P-05-1011 Virtual On-line teacher-led lessons to be provided for all school children, Correspondence – Petitioner to Committee, 21.09.20

I welcome the fact that all children are now back in school receiving full-time education.

This petition was started in response to the lack of education provided to our children especially in the early stages of the lockdown period.

Many children, whilst at home during this period, were sent work by their teachers to be completed.  Quite often, but not in all cases, it appeared that very little supervision of this work was carried out with only limited feedback from teachers to children.  There appeared to by a postcode lottery as to what support schools provided with some limited number of schools providing online classes to many schools refusing to provide any online classes whatsoever.

In many instances, safeguarding reasons were given as to why online lessons could not be provided but this did not appear to hamper private schools and schools in other countries being able to provide online lessons with their teacher within a few weeks of the lockdown being announced.

With the second wave of Covid 19 I welcome the fact that schools will be the last place to be locked down.  But this does not mean that some year bubbles or probably even whole schools might have to be closed if Covid increases dramatically in some areas.  Our children have already lost nearly six months of their education with, as yet, unknown implications as to their future career.  It is therefore imperative that every effort is made to ensure that each child receives the education they deserve even if they have to self isolate for whatever reason be this on an individual , year or whole school basis.  If a child has to stay at home due to Covid then they should be provided with online lessons until they can return to school.

Diolch / Thank you