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Original poster

Bloody bloody half days for reception kids

400 replies

Icylightning · 28/07/2019 11:08

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

OP posts:
TheBitchOfTheVicar · 28/07/2019 12:01

It may be best for some kids - but they will tend to be younger and have the option of half days until 5th birthday anyway.

I feel your pain, OP. As a teacher I didn't even have any flexibility to take time off. We had a group of parents club together and take each other's kids when we could - even if we didn't know each other that well.

gotmychocolateimgood · 28/07/2019 12:01

The schools are perfectly able to manage full days. They have chosen half days as more suitable for the children.

I'm not sure why this is so hard to understand?

Yet again teachers are distrusted as they can't possibly know what's best for the children.

If you want to criticise, by all means get yourself qualified in education but really, you don't know best here! You're not the one in the classroom with 30 new children at the start of term. So back off.

Original poster
Icylightning · 28/07/2019 12:01

No DC only moved to this school two years ago.

Their previous primary did full days from the off and weirdly enough the kids didn’t drop dead from exhaustion. As if two weeks makes any difference to how tired they will be! DD has done 8-4 at nursery for 18 mths. 8.45-3pm isn’t a long day for her.

I swear some people on MN think that schools are completely infallible.

OP posts:

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Original poster
Icylightning · 28/07/2019 12:02

Please explain how it is more suitable for the children

I’m genuinely interested!

OP posts:
FamilyOfAliens · 28/07/2019 12:03

No, some people on MN know that schools make the best decisions for the children, not for the parents, with the knowledge that in most areas, other schools are available for parents who want a different provision from what’s on offer.

TeenTimesTwo · 28/07/2019 12:03

I'd love to know if there are any studies on the different ways to settle in.

Our school started everyone full time from day 1, and we were told that if our child found it too tiring to take them out for the odd afternoon. Many of the children had been at the attached school nursery and had either been doing 5 mornings or 2.5 days. I didn't hear any moans about the policy.

In contrast a neighbouring school had a convoluted settling in policy (mornings, afternoons, mornings+lunch etc) that I heard loads of complaints about. Some summer borns were upset as they were being forced home when autumn borns got to stay. Some autumn borns were upset they had to stay when summer borns went home for lunch...

I don't see why schools can't offer full time from day 1 for those who have been full time in nursery (and are thus more used to routines etc), and then to staggered starts for those that need/want it.

probstimeforanewname · 28/07/2019 12:04

When my ds started infant school he had 3 weeks of half days as his birthday is in the autumn. Spring born were part-time until October half term, summer until Christmas. Other schools in our town operated different policies, I think one said summer borns were PT until Easter!

It was ok for me as I took a week off, DH took a week off and my mum came to help for the other week. CM would not take ds until he was on FT, she basically took the view that he had to be actually FT in school before he could be treated as school-age for her ratios. no idea if that was correct, but it wasn't an inconvenience for the 3 weeks.

Can't imagine ds' HT would have said yes to requests for FT.

I was very cynical about the whole thing as ds had been in full time nursery and I thought school would be easy in comparison. But actually he was really tired. I don't think it's such a bad idea, for a week or so, but I don't disagree that it's a nightmare for working parents and I am not sure what I would have done it if it had been longer than 3 weeks for us.

FamilyOfAliens · 28/07/2019 12:04

Please explain how it is more suitable for the children

Ask the head teacher - she knows the children and the families at your school better than anyone on here.

SimonJT · 28/07/2019 12:05

It’s bullshit. My son will have three weeks of halfdays, but they don’t start until 9:30, when his halfday is over he has to go back to nursery. So for three weeks I had two options, buy three weeks of extra holiday or pay for three weeks of fulldays at nursery.

His nursery is attached to the primary school, the half days are 5 minutes over the nurserys cut off for paying for half a day, they know exactly how to line their pockets.

Foxyloxy1plus1 · 28/07/2019 12:05

Then there will be parents saying that they don’t want their four year olds to go into Reception until they are five.

The primary role of a school is to educate children. If experience has shown that a graduated start works best for the majority of children, then that is what they will do. It isn’t a question of schools not being able to manage full time from day one, it’s a question of trying to ensure a positive start to their formal education for all children.

FamilyOfAliens · 28/07/2019 12:06

I don't see why schools can't offer full time from day 1 for those who have been full time in nursery (and are thus more used to routines etc), and then to staggered starts for those that need/want it.

Lot of schools do. In the OP’s position, I would choose one of those schools.

gotmychocolateimgood · 28/07/2019 12:06

Exactly, if you are so incredulous that the teachers might know best, meet with the head and ask.

Ellie56 · 28/07/2019 12:06

If so many mums are SAHMs could you ask if any of them could help you out?

LatteLove · 28/07/2019 12:07

Plenty don’t do half days any more. Our council stopped doing them a couple of years after my youngest started. If it was better for the children surely all schools would do it?

gotmychocolateimgood · 28/07/2019 12:09

The autumn term is the longest of the three school terms normally and the tiredness is cumulative. A year R teacher won't want their class burning out in November (just as rehearsals for the nativity are underway too!)

FamilyOfAliens · 28/07/2019 12:09

If it was better for the children surely all schools would do it?

Maybe some schools have caved to pressure from parents who want full-time from day one. Doesn’t mean they’ve done it because it’s better for the children.

Original poster
Icylightning · 28/07/2019 12:10

Lolz at choose another school. It’s such a bullshit line rolled out on all these threads when someone isn’t happy with a single issue at a school.

Where do you all live that you have options re choosing whichever school you like to send your kids to. Seriously! I can see that working at appeal, sorry I don’t want this school I want this other over subscribed one because they have better settling in arrangements. You do realise it doesn’t work like that? You can’t just choose which school works best for you?

OP posts:
Sirzy · 28/07/2019 12:10

Surely the best is a system that is flexible to the needs to each individual child?

When ds started we thought he would need more half days than his peers however he actually found the half days ok but got confused why he was coming home at dinner time!

I know flexible systems may be abused by some but I don’t think a one size fits all works either way either. Some children need to adapt gradually. Others Respond better to being straight in

saraclara · 28/07/2019 12:10

What's with these holier than thou posts from teachers?

I was a teacher myself, and though I taught 4/5 year olds with severe learning difficulties, they STILL did full days from day one.

And the 'we're not child care' posts. Come on. Any working parent will have been given the school term dates and hours well in advance, and made their child care arrangements acccordingly. To suddenly be told they've got to find ten days of childcare (when it's too late for them to book a place at the present nursery) is entirely unfair and unrealistic. Schools should have a responsibility to keep to those term dates.

LatteLove · 28/07/2019 12:10

I swear some people on MN think that schools are completely infallible

Yep I am supportive of schools and teachers, they have a hard job I would never want to do in a month of Sundays, and the vast majority of ones I have encountered are fantastic at their jobs, but I find the continuous “schools and teachers can do no wrong” attitude on here quite ridiculous.

AdalindMeisner · 28/07/2019 12:10

The school my child will be attending does Mon, Wed, Fri full days for two weeks and then into full time the following week. I think this is much better than half days for two weeks (my eldest's school did this)

Sparrowlegs248 · 28/07/2019 12:12

Ds will start in Sept, full days every day from the start. He will be one of the youngest but almost all of the intake are summer born. The school had lots of optional settling in sessions in the last 6 weeks of term, which was great.

gotmychocolateimgood · 28/07/2019 12:12

Yes, lots of schools do offer full days from the start, so OP could have chosen one of those. Or just ask if your child can go full time from the start. They are legally obliged to offer this. My DC go to a large 5 form entry school with 150 kids in year R. Precisely zero children went full time from day one when my DS was in year R.

Original poster
Icylightning · 28/07/2019 12:12

They’ve had 3 half day settling in sessions before the holidays. Why do they need another 10?!

Nobody has actually said how this benefits the kids. Just some vague “it’s better for them”. Seriously, how?!

OP posts:
LatteLove · 28/07/2019 12:12

Parents are free to send their children to any of these excellent schools, should they so wish.

Up here it’s the local authority who make the decision about half/full days so all the schools did it.