To think primary transition days aren’t much help if you work?

Ahhh sorry I just read your updates.

I actually don't think these are a good idea. The children will have a huge gap until they actually start and these days should be at the beginning of the year.

Id also be querying whatd happening with the current reception children while all these transition days are happening. They should still be being taught.

my ds school is going to be 3 weeks transition period 🤦‍♀️

Mine had already been doing full days at the linked pre school (linked by an internal door).

We were offered 3 weeks of half day transition which I felt would have taken things backwards so asked to keep DC on full days which they agreed.

After different children doing different transition days? It could be that, as you are completely free on some days, the new primary school are willing to switch your child's groups to make it work?

Have you asked the nursery about it at all? When we were in this position a few years ago there were about 6 kids from nursery who would be going to the same primary school as us and obviously a few parents in the same position. Because it was in walking distance of the school, and the nursery workers would be down the 7 kids for the morning or afternoon (or in 1 case an hour long reading session…) the nursery agreed to walk the kids there and pick them back up at the end of the session.
It was something the nursery hadn’t offered or had anyone ask them about before, but because I did they asked around and just made everyone’s lives a bit easier. It’s definitely worth asking if your nursery is not far from school.

when mine started school they weren’t in full time for a month, a friends children it was almost 6 weeks…Completely unnecessary- the vast majority are used to being in nursery or similar from 8-6, a month’s worth of part time school days was not needed at all, and I have no idea how FT working parents managed it

I am a part time teacher too. In this case, if my husband couldn't help, I would ask to swap days, owe a day or swap my time out of class. My HT has usually been ok with this.

As you will know yourself it's going to be an issue all the way through school with sports days, nativities etc. One of my kids is going to high school this year and there are quite a few things towards the end of the year to attend too.

Do they have to go to the transition days, though. We've got one (half) day when the new Reception kids come in to meet their new teacher, their classmates and see their classroom. All our other primary year groups also "move up" for half a day and the oldest ones spend the time rehearsing for their leavers' assembly in the hall.
However, we've always got extra children joining over the summer or others are leaving and going to a different school. It's not the end of the world if they haven't attended the transition day.

(I do think your school should be more flexible, though. Happy staff mean happy children, which means happy parents who don't annoy SLT...)

I'm a teacher and understand your predicament. My dds had to miss all their settling in visits the summer before they started reception because I was not allowed time off and had no one to take them. Ironically, I was a reception teacher at the time! I was made to feel awful by their school for not being able to attend.

It worried me at the time but they were fine and settled quickly, making friends. Ultimately it didn't matter much.

The 2 weeks of half days in September were a joke too. They'd both been at day nursery 7.30am-6pm since they were 6 months! The school's insistence on half days (even though they both turned 5 before the 2 weeks were up) just meant I had to ask our child minder for extra hours. Luckily, she was very accommodating as lots of parents have the same issue. The school condescendingly commented it was a pity my girls weren't getting to go hone and relax after their half day!

There are a lot of people on here who don't appreciate how inflexible working in a school is. You can't take annual leave and teachers miss a lot, if not all, of their child's school events.

I wish I'd left sooner. Teaching meant I missed so much when they were younger. You do get the holidays with them but ultimately I regret staying in teaching as long as I did, being expected to prioritize other children over my own.

I have one of those jobs. But as the OP said transition days I assumed nursery was done.

Luckily for me primary didn’t mess around with this and the kids went to full days straight away here. I don’t see why more primary schools don’t do it the way secondary do here and there’s the standard transition for everyone which fits in the normal school day and then those who need it get an enhanced transition which does involve more staggered visits/starts. Although my child does have SEN she was used to a full day in childcare and coped fine with primary. She won’t cope so easily with secondary as it’s more challenging but that’s fine because she’ll get the enhanced transition.

I saw that was mentioned several posts in. Doesn't mean to say that OPs term dates (or inset dates) will align with her school though.

OP is a teacher herself so she probably already knows this.
She isn’t treating school as childcare, she already has the child in childcare that covers all the hours she needs to work. The school is asking the child to be somewhere else at that time.

We did have a problem with school holidays. They are fixed and the dates released at the start of the school year. We booked full day holiday clubs when DH or I did not have the annual leave.
We didn’t have any family in the UK to help.

Well she won't because she is a teacher

Would be helpful if schools let parents know of their legal rights to send their children full time from day one rather than staggered starts which are not beneficial to all children

Hi OP. I’m also a teacher so share your frustration that people are still saying ‘book leave’!

One more possibility though - as part of our teaching contract, I assume you have the same, we have three ‘childcare’ days per year, that I have had to use occasionally. Usually when a child is sick so you need to be off to care for them. But this would also be classed as childcare. Check your contact and ring in on the day as ‘childcare’. Or, at times I have had to leave work early to collect my child because something has happened. I just let the cover person know and sign out, citing the reason as ‘family emergency’ or ‘personal’. I have never been asked to explain.

edited to add - it may be worth considering moving school in the long term. My school is very good at letting us have time off for family related things. I have been to every sports day, nativity etc for both my children. I am a secondary head of department too. Your current school sounds tough in this regard.

You're going to be jn for a shock when it comes to school holidays

Even if the children pal up on TD’s their little minds will have forgotten that by September. Do the full day and ditch the halves or take them back to Nursery at lunchtime for the PM session.

If the school makes it clear many months in advance, ideally before school applications are made, then reasonable. It is only once per child, so planning any annual leave or other arrangements can be made.

I’m sorry you’re having to think about this OP. You’d think heads would be understanding - my head is amazing and would bend over backwards to let you be there for your child’s sports day/special assemblies etc even though I am also a Reception teacher! Are there any other parents you know that could take your child home with them? For a play date maybe? Or have you asked the school? It may be that they’re having morning sessions for some and afternoon for the others? there I’m might be a way for him the stay at school!

Teacher here. I am increasingly fed up of posts here and elsewhere about the inconveniences created by schools, We are not childcare to facilitate your working lives, our job is to educate. The rest is your problem to manage, as I, a working parent, do.

They are really helpful for the child so please do try to get your one there. Also, it’s just the start of it not suiting two full time working parents unfortunately….

At the primary school I work at we have 3 transition mornings in June. Ideally all 3 should be attended but there are always some children who cant, and we ask that they come to at least one, just so theyve had the chance to have a look around and spend a bit of time in their classroom before they start in September. We dont do a staggered start in September, they're straight in full time from day 1.
I can honestly say that in all the years I've worked there, I don't believe any child has been disadvantaged by not having attended all the transition days. In fact, due to waiting list movement, some years we have the odd child who starts in September having never set foot on the premises before, and they still settle quickly.
OP, it will be fine, your child will be fine, and they are unlikely to be the only one who doesnt attend all of the sessions, please dont worry.