Bloody bloody half days for reception kids

[Icylightning]

Why?!! WHY?!!

Don’t the school realise what a nightmare this is for working parents, I’m a single working parent so it’s even worse. TWO weeks of half days. To ease the children into full days apparently. DD has been doing 5 full days at nursery for 18 mths. Longer hours than she will be doing in school.

I’m using most of my annual leave in the holidays but now need to ask for two weeks of leaving at lunch time ffs. I thought they couldn’t do this anymore?!

Her nursery won’t take her back for those two weeks and is nowhere near her school either. Bloody nightmare

Ask the school. We did this for a week with ds1, and I was happy to do so as a sahm with a PFB. When it came to ds2 6 years later, we knew he would be ready for full time from the off. I raised this as a possibility at the induction evening (June before he started) and appeared to be the only one interested. Teacher seemed to shut it down at the time, but I mentioned it a few weeks later (ds2 was doing 3 full days a week at nursery at the time) to the head who was receptive. In the end, only 2 out of the class started part time.

Once a few children do full time from the start other parents will realise it is an option and request it too. In reality only a few children in each class need to do the staggered starts.

The child is entitled to full time schooling and the school is funded to provide them with a full time place, so the argument that it means staff can do admin or home visits during that time doesn't hold much weight for me.

School is not childcare, but childcare is structured around an expectation of children being in school. Half days create a gap that isn't covered by childcare provision.

Working parents have the least support network. Their friends are more likely to be working. They are more likely to live away from family. They don't build relationships at the school gates. The children go to private nurseries and don't go into yR with an established friendship network.

I got caught out when DS2 started school. 2 years earlier, it was said that there was no demand for half days due to the number of working parents. I missed the parents meeting due to other commitments and got a nasty shock on the first day at lunchtime when classmates came home. I'd missed that little gem of information buried halfway down page 14 of the school handbook full of information I already knew. Fortunately I was a SAHM by that point as I don't know how we could have covered a week of half days had I still been teaching even if I had known a couple of months in advance.

DS2 just felt mucked about as he was ready for full days and couldn't understand why he had to leave early leaving his DB in school.

It should be parental discretion for parents to opt into part-time starts if they feel it will benefit their child, not mucking children and families about for a prolonged period and adding in random temporary childcare to give them even more to adjust to.

I can’t add anything constructive to this as I’m in Germany, but just wanted to mention that when ds1 started primary here (at age 6), they started at 8am and finished at 11.30....^every day for the first year> 😂

I suppose the difference is, if it’s an entire year of half-days you could probably find a childminder. No childminder has space for ten half-days in September, it’s all used up by families who are making a long term commitment. I honestly don’t know what schools expect - for parents to use up nearly half their annual leave and sacrifice a summer holiday?? If schools are insistent they should at least liaise with whoever does their breakfast / after-school club to provide afternoon sessions to cover that period. Working parents have children who have been at nursery 8-6 from about the age of six months! They are tough little buggers

I honestly don’t know what schools expect - for parents to use up nearly half their annual leave and sacrifice a summer holiday??

That’s what I did. But it was only once so I didn’t mind. Or at least I didn’t get in a lather about it.

My DC’s school had the children starting Reception full time from day 1.

The Reception teachers said that this was the school policy because the school felt that starting the children full time was best for the children and helped them settle in faster.

I stepped away from this thread for a bit but have just popped back on and read through some of the replies.

My elder DC went to another primary school and moved to this one mid term so no I didn’t know they did half days.

First communication we received about it was at a parents meeting first week of July. Term timetables are on the website but they are just the standard council ones, nothing about half days.

I haven’t had a reply. I know it’s the holidays but I was working on the assumption that the staff would still be in or will return early. Only because teachers on MN always say they don’t have the whole six weeks off and work either end of it.

Teachers often work at home during the holidays on displays, planning, subject leadership etc. Usually they go in for a few days at least but this depends on when the site manager takes his or her own holiday. Often building works, deep cleans, renovations are scheduled for the summer holiday when the children aren't around.

I have access to academic journals, and have tried looking for research done - couldn't find any. If anyone would like to suggest specific search terms I am happy to have another look.

And it seems anecdotal evidence on this thread is mixed about the benefits of staggered starts. So, as the schools are supposed to provide a full-time place, they should plan to provide a full-time place. Then allow exceptions as suits individual children.

But, as usual, there are a few hard-core 'schools/teachers know best' on the thread.

I’m not aware of any studies either Allington. My anecdotal view as a teacher is that children feel safest with regular routines presented to them without fuss, so I’m definitely of the belief that full days are best for the majority of children. Half-days just delays the inevitable. Obviously there will be children with special needs who require something different but teachers are able to manage those specific cases in consultation with parents.

I know it’s the holidays but I was working on the assumption that the staff would still be in or will return early. Only because teachers on MN always say they don’t have the whole six weeks off and work either end of it.

We do go in over the holidays, but we’re only paid for 39 weeks, so any work we do is unpaid. Any work I do is around the admin associated with my role - I certainly wouldn’t be contacting individual parents over the summer holidays.

It might have been a good idea to have contacted the school when you first found out about half days, OP, to have stood more of a chance of getting a reply. Not helpful, I know.

OP has emailed the head - no one other than the head will have access to that email, so whether or not other teachers are in the building is irrelevant. I suppose a secretary might have access to the head's emails - in our primary schools they aren't employed over the holidays, in secondaries some of them are.

I honestly don't know what schools expect.
But that's the whole point. What should they "expect" anything? What parents do with their children once the school day is done is nothing to do with the school. It would be a bit like expecting Tesco to care about how you're going to buy a pint of milk if they're closed.

My oldest is 21 and for her and her younger sister it was 1 term if half days. I had 2 of their friends for 2 or 3 days each week for the 1 term. With ds (different achool) he went full time fro worse go and dd3 (again different school as we had moved) there was a 3 week settling in period again I had a friends child for those 3 weeks to allow them to continue work.

Sad to see this is still a issue so many years later

But that's the whole point. What should they "expect" anything? What parents do with their children once the school day is done is nothing to do with the school. It would be a bit like expecting Tesco to care about how you're going to buy a pint of milk if they're closed.

But for that to work, schools need to be consistent in what they’re providing. It’s the inconsistency of half days/swapping sessions/whatever else that is the problem.

As a PP said, school isn’t childcare but childcare provision is structured around normal school provision.

And actually, I’d expect a school to care slightly more if their arrangements were having an unintended negative effect on some children and their families (whether financial stress, inconsistent and/or unfamiliar childcare at a time of change, having to spend almost all of their reception year holidays in holiday clubs because parents have had to use up all their A/L for settling in) than Tesco cares about the amount of milk in my fridge.

The schools pushing this can’t have it both ways. Either reception starters are delicate flowers who can’t be expected to cope with more than three hours of school for the first month or so, or they’re resilient little buggers who can cope with being left with unfamiliar and/or inconsistent childcare in potentially unfamiliar surroundings for more time than they are spending in school.

At the moment, these schools are trying to say they’re both.

No they're not. They're using their professional autonomy to decide whether they believe staggered starts are conducive to children settling well in Reception. Other schools will have a different view on it. There is huge variation in how different schools are run in this country.

Working parents have the least support network. Their friends are more likely to be working. They are more likely to live away from family. They don't build relationships at the school gates. The children go to private nurseries and don't go into yR with an established friendship network.

True! My child is starting reception in September, she's got the first day with us dropping her off and my partner picking her up, after that she's in breakfast club at 8am and picked up from after school club at 5.30. Even the 5.30 pick up is too early really, most places around here do after school care util 6pm. Luckily also they're straight in from day one.

I'm a teacher, and I work half an hour away. I'll never be able to do a drop off on a regular basis, and can never do a pick up at 3pm either. I can't really do a drop off at 8am either. We've shifted our work patterns so partner does drop off at 8am, and I leave work at 4.45 (about an hour and a half too early really) to collect her by 5.30. It's regimented and a treadmill, but I get that everyone who works has the same, and we're lucky I can leave at 4.45.

Meanwhile I think child will be fine. She's used to being dropped off at nursery at 7.45 and picked up at 6pm. She prefers to be around other children (only child), and the alternative is one of us standing around the play park while she plays with other kids. Getting to do things like hammer beads and painting and playing on climbing frames etc with other children (especially older children), is her idea of heaven. I'm hoping she'll love after school club.

No they're not. They're using their professional autonomy to decide whether they believe staggered starts are conducive to children settling well in Reception. Other schools will have a different view on it. There is huge variation in how different schools are run in this country.

Indeed. This is an area where actual evidence doesn’t seem to be important, as opposed to gut feelings.

And they are trying to have it both ways. Consistent childcare is really beneficial to children, and parents invest a lot of time and energy in it. We regulate childcare provision for a reason.

For schools to suddenly throw the importance of that, or of downtime with family in the school holidays, out the window because they (without an evidence base) think this has always been best is not keeping pace with the reality for many families or the impact on the children.

Childcare settings for school age children are businesses established around the average school day. I would be massively wary of a setting around here, where good childcare is in high demand, that had places to accommodate the sorts of extended settling in described by some posters on here.

Are schools unaware of the impact of inconsistent childcare on young children, or do they just not care? It’s a genuine question.

My anecdotal view as a teacher is that children feel safest with regular routines presented to them without fuss, so I’m definitely of the belief that full days are best for the majority of children.

I completely agree. As I said, I’ve taught reception for years. I noticed no difference in the children depending on how they started.

I’ve been warned about this by friends and I’m dreading it. It seems to be 3 weeks of faffing around at my school. All of my friends with reception children said it was actually really unsettling as they had been used to x day being a nursery day, y day at home etc and then suddenly they might have half a day at school, a home visit, some faffing around to see an assembly etc. For children that need routine, I really can’t see how this process actually helps.

I thank my lucky stars she won’t be going to the next nearest school though. They bugger about like this for a whole half term. We don’t have local family and for that to work, we’d either have to get a temp nanny (which wouldn’t be easy for 6 weeks and would be v expensive) or one of us would have to ask for unpaid leave for 6 weeks which would be me as we couldn’t afford to lose my husband’s salary and would shaft my career even further.

You need to go through the council @Icylightning . School won't respond now until the 1st day back. Tell the council you'll be leaving the child there all day, they are obligated to keep them there.

Tell the council you'll be leaving the child there all day, they are obligated to keep them there.

Even if the council is obligated, it would be a pretty shit parent who left their child all day, when they clearly would not be getting used to the school routines (as the rest of the class would have likely gone home) but stuck in a corner somewhere with some picture books to look at, with precious little supervision or adult/child interaction. The parent would not be able to pretend that their child was better off doing that.

For all those criticising op, the timeframes aren’t unusual. We had our parents invite on 20 June to find out teachers and have a show round, the packs were posted out a week later for us to fill in forms and find out start day and schedule. Term ended 19th July - it was very tight