Some children can’t cope in mainstream schools. Virtual and hybrid education is helping them—but the government is standing in their way. Dorothy Lepkowska investigates why a proven solution to absenteeism is being ignored. @westenglandbylines.co.uk #EduSky - ThreadSky

bylinesnetwork.co.uk • 16 days ago

Some children can’t cope in mainstream schools. Virtual and hybrid education is helping them—but the government is standing in their way. Dorothy Lepkowska investigates why a proven solution to absenteeism is being ignored.

@westenglandbylines.co.uk #EduSky

Comments

paulwoodcraft.bsky.social•16 days ago

Not rocket science (although there is no reason these students might not become rocket scientists). Successful distance learning has occurred in Australia since the 1950's.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-australian-school-where-students-live-hundreds-of-miles-from-their-teachers

markcunliffe.bsky.social•15 days ago

Could this form the start/basis of an article? i.e. distant learning is not a new thing. Certainly @centralbylines.co.uk would be interested, email Judy on [email protected] if you wish to get involved with our citizen journalism publication.

jimmhunter.bsky.social•14 days ago

If you're interested

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66bf300da44f1c4c23e5bd1b/Working_together_to_improve_school_attendance_-_August_2024.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiq8ejTkbaLAxX0XEEAHVuqL5UQFnoECBQQAQ&usg=AOvVaw2PgKWBffpxAH1LiRAGRQJj

bylinesnetwork.co.uk•14 days ago

Thanks Jim. I'm willing to bet author @dotlepkowska.bsky.social is aware of this document.

dotlepkowska.bsky.social•14 days ago

I am thank you.

jimmhunter.bsky.social•14 days ago

And thanks for the article, very interesting read.

bronwengriffiths.bsky.social•15 days ago

My son (now a junior doctor) would have benefited hugely from a hybrid education. Secondary school was a nightmare for both him and us, his parents.

hotchkiss13.bsky.social•14 days ago

Mainstream schools do not accommodate some children might be a better starting point. Locate the deficiency in the school then move to the hybrid.

gammonhunter.bsky.social•14 days ago

It's about time people stood up for proper home education, which allows kids to learn effectively because they can focus on what they are interested in when and for however long their focus lasts.

Absolutely no point in being in a classroom bored/tired/having lost focus.

chumleyprelude.bsky.social•14 days ago

Online schools absolutely can be the right solution for some. I know someone who became totally unable to attend school due to anxiety. It affected not just their schooling, but their personal life. After starting online schooling, they're absolutely transformed & it's absolutely wonderful to see.

ianhopkinson.bsky.social•14 days ago

I'm one of those parents for whom online school, and Minerva in particular, is a life-saver.

Schools, the DfE and the minister are completely obsessed with attendance at mainstream schools and are willing to sacrifice the mental health of children, and their education to that end.

polyhymnia.bsky.social•14 days ago

Thinking that maybe there are parallels with the obsession that schooling can only take place in the buildings assigned for that purpose, and that work can only take place in offices, not from home or hybrid?

ianhopkinson.bsky.social•14 days ago

Yes, I've been thinking this!

jakkb77.bsky.social•16 days ago

Anything to help with children's education should be encouraged? The D of E need to look at all aspects of how children could and should be taught if attendance is problematic for some ? I'm sure this is still part of "catching up" post pandemic when schools were closed.Students needs are a priority

danspur.bsky.social•14 days ago

📌

shropshiregreenman.bsky.social•14 days ago

There is a general recognition in the workplace that there are multiple ways in which people learn. I used to produce training materials which addressed all of them. Why should anyone not accept that school education is any different?

alexjw.bsky.social•14 days ago

Because they aren’t prepared to pay for it?

elimuann.bsky.social•14 days ago

👍Money for education comes from cash strapped councils.

alexjw.bsky.social•14 days ago

Exactly

shropshiregreenman.bsky.social•14 days ago

Sadly, and inevitably, true. If only politicians were able to appreciate the bigger picture of educating and training people properly...

dmj24.bsky.social•16 days ago

As long as kids don’t fall through the net this is good. I worked with young cares who were supposedly being home schooled, but actually kept at home to help the disabled parent

alexjw.bsky.social•14 days ago

That is the worry - that it is seen as a cheap solution that ticks a box

adrian9876.bsky.social•14 days ago

Kids with ME and long covid fall through the cracks already no one is interested in providing suitable education. When the authorities sometimes get concerned they do inappropriate child protection proceedings and make children worse.

bullxead.bsky.social•16 days ago

Attendance doesn't matter for the quality of education.

monicadyerartist.bsky.social•14 days ago

This would be a great solution for kids whose ‘core subjects’ are not covered in mainstream education. You mention athletes. My daughter is a chef and food scientist. Very little of what she uses now in her work was learned in school.

myrtlep.bsky.social•14 days ago

Surely a rounded education is good for everyone.

monicadyerartist.bsky.social•14 days ago

Yes but what is a ‘rounded education’? Can your child cook? Or dance? Or grow a garden? Maybe, but they didn’t learn these things in school. School education is actually quite narrow.

myrtlep.bsky.social•14 days ago

I did all those things at school & I left school a very long time ago. 😂

monicadyerartist.bsky.social•13 days ago

Schools had a lot more freedom to teach what they wanted when we were young. We had public speaking and pottery on the curriculum (but not gardening which would have been useful). My more recent experience with my kids is that the curriculum really has narrowed and kids with any ability 1.

monicadyerartist.bsky.social•13 days ago

Are discouraged from doing non-academic subjects. Lucy was turned down for Catering GCSE and I had to talk to the head of year to insist.

monicadyerartist.bsky.social•14 days ago

Also, some young people really do decide quite early what they want to do. This doesn’t mean they shouldn’t know the basics but why not go with their enthusiasm.

myrtlep.bsky.social•14 days ago

It doesn't matter if they know what they want to do. Other generic subjects are still useful. I'm not a biologist but I've found studying biology at school very useful, particularly the human body. 😉

christmascoffee.bsky.social•14 days ago

The difficulty of schools not having consistent SEND adjustment is embedded in everything they do is a significant problem. Uneccessary rigid and ableist policies which actively punish children for not being rigid and narrow themselves, is counter productive .

adrian9876.bsky.social•14 days ago

I believe the children with mental health issues figures include children with long covid. This could be very damaging as activity can cause permanent relapse. Children with ME have for years been denied an education due to inflexibility same for children with long covid now

johntells.bsky.social•14 days ago

Virtual schooling would've helped me when I couldn't attend due to bad social anxiety.

That said, being cooped at home didn't make my social anxiety any better so I think it's important to balance online education and therapy to ensure the best outcome, depending on the individual.

alexjw.bsky.social•14 days ago

A hybrid seems to be a way forward maybe the virtual element is a safety net - but I guess education is more than just subjects and helping young people manage their social anxiety must surely be part of that??

ruelfox.bsky.social•16 days ago

“Virtual” schools will achieve so little that any money spent on them will be an appalling waste. Use money to pay/attract/maintain teachers and give them the freedom to actually teach , rather than be a surrogate parent / social worker / police.

christmascoffee.bsky.social•14 days ago

That’s not the experience ce students and parents are having. Teachers are acting like seargant majors focussing on discipline over education. Schools have become places of anxiety and stress. I’m all for teachers actually teaching. Your view is out of date and a myth.

elimuann.bsky.social•14 days ago

I agree. Sadly, this is often not the teachers’ choice but overly prescriptive school (particularly academies) and DFE policies. Teachers are also leaving in droves because of stress & anxiety. The entire system needs a major overhaul. A more holistic approach and less restrictive curriculum.

christmascoffee.bsky.social•14 days ago

It does need an overhaul . The damage it is causing to students and staff is worrying. Students are more focused on how to stay out of trouble in an erratic and inconsistent environment t where they seem to make constant infractions just for being human. It’s unnatural.

christmascoffee.bsky.social•14 days ago

As for teachers being social workers - no teacher should be becoming a teacher if they don’t accept they have a duty of care towards their students. A student has to be able to be receptive and that is holistic. Teachers are not social workers but they do have to want to safeguard children.

christmascoffee.bsky.social•14 days ago

Your comment about not wanting to be surrogate parents, police , etc actually sounds resentful of children , and as if you’d like children to be robots and not be human. Schools have networks to refer to supporting agencies and do so.

christmascoffee.bsky.social•14 days ago

It’s also not just about “time“ for teaching but about HOW they teach. Schools are failing to embed equality and equitably in their teaching methods despite being obligated to do so. They pursue instead results driven targets, pushing out students with SEND in case they “lower” results

christmascoffee.bsky.social•14 days ago

Thus the priority is not actual teaching but looking good.

I agree teachers should be “actually teaching” to ALL students and as education professionals they have the capacity to adjust their teaching strategies and Have a duty to do just that. That they don’t is what is causing the problem

ruelfox.bsky.social•14 days ago

My comment doesn’t “sound” like anything. Pedantic as well as , apparently, “resentful.”
I am in my 34th year teaching so am especially glad to be told how to teach by someone who clearly has no direct experience of education.

christmascoffee.bsky.social•14 days ago

Yes I do have direct experience of education, and SEN education. I’ve found length of service doesn’t equate to quality of inclusion.

shoshanade.bsky.social•16 days ago

As a parent to neurodiverse offspring who “enjoyed” lockdown because of online schooling(!!!), I wholeheartedly agree with the main message here that “virtual and hybrid education CAN help certain children and students tremendously.

davidbell1.bsky.social•16 days ago

It’s an interesting article and a real option for some kids Shosh. I did quite a bit of research in this area a few years back for my Thesis looking at InterHigh and others. Mainstream disregard these options far too easily.

resistanceck.bsky.social•16 days ago

As an undiagnosed ADHD adult, school was torture & living hell 4 me. Thank you, for being a parent who recognizes & supports your children🙌🫶🙌🫶🙌🫶 Mine were not so I appreciate when I see parents who do. Gifted Differently, is the motto I taught myself to make it in this hard world w/o support. W/🫶

markcunliffe.bsky.social•15 days ago

This would make a really good story of the torture of being an undiagnosed kid growing up + indeed help fend off the continuous attack by the right wing on this all being woke nonsense that schools need to stop supporting type angle. Certainly the person experience and how you learnt to deal with it

markcunliffe.bsky.social•15 days ago

Email Judy on [email protected] if you wish to share this rather painful experience and how you came to deal with it.

Part of our mission @centralbylines.co.uk is to give people a voice to share such experiences.

markcunliffe.bsky.social•15 days ago

Whilst I remain unofficially diagnosed I only really learnt that I was probably neurodiverse by being a Scout leader and some of the kids now I have had all the way from being 6 to now 11 years old and I saw the traits of some of the neurodiverse kids in myself.

shoshanade.bsky.social•16 days ago

I’m so very sorry that you (+millions others, I’m afraid) were undiagnosed, unsupported and therefore misunderstood throughout your childhood🥺

Being as neurotypical as they come myself🥴, I couldn’t imagine what my offspring went through in early years schooling but I saw+understood it wasn’t ok😠

resistanceck.bsky.social•16 days ago

It’s a blessing! Helps me 👀 clearly through all the BS/fake in the world.
The abandonment was tough, I found loving myself is all that matters. The work was a challenge but worth it in the end. Their loss, my gain!
It is what it is!
Keep advocating 4 ur kiddos & they will go far in life. Support is🗝️

shoshanade.bsky.social•16 days ago

🥰 I will.

Have fought with teachers, principals, educational psychologists vs school psychologists, SENCOs who just carried the title w/o any SEN-expertise, more teachers, even loving family members who thought “I was exaggerating+overreacting” b/c I described sth they felt was “just a phase”🙄

resistanceck.bsky.social•16 days ago

Same,was labeled everything. I adapt to surroundings to survive. I don’t hold the same sentimental feelings towards family like most. I read patterns well&adjust accordingly. I come off blunt but if u listen to understand, I’m always coming from an understanding most don’t see. Lost in translation🙃

shoshanade.bsky.social•16 days ago

There was a lot of useless “support” for which I paid through the nose, there was uncalled for pressure from teachers not accepting it’s a longterm condition; there was “well-meaning advice” from incompetent know-nothings.

If nothing else, my offspring will know that I’ll fight for them. Always😘

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