your own. Some with no children making no effort. No leadership.’
While a third said: ‘My child is in secondary school but the school are only delivering worksheets and powerpoints etc… during lockdown, which are unmarked.
‘My child is not getting access to any online lessons via Zoom. Seems that the teachers aren’t doing an awful lot to be honest and I’m not very happy about this.’
Another parent spoke about the disparities in teaching in their household: ‘Even in our own family we have a huge spread of what’s on offer for the kids and I’m curious what it looks like for everyone else.
‘We have year four private school – full live zoom schedule with the teacher teaching the key worker kids in person simultaneously from the classroom. All specialist teachers are live as well.
‘Nursery attached to private school- full sessions in person
‘Year 11 state school: a few prerecorded slide decks and one live zoom fortnightly.’
A second agreed: ‘Year seven and 10 full time table of live lessons on teams, homework set on show my homework like normal. Very impressed as they also have form for 25 minutes where they can interact with tutor about any issues.
‘[But for my] Year 4 absolutely nothing! Not surprised they did this in the last lockdown just said read once a day and times table rockstar. Very very unimpressed with this.’
Others shared how teaching assistants were forced to work in schools.
One parent said: ‘Our teachers WANT to teach from the classroom and happy to come to school. But our school has sent them home to work and all teaching assistants have to be in class with critical worker and vulnerable children. Because [then] there’s less risk of the teachers getting virus.’
A second added: ‘One of my schools is utilising their Teaching Assistants to lead/support, follow the online lessons for pupils. Allowing the Class Teacher to teach online. Is this what’s happening across the board?’
MPs on the Education Select Committee this morning also demanded a guarantee ‘signed in blood’ from Mr Williamson that schools will reopen as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, the Education Secretary also declined to guarantee that nurseries will continue to be allowed to open as he would only go so far as to say he had ‘no intention’ to close them.
The Government used a so-called contingency framework before lockdown which allowed ministers to move primary schools in coronavirus hotspots to remote learning.
Mr Williamson said the framework will be used again when lockdown is eased in an apparent admission that some schools could remain shut potentially long into the future.
He told MPs: ‘We already have the sort of set scheme in terms of contingency framework.
‘Obviously as I have said many times before I want schools to be closed for the shortest period of time available.
‘But the contingency framework would be sort of sat there to sort of continue if there [are] areas of particular need where we had to have school settings continued to remain closed, it would be through the contingency framework that they would remain closed.’
Robert Halfon, the Tory chairman of the committee, said he wanted a commitment to reopen schools as soon as possible, and ideally after the February half-term, ‘signed in blood’ by Mr Williamson.
Mr Halfon also pushed the Education Secretary on whether nurseries in England will be allowed to stay open.
Mr Williamson said: ‘Nurseries, we always, Mr Chairman, I am very much like you, I always want to see all education settings open all of the time.
‘I always want to ensure that every child is in a position to be able to go to school and as you will be aware, transmissibility among those who are most youngest is actually the very lowest compared to all of the settings.
‘So when you are in a position to be able to keep part of the education sector in terms of early years, I believe it was the right decision to make because so many families really rely on that nursery provision.
‘But most importantly, those early years are so important…’
Mr Halfon then interrupted and pushed Mr Williamson for a guarantee that nurseries will be allowed to stay open.
Mr Williamson replied: ‘The advice that we have had is that we can keep early years settings open and there is no intention to close them and we have not received any contrary advice to that.’