Education leaders in Suffolk have hailed the efforts of parents teaching their children during the coronavirus lockdown, and urged them not to feel guilty if they have struggled.

Many parents on the peninsula have effectively had to juggle becoming home tutors for their children while working from home or caring for loved ones since lockdown began in March.

The Suffolk branch of the National Education Union said it was talking to the government on what a return to school could look like but urged parents to be proud of any education they have been able to give during lockdown.

NEU spokesman for Suffolk, Graham White, said: "It is certainly true that pupils at home are getting a less satisfactory academic education overall and are losing out on the social and emotional education.

"Some pupils inevitably are not getting as rigorous an overall education at home than they would get at school. The divide between the most able and least able is going to be magnified as a result of Covid-19.

"The priority once the rules are relaxed is to get the most vulnerable back into school and to assist those who have had the least education at home.

"We must not and should not blame parents for the lack of rigour in home education."

One parent, Amanda Moore from Holbrook, who has a child at Suffolk One and another in Year 7 at Holbrook Academy, admitted it had been a challenge. 

"Juggling working from home and encouraging/supporting home schooling is a challenging task, with varying degrees of success depending on the day but we all know the reasons and are supportive of them," said Mrs Moore. "I think it's fair to say that I wasn't born to be a teacher but, like lots of parents, we're just doing what we can.

"Both Suffolk One & Holbrook Academy have been communicating regularly, which is great.

"Both have issued home learning via virtual platforms and are doing as much as they can to support; bearing in mind that most of the teachers also have children and family members to care for and the school is still required to operate a daily programme for key workers and vulnerable children.

"It's a massive ask and it's such a shift from everything that has gone before." 

Clare Flintoff, chief executive of ASSET Education, which runs the primary schools at Stutton and Shotley, who use Google Classroom, recognises parents cannot be expected to be the same as trained teachers.

"I would like to thank parents for everything they are doing to keep their children safely at home during these challenging times," said Mrs Flintoff. "We recognise that learning is really important but we must accept that school learning cannot be replicated exactly at home and we would never expect parents to try to do that.

"Our schools are set up with 'google classrooms' which means that work can be set and feedback can be given directly from our teachers.  There are activities in our google classrooms daily and teachers are available to support parents who might be struggling.

"However, it is the parents that need to make the decisions about how learning will take place at home and what the daily routines will be. 

"We can make recommendations to help eg trying to make Monday to Friday look different from Saturday and Sunday if possible.  Routines are important for children and establishing a simple routine at home that includes some learning time can be helpful. We have provided some sample timetables that can be adapted for parents to make use of if they wish. 

"At the end of the day, we must all recognise that keeping our children and families as safe as possible at this time is our main priority. 

"We very much look forward to being able to return, when it is safe to do so."

Secondary schools have said that online learning programmes have been invaluable in keeping students focused on the curriculum they were already studying.

There has been no confirmation of when, or if, students will return in this summer term and what future will look like for schools preparing for exams next year, especially years 10 and 12, while year 11s already know they will not be taking GCSEs.

Mr White added: "The union has not proposed any plans for Y10/Y12 but it would make sense to give this year group as much time as possible to help them prepare for their exams in 2021. We need to ensure the safety of pupils at all times be it at home or in school.

"We need to see the Government's modelling and assumptions first then see the proposals on return. Once we have seen these we can evaluate the effectiveness of any such proposals. It is unrealistic to see a full return soon but a phased return at some point in the future would seem a pragmatic approach.

"My message to parents is stay safe, do the best you can for your children, do the best you can for their education but do not feel guilty and anything you can do to enhance their education and life skills is very beneficial.

"Engaging with your children's learning be it education, sport, social interaction, pursuit of interests or just helping around the home and garden will all help them."

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