Some parents say their children have been offered only one visit to school before term ends, despite Education Minister Kirsty Williams saying she wanted all pupils to have the opportunity to return three times before the summer break.
Although schools can re-open to all pupils from Monday June 29, those plans have been thrown into some disarray after the minister’s proposed extra fourth week of term was rejected late last week by employing councils.
Schools, which had planned to open for the fourth week, were told two weeks later by most local education authorities in Wales that it would be impossible owing to teachers’ contracts.
While many are offering three visits before term ends on the original date of July 17, that hasn’t been possible for all.
We've been contacted by many parents who have given very different assessments of how their children's schools are handling home learning and the return to school
Some parents with children in different schools even say that the gulf between how their home learning is handled is huge.
The father of one six year-old claimed his son’s primary has not been in touch with him once since it shut in March. The only personal contact has been one voice message left on his wife’s phone, he said.
“There has been absolutely no personal contact for three months now.
“We have experienced a blasé attitude from his school.
“His teacher left one voice mail on my wife’s phone. The school know she is a medic. She has been seconded to an ICU.
“I emailed the head and got no response.
“The school set up a Google Classroom when it shut and every Monday they get a sheet of activities to do. That’s it.
“I am getting increasingly annoyed hearing Kirsty Williams saying schools are continuing to work because that is not our experience.
“My son has been offered two days back and the school says it is to be confirmed if he will get any more.
“My focus is not so much on the work but the total lack of pastoral care.”
The view from headteachers' representatives
Eithne Hughes, Director of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) Cymru, said: “We are sorry to hear that some parents do not feel that enough work has been sent home for their children.
“Our experience is that schools and teachers have worked incredibly hard to provide remote learning to children during the lockdown. They had to turn this round in very short order because the lockdown happened so swiftly, but they have done a fantastic job in very difficult circumstances.”
Ruth Davies, National Association of Headteachers Cymru and NAHT National President, said: “School leaders and their teams have had to reinvent the way education is delivered almost overnight.
“Home learning isn’t perfect for all, but instant perfection is hardly a realistic goal given the magnitude of change the country has faced.
“We know our members have continued to set work, encourage learning and to teach and support their students as best they can from a distance.
“It is important that we acknowledge the great lengths schools having already been going to ensure continuity for pupils and families – not just when it comes to online learning, but also supporting wellbeing and even ensuring children have enough food.”
A Welsh Government spokesperson said guidance has been provided to scjools and more will follow.
“We have provided guidance for schools to support them with their continuity of learning. We will also provide more plans on catch-up, digital inclusion, teacher professional learning, online learning and tackling the attainment gap – ready for the summer and next term – over the coming weeks.
“Our leading online learning platform Hwb continues to play a crucial role in supporting the delivery of education during this incredibly challenging period, with an average of 2.5m logins per month over the last three months.
“We look forward to next week when children from across Wales will have the opportunity to check in, catch up and prepare for the summer and September.”
He pointed to research published today (THURS JUNE 25)showing how people across Wales have been affected by the coronavirus crisis.
The new monthly telephone version of the National Survey for Wales asked 3,000 people from across Wales questions on wellbeing and loneliness, employment, finances, food poverty, GP appointments, social care, and education to find out the how the pandemic has affected their lives.
Key results from the May survey include 93% of parents with a child at primary school and 85% of parents with a child at secondary school are “content that the school is finding ways to support children with their learning”.
Plaid Cymru’s Shadow Minister for Education, Siân Gwenllian MS, has called on the Education Minister to publish her Covid mitigation action plan.
Ms Gwenllian said she had been contacted by parents from “across Wales” saying that it was becoming “increasingly difficult to motivate their children to engage in their education”.
She called for “a more structured plan” to include refined online learning with learning remotely likely to continue into September.
