MCR Pathways Lockdown Survey found that since lockdown, 68.2% of young people did not use any learning materials provided by the school. Of those, nearly half did not because they felt the materials were hard to understand, 42.5% were too stressed and anxious. Significantly, over a quarter had caring duties that impacted on their capacity for home learning.
“Since I’m used to having people around to explain it face-to-face, it’s been a bit harder getting help with schoolwork, especially since it’s quite often that I struggle putting what I need help with into words and I struggle learning from words alone if I don’t understand the text.”
“I have lost all social interaction abilities, I feel it would be really tough speaking to people again. Feeling more angry than usual because I am normally quite calm when I’m at school but worried about being angry and rude.”
To make it easier to go back to school, an overwhelming 82.2% of young people stated that meeting with their mentor regularly again would help. 75.3% also asked for one-to-one time with their teacher. And two thirds of young people (66.6%) stated that they needed extra help with learning at home.
“Since meeting my mentor I’ve had such a better mindset than ever before. I used to be stressed about exams all the time and I had no confidence in myself at all, but my mentor has helped me realise that I need to start believing in myself and do what’s best for me instead of putting other people first. If it wasn’t for my mentor I think this year at school would have been a lot more difficult for me.”
To be able to work at home, 58.1% of young people asked for more time with teachers when in school and 27.7% more time online with teachers. A surprising 42.1% wanted printed copies of resources.
“I would rather be in school full time but if not I would like my teachers to give me all my work printed instead of online because it’s harder to understand and concentrate while using a computer.”
What young people are telling us about learning at home:
“My school has provided learning materials because I couldn’t get on the links they were sending but thankfully they sent paperwork home for me.”
“It’s hard to understand something you have never been taught. In class it is much easier to grasp the tasks when a teacher has explained it in a way you understand and it is still fresh in your memory when you get home and have work to do from the house.”
“My school is also open during the week so I attend as much as possible. It is a comfortable environment for me to do my work as well as keep a well balanced diet as they ensure that we have both breakfast and lunch and keep as positive as possible within the restricted 2 or more metres we are away from each other.”
What young people are telling us about their inability to work at home:
“As it moved online you need to load files which the work is on, but it usually doesn’t load correctly on phones and I don’t have a computer so I get frustrated and decided to stop because it was just getting me worked up.”
“I need things to be explained in more detail than others which is hard to get when I need to wait for the teacher to email me back as my anxiety does get worse during the wait.”
“Since I’m used to having people around to explain it face-to-face, it’s been a bit harder getting help with schoolwork, especially since it’s quite often that I struggle putting what I need help with into words and I struggle learning from words alone if I don’t understand the text.”
What young people are telling us about their home learning set up:
“The laptop has helped me keep in contact with my mentors through video calls, which also gives me a reason to look presentable instead of wearing pyjamas every day. I didn’t have a working space but boredom motivated me to create one with a foldable table from Christmas which I turned into a desk and an old computer chair.”
“I stay with a lot of people which include 5 younger siblings, 3 of which are under the age of 5. This makes it hard to find a bit of peace to do the work. My house also doesn’t have a dining table or desk area to do it meaning I usually have to sit on my bed not getting the peace I need as I share a room.”
“I don’t have a laptop or iPad to study. I use my phone and can’t send word documents or any important work to teachers. My phone’s messed up.”
What young people are telling us about their upcoming exam results:
“I personally need a grade in a specific subject for entry into both university and a college course and if I don’t get it then it will set my plans back by 2 years. I don’t think it’s been clarified enough just how grades are being given this year so I’m a bit confused about that as well.”
“I’m scared about doing exams next year because we’re at home and not in school so it’s harder to learn at home.”
“I am a little worried as I had a rough bump during prelim times and I got a conditional for University only to be told I can’t do higher English and I am not getting any school work for English so I can’t prove myself.”
What young people are telling us about their ideas to make blended learning work:
“Definitely as much time with the teacher as I find it extremely difficult to learn at home. I find being in a classroom environment with a teacher and rules makes learning a lot easier and manageable.”
“I would need access to a laptop or some electronic device to contact teachers, use teams and to gain information from my teachers. I would need extra support from my teachers especially for maths as I struggle with maths.”
“My Pathways Coordinator and mentor always support me so when I go back to school, I know they will support me the best they can and if I have more time with teachers in school they will be able to explain it more.”
What young people are telling us about their concerns for returning to school:
“I have lost all social interaction abilities, I feel it would be really tough speaking to people again. Feeling more angry than usual because I am normally quite calm when I’m at school but worried about being angry and rude.”
“It will be difficult with school, I will be very behind and will be very confused with the work. I will need extra support from my teachers as it takes me quite a long time to understand things such as maths.”
“I don’t know what it’s going to be like when we go back and since I’m not much of a talker, I’ve only kept contact with 2 or 3 people. This makes me quite anxious but also about my work because I hate getting into trouble when I have tried.”
What young people are telling us about what would make returning to school easier:
“I think teachers and pupils should have more one-to-one sessions to make sure they are keeping up and support them if they aren’t and need help with anything.”
“I think extra classes would really help me because I do feel a bit behind and talking to my mentor, Pathways Coordinator and counsellor would help my anxiety.”
“Because I feel I am behind and the support and extra work would make me feel more confident and less stressed about going back to school.”
What young people are telling us about the best timetable if part-time learning:
“I really miss being in school and the more time I get in school means more time with my teachers to ask questions and get a direct and immediate response so I don’t dwell on the issue all day.”
“I would love to be in school the whole week, every week.”
“I would rather be in school full-time but, if not, I would like my teachers to give me all my work printed instead of online because it’s harder to understand and concentrate while using a computer.”
General comments:
“But it’s much better in person rather than online because the teachers explain well in class rather than online classes.”
“I can always get on the internet but I’m always busy with my family and a lot of tough situations have been popping up so I have had zero time to get my work done.”
“I have internet access and everything but I find it extremely hard teaching myself and even understanding what they’re asking from us as pupils.”
“I have to look after family and help around the house, so that takes up most of my day. By the time I’m finished, there’s no time.”
“The schools need to decide on one platform to use for learning because it’s getting confusing because teachers are using different platforms or putting the work on every platform.”
“I think work is confusing and hard to get through when there isn’t a teacher in front of me to help me and keep me on track, otherwise I get distracted or don’t know what I’m doing.”
“They barely marked them so I got demotivated fast since I couldn’t see if I was correct or not.”
“It’s very crowded in our small flat, so finding a place to study has been difficult.”
“I have the space and materials, but I live with children all under the age of 3 and they tend to come into my room a lot so I can’t really focus.”
“My anxiety is really stopping my school work. I look at my work and I get too anxious because of how much there is. I feel like it’s too much but I’m trying to keep up.”
“I do have a phone but obviously it would be so much easier and motivating if I did have a computer as computers/laptops were used in school occasionally.”
“There isn’t a desk or dining table for me to do my work at so unless I do it in my bed, which isn’t the best place to concentrate and work at, I can’t do it. I have access to the internet but I don’t have a computer or tablet to use so it makes it difficult as it doesn’t work properly on mobile phones.”
“I have a vulnerable parent and I’m scared of something bad happening to them or anyone in my family. I’m worried about getting to see my friends again for multiple reasons and I need to fix some relationships with my teachers because I had messed up massively.”
“I am worried because I haven’t been at school or had the correct work.”
“I would prefer to have more alone time with teachers so then it’s easier to understand.”
“I didn’t do very well in my prelims. I think I would’ve done well in the exams but I don’t think my teachers think the same.”
“I feel as if I didn’t try hard enough in my prelims and since December, I realised what the exams will actually be like, and I started making study plans with my mentor and doing a lot more work than I had ever done or was supposed to be doing.”
“Online learning doesn’t work for me as I have no support at home and I get one-to-one support in the school.”
“I think that I will need more time with teachers in school because online learning doesn’t really work for me so I don’t remember much.”
“I have been doing my mentor meeting by Google Meet and hope to do this over the Summer.”
“I find it very difficult to read and learn off of technology. I prefer to have paper copies of work, it makes it so much easier for me.”
“I am living with someone who has asthma so I don’t like the idea of maybe passing it on to them.“
“Having been at home for this long, I’m going to find it hard to get back into the school routine especially going into S4, the last year of school (well for me anyway), as I need the right qualifications to get into college.”
“I am worried that I will not receive the results that I’m looking for. When we got told the school will be shutting, that’s when knew I had to get all the work evidence I needed for each subject so that I had it all in and I didn’t have to worry.”
“It’s hard to understand something you have never been taught. In class it is much easier to grasp the tasks when a teacher has explained it in a way you understand and it is still fresh in your memory when you get home and have work to do from the house.”
“Feel like when I go back to school I will need as much help as possible to keep my head in the right place while doing work.”
“I just want everything to go back to normal.”
“Home learning really isn’t working for me personally. I feel when I go back to school it’ll improve my learning as I can ask more questions and understand better. Communication over emails can be difficult to understand sometimes.”
“I think all the teachers are trying their hardest. Doing 1:1 meeting would be good for not only me but a lot of people who I know would think it’s easier to talk in person because sometimes emails or messages can be taken wrong or in the wrong context.”
“I want days at school like a 5 day week, but I think 4 days is good as well and then the rest of the week I’m on my computer doing the work.”