Because it gets them back into school, renewing relationships with peers and staff and it sets them up for the full time return after Easter to be as comfortable as it can be for them.
so 1 day over the next 5 weeks including the holidays is going to do that is it?
No, it is 3 days over the next 3 weeks followed by a 2 week holiday. In my experience it is very likely the most your child's school can offer given the space and staff at their disposal.
Seniors with 2m social distancing requires either 3x the teachers and 3x the rooms, or rooms magically 3 times bigger, or 3 times the time. If your school is offering face-to-face for seniors for each subject plus a full day for S1, S2 & S3, they are doing well. They will be offering the best that they can.
No, it is 3 days over the next 3 weeks followed by a 2 week holiday.
Nope.
It's one day for S1-3, as daviek said.
The biggest elephant in the room with regard to Scottish Education and intake and output is the bizarre year split that sees some pupils who want to leave being forced to return to school in S5 to participate in class that they have no intention of finishing, as they can only leave officially at Christmas.
One unintended consequence of holding all kids back a year is this issue would be solved. It is not the right way to go about it though.
so it looks like our two eldest S1 & S3 will be in one day each over the next 3 weeks
Sorry, I took this to be one day per week each, which is about as good as it will be for any S1-S3 anywhere.
brads
Full Member
Ffs I’m depressed. All I want to do is hit Golfie with the laddie.It’s not even that far away.
Just go then , I stay in East Lothian and have been down the valley in the last couple of weeks since the non announcement. I towed the line and then It seems we have another 7 weeks and thought bugger It. All the golfie parking spots were gone by 11 am last sunday so It seems like me everyone has given up . The trails are running beautifully as well.
daviek
Full Member
so 1 day over the next 5 weeks including the holidays is going to do that is it?
Well; they were always going to be on holiday but including that allows you to type "5 weeks." Feel free to explain how we address the logistical problems mentioned by trout.
there is no solution for that, my point was more why put them back for a single day and not just leave it until after easter.
my point was more why put them back for a single day and not just leave it until after easter.
Same sort of reasons as people on maternity leave have 'keeping in touch days' and those returning from long term absence do phased returns.
Just go then , I stay in East Lothian and have been down the valley in the last couple of weeks since the non announcement.
You're a bit of a tit then.
They're just making stuff up now....
Key information from our revised guidance published 12 March:
Scottish Cycling continues to seek clarity from sportscotland and the Scottish Government on the discrepancy that exists in transiting through multiple Level 4 areas on an informal or organised group ride. The current Scottish Government guidance continues to prohibit organised group rides from transiting through multiple Level 4 areas.
Whilst Scottish Government Guidance allows for a group of up to 15 adults to take part in Club activity, Scottish Cycling strongly recommends a maximum group size ride of 9 from unlimited households for Club rides. This is consistent with our guidance for adult MTB, MBL and Led Rides.
Anyone in the Deen got an idea why our cases here have been consistently going up for the last week or so? I know we are all frazzled with the restrictions but if/when we go above 50 per 100k then were going to be confined within our local authority....
I think there's a few areas where figures are stubbornly going up or staying higher.
In Stirling area we've had an transmission among a couple of communities/schools. The rest of Stirling region, nothing. But the south east of the city and south eastern villages are a raging hotbed of infection.
Thanks for that. That confirms as I suspected it is community transmission.
There really are some selfish twonks around here which is really starting to wind me right up.
@juanking there is a lot more movement of people/ far more people out and about so community infections do seem to be a key part.
If you look at the local map though the areas where infections were occurring are much tighter rather than spread across the city.
Think there has been a psychological phenomena of people taking greater risks in there contact with others as the vaccine programme steps up.
Aberdeen also has a relatively low number of people vaccinated compared to Galloway - a reflection on the age/ health profile.
https://www.travellingtabby.com/scotland-coronavirus-tracker/local
can't link to the map but if you zoom in you can see which areas are the "hot spots"
@sparksmcguff, hadn't occured to me that folk might/are willing to take more of a chance due to the vaccine rollout. Also as you point out Aberdeen is lagging behind elsewhere for a combination of reasons.
I've had my first jab and and frankly dont see me changing my risk profile much at all for at least this year.
@bruneep, I use the travelling tabby to monitor local trends which is really useful and lead me to spot the increasing community transmission.
Why is clackmannanshire so high on the lists, is it just due to being a smaller population as cases dont seem too bad? Only asking as due to go there in a couple of weeks
Clacks seems pretty busy. Lots of folk about. Some nice mtb around too.
glen ochill prison in clackmanashire ?
east ayrshire was high last week or so due to kilarnock prison
they have been doing testing at the prisons ,because of outbreak , hence the reason the numbers are higher in certain areas ,
I think you’ve got a bit of a distorted view of how bad this situation is, academically speaking at least.
I think >90% of my certificate classes will get an award that’s in the same ball park to what they would have got under normal circumstances and will therefore be ready and eager to move on to the next stage in education/employment.
@Spin - I’m glad you said that I was beginning to think my children were the exception who were pretty much progressing as normal. It’s not their accademic learning I’ve been worried about it’s their social interaction.
But let’s also be clear the children of COVID-19 have learned new skills and techniques that our generation never had - masters of MS Teams; able to search the internet for video tutorials rather than blindly follow their own class teacher; technical ways to support each other and probably an understanding of MH/isolation issues we didn’t have; and I’ve seen more walking/cycling etc by people who are used to being chauffeured.
Those who will need advanced calculus will still have learned it or quickly catch up. Those who will not have learned a range of other skills people don’t get qualifications for. I doubt there is any job or university course that can’t easily compensate / train for a bit of missing knowledge - after all we already level our people with highers, advanced highers, a-levels, int baccalaureate etc, and in many cases people who got a B or C in some of those (so missed a fair chunk of understanding on at least some part) still get places.
What chance does a non-academic or frequently unavailable parent stand trying to teaching calculus to a reluctant teenager?
@downshep - I think you’ve misunderstood how home schooling is working for 15 yr doing maths. Ordinarily the parents are not directly involved (I don’t get involved at all with my 17yr old, and probably once every 2 days get asked to help my 12 yr old understand something - which is usually in a humanities type subject I’ve not studied since I was 14, but is about being able to read the question or rephrase what’s asked).
In terms of calculus - when you or I learned it back in the day you went to a class the teacher wrote on a blackboard and there was a text book. Now the teacher is talking on teams (either pre-recorded or live), there are the equivalent of text books, but there are links to BBC bite size, YouTube etc - no longer are you drilled to one teachers bad blackboard skills but have animations multiple presenters etc. The challenge may be one of motivation or interest rather than the ability of parents to impart knowledge. I don’t know how other children and schools are doing - but I think mine are managing well. The kids missing out will be those without IT at home or whose parents are not ensuring they actually get out of bed. Those are also the kids who typically perform poorly at school - but are likely to have been offered in school places beside key worker children.
Now for P1-4 I think it probably is a nightmare home schooling because they need so much more support, but I noticed when my two were at that stage that there’s a lot less formal “learning” than just doing and absorbing (and working out how to behave in a classroom - which will be a missing piece).
There should of course be mechanisms for children to go back and redo the year but that’s probably the exception not the norm - and I recall that happening when I was at school both with people we would probably call ASN now and a good friend of mine who spent a significant part of S4 in hospital.
Before I go looking, has there been any change to the ban on outdoor drinking as a result of these latest relaxations?
I better stop taking a can of IPA on my walks then.
I think Aberdeen is always going to struggle given the number of people who pass through it (from all over the world) to go on and off shore. I know they've got procedures in place, but it's always going to be an extra level of risk I guess.
@stanfree
Yup. East Lothian.
Been trying to behave a bit but me and the boy are demented as everyone on my strava is there every other day.
A friend in Inners says the weekends are stowed out.
Have lost patience now for sure.
Don't disagree with any of that poly, it's the massive uncertainty and inconsistency in learning that may adversely affect so many students to an unknown degree that worries me.
it’s the massive uncertainty and inconsistency in learning that may adversely affect so many students to an unknown degree that worries me.
Having seen what pupils were like after the first lockdown the lost learning doesn't concern me nearly as much as the behaviour and mental health impacts.
A friend in Inners says the weekends are stowed out.
Police were at Buzzards Nest this morning checking where folk had traveled from. They said they had sent loads of people away. They were taking number plates as well to check other car parks throughout the day in case folk just move elsewhere
I’ve been up a few times in the last three or four weeks and it’s been quiet. Today was much quieter though!
Now the teacher is talking on teams (either pre-recorded or live), there are the equivalent of text books, but there are links to BBC bite size, YouTube etc – no longer are you drilled to one teachers bad blackboard skills but have animations multiple presenters etc.
Maybe that is your experience, but our youngest is in 3rd in South Lanarkshire and there is absolutely nothing on Teams or Zoom or anything remotely interactive in any of his subjects. He logs in at the start of each ‘class’ where he is presented with a list of tasks and a submission date.
The current class timetable has each subject with a 2 hour block. The set work takes him between 5 and 15 minutes each time for all subjects. He is a clever kid but still hugely impacted, he’s had virtually no S3 class time, bar a bit in the Autumn and going back next week will involve a total of 6 hrs class time per week. After Easter he starts S4... total farce.
3rd in South Lanarkshire and there is absolutely nothing on Teams or Zoom or anything remotely interactive
A friend's wife teaches in S. Lan and she said they were told in the first lockdown not to do any live lessons or record any audio or video.
Similar story with my son. There have been a few 'live' lessons, but very few. Recently they've had them logging in with whoever would be teaching them at 11am for a catch up. He gets the work at the beginning of the week and we spread the tasks out over the week,it takes him much less than half a day each day realistically to get through it. I know there is a lot of wasted/non-teaching time in school with one thing and another, but it's very minimal what he has to do.
our department has been proactive since the start with live lessons, I made a YouTube channel for senior and BGE classes. We have loads of videos produced since August along with Microsoft forms quizzes. We use drawing tablets during out live lessons and pummel the kids with questions.
The issue has been motivation and engagement of the pupils. Some parents have been really good others I'm guessing not so much. When I go back in on Monday the kids will be either in during the morning or the afternoon and will be following their timetables. I'm teaching 14 out of 21 lessons I would normally do although I will be repeating them.
Obviously some schools and teachers are much better than others, but I taught keystage 1 and 2 in England many moons ago and some on the work my S1 son has been getting is quite pathetic with word searches and the like for topics that you'd give a 7 year old.
Home ec the other days was make a potato pie. It was cheesy mashed potato, then put in the oven. No seasoning and using marge 🤢😂
Woo hoo! Just got my appointment for the jab on Monday. 50yo.
Police were at Buzzards Nest this morning
Think they would notice me parked in George street and sneaking up Golfie lol.
Literally demented not getting out in the Tweed Valley. Life is too short for this shit.
@Brads fair play for sticking to the rules , we did up until about 2 weeks ago and as Poah says Im obviously a Tit for it. I think I may kinda of know you as you asked advice on moving to tranent. If you want a good sesh and not break the rules head down the A1 to Penmanshiel which is well within the 5 mileborder of east lothian and the Scottish borders. We rode there over new year and there are 4 really good techy trails that are a proper test . If you need any info message me.
Literally demented not getting out in the Tweed Valley. Life is too short for this shit.
Quite a lot of idiots are travelling there from Glasgow. Hopefully they get infected from their stupidity.
The Clacks numbers aren't related to the Prison as far as I know. The epicentre of the current outbreak seems to be Clackmannan. A few days ago there had been 40+ cases in the previous 7 days in this Intermediate Zone alone. Stirling seems to be struggling too.
I see that Jason Leitch was commenting that new case numbers had been falling until this Monday (8 March) and have subsequently started to rise a bit. It could be a coincidence that 8 March was 2 weeks after younger children returned to school. It is almost inevitable that pupils returning to school will lead to an increase in case numbers. I just hope it is manageable.
I’d second that! Was over last month, great set of trails and more in the making
Did my first road ride of the year today. A simply staggering amount of cars on the M77 as I was riding alongside it. The overwhelming majority are not bothering with the local authority travel restrictions any more
Quite a lot of idiots are travelling there from Glasgow. Hopefully they get infected from their stupidity.
Hopefully they don't as, the more people who are infected the more/longer the restrictions for the rest of us.
Home ec the other days was make a potato pie. It was cheesy mashed potato, then put in the oven. No seasoning and using marge 🤢😂
Is that what they normally do though? HE seems an easy subject to transplant if you are happy to still have them cooking - give them the recipe they would have followed in the class - possibly with a video of any technique. I don't think my S1 has actually been doing any practical stuff - all theory/nutrition/ingredients/food safety stuff. S6 doing Nat 5 Practical Cookery has been - and is typically doing one of our meals during the week.
Don’t disagree with any of that poly, it’s the massive uncertainty and inconsistency in learning that may adversely affect so many students to an unknown degree that worries me.
There's massive inconsistency in teaching anyway! Good teachers, bad teachers, good schools, bad schools, parents with £ to pay for tutors, subjects with "choices" of components (set texts in English, software languages in computing, etc). There's not even consistency in the number of subjects pupils study, or in some cases whether they pass straight from Nat5 to Higher etc. The point of school (in 2021) is not really that everyone leaves at the same level - but everyone leaves with some idea of how to learn and some foundations to work on.
A friend’s wife teaches in S. Lan and she said they were told in the first lockdown not to do any live lessons or record any audio or video.
Yes I think W Lothian was similar in the original lockdown - but this time the message is different; so much so that parents complained they were spending too long each day starting at screens and they now have one period each day which is to be "screen free" and they are told to either go outside, read a book or (my favourite!) do some housework!
Maybe that is your experience, but our youngest is in 3rd in South Lanarkshire and there is absolutely nothing on Teams or Zoom or anything remotely interactive in any of his subjects. He logs in at the start of each ‘class’ where he is presented with a list of tasks and a submission date.
Thats is poor, and the messaging from Scot Gov is that should not be happening, and so I'd have been an annoying parent if my children's school were seemingly not delivering.
We do have inconsistency with some teachers better than others. But that's always the case - the English teacher is crap and technology incompetent - but when I asked my son in S6 about him - he says he's got a reputation for being crap normally, its not a lockdown thing. When I see the effort that especially the younger teachers are putting in I'm pretty inspired - its clear they've seen this as an opportunity to do things a bit differently and break the mould. If I'm a bit cynical, if you've been teaching the same stuff for 20 years and have a nice rhythm going with all your materials organised this is probably a bit of shock to the system.
The current class timetable has each subject with a 2 hour block. The set work takes him between 5 and 15 minutes each time for all subjects. He is a clever kid but still hugely impacted, he’s had virtually no S3 class time, bar a bit in the Autumn and going back next week will involve a total of 6 hrs class time per week. After Easter he starts S4… total farce.
So often teaching has to run a the pace of the slowest learner (or at least the bottom quartile) that I've thought the bright kids could do O-grade/Standard-grade/Nat5 in a year anyway. It sounds like your school hasn't been providing any extension work for people who are running ahead - that's a real shame, because IN class nobody wants to be seen to be doing the extra work and a swot, but at home in classes that interest them my S1 has said she's done extra work she'd never have done in school because of the stigma of being bright! The inverse though is she isn't being pushed to do extra practice in subjects where she's not doing quite so well and probably needs it more - but I've no idea if she would be in school, the difference is now I see what's going on. In the classroom, the disruption, the discipline issues, the non-curriculum stuff, etc is all opaque to the parents.
