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

"There are fewer of them so the children feel more confident with getting to know the basics like where the loos are,"
How? Please explain that as it makes no sense at all to me.

Those saying school isn't childcare, tell that to th dwp. As far as they're concerned it damn well is.

I was promised that when mine started reception they de "exhausted... Absolutely shattered" after school.
They're now 13 and 10 and I'm still waiting.

The OP can’t know what was best for her child?

No, a PP said the OP should tell the head her child is doing full days from the start because it’s best for her child.

What I said was that she doesn’t know what’s best for her child in this respect because the child has never been in Reception before. It’s impossible for the OP to know whether it would be better or worse to do half days.

What she has said is that it’s better for her as a parent because she will save money by her child being at school all day from the start, but that’s not the same as being better for her child.

It's usually better for the child for the parent to have a job, more so when the parent is a single parent I'd have thought. Youll say im being melodramatic but for lots of people jobs are precarious and too much awkward leave requested can get your cards marked

Well done OP! Let us know what the head says! I would so exactly the same xx

It's usually better for the child for the parent to have a job, more so when the parent is a single parent I'd have thought.

“Better” in what respect? More disposable income possibly (though not with all jobs).

And apologies, OP, I missed the bit where you said you’re a single parent.

Of course parents know how their child will cope. Are we really that in need of direction these days that we can’t work out how our child will cope with 6 hours at school?

It’s school! They’re not going down the mines

Yes better to have a roof over their heads and food to eat

Of course parents know how their child will cope.

Even on this thread a PP who said they thought their child who had done full days at nursery would be fine in Reception admitted they were wrong.

No-one is saying anyone else knows how your child would cope with full-time school. What I said in my post is that telling the head you know it’s better for your child would not be true. You might take a guess, but you couldn’t be sure.

The only thing you could be certain of is that it would save you money so would be better for your family.

“What she has said is that it’s better for her as a parent because she will save money by her child being at school all day from the start, but that’s not the same as being better for her child”

You’ve couched that in a way that makes me look like some hard hearted career woman more concerned with my work than with my child’s wellbeing.

I’m a single mother of 4 children. I don’t need you to feel sorry for me, I do just fine. But please don’t presume my work comes before my kids. Everything I do is for them. But annual leave is not unlimited. I use it where I can when I can. Sometimes little things to another parent are a huge hurdle to another parent.

Like I said, I will go to work an hr early for as long as it takes to build up 30 odd hours owing. It’s shit but apparently the school knows what’s best.

It’s got fuck all to do with money?!

Where have I mentioned money. It’s the actual logistics of dropping a child at school, driving to work, working for 4 hours and then driving back and picking her up from school for two bloody weeks. It’s the work I will be leaving for other people to do. The inconvenience for them. The marked card of women who work. It’s nothing to do with money, I won’t be losing any and it won’t cost me anything.

Sorry, OP - I was just focusing on what you’ve said in your posts. I don’t think you’re hard-hearted. I know how difficult it is to juggle when there’s only one parent.

Let’s just hope the school can accommodate your request for full days.

Ours had mornings for a week, then afternoons for week then 9-2 for the 3rd week. Class was halved so other half were doing it the other way round for first 2 weeks then all in together in 3rd week. 1st dd I was SAHM, 2nd dd was self employed, so not an issue per se but still a complete faff!

Where have I mentioned money.

Here:

Realistically I’m going to have to go into work early for a lot of the summer holidays and accrue enough time owing to leave work early for two weeks. Which means more childcare to pay for and sort out for the summer holidays.

Your choice to have four children. It can’t have come as a surprise to you that childcare costs

All schools here have some form of staggered start so that the children can settle in gradually and build upto full days. The staff are professionals and will want what’s best for the child not the parents.

I know a lot of teachers and a couple of them teach reception class. Both of their schools do full days straight away but both wish that they did half days to start.

They said that a lot of the kids start getting upset at lunchtime because they want their parents and that many either spend the afternoon crying or sleeping, not learning or playing. I don't think that that is a great introduction to school for them.

Also just because your child has been used to longer hours at nursery doesn't mean every child has. Some may not have been to a nursery at all.

My kids both started on half days for a week but they would have probably been OK with full days. However there were some children that really struggled with a longer day than they were used to. Starting school can be quite an upsetting event for some children.

@icecreamandcandyfloss

Childcare costs money? Please don’t teach me how to suck eggs.

I’m genuinely amazed that so many of you are so in thrall to schools that you will believe anything they say.

MOST schools do not have staggered starts
There is NO evidence based research which supports it
A number of TEACHERS have said its bollocks

But you still keep banging the “teacher knows best” drum

Crying or sleeping. CRYING OR SLEEPING?

These are 4/5 year olds. They aren’t 2. What on earth are they even doing sleeping in the afternoon.

A number of TEACHERS have said its bollocks

A number of teachers also think that the half days are beneficial for children. They'll never please everyone.

These are 4/5 year olds. They aren’t 2. What on earth are they even doing sleeping in the afternoon.

They had been crying so much that eventually they went to sleep.

I’d suggest that’s more of a parenting issue than a school issue

I don’t think people are “in thrall” to schools - for myself, I’m just trying to be realistic about what any parent can reasonably expect the school to do in this situation.

You’ve said the children will go home at lunchtime, so the Reception staff will already know what they’ll be doing in the afternoon when the children aren’t there. It’ll be written into their planning for the term.

Asking them to look after your child every afternoon for two weeks will mean they’ll have to free up a member of staff just for your child. They may well do that, who knows, but don’t be surprised if they haven’t got the capacity to agree to your request.

The other thing is it might have made sense to have asked them back in March when you found out your child would be starting at this school and before they had done the staff planning for the year.

I’d suggest that’s more of a parenting issue than a school issue

Was that meant for me? A parenting issue that a child attending a new environment at age 4 may be upset?

The schools don't need research to back up everything they do. Research has a place but so does experience. Half-day's worked really well for my kids. I understand you don't think it matters for your kids but it made it a lot more humane for mine and lots of other people I know.

If it was all staggered starts and children doing all different schedules I'd say it would be fine to insist on full days as there would be other kids there. Also would make perfect sense for the teacher to get to know them 10 at a time or whatever. Sending them all home at lunchtime tho I'm not sure how that benefits kids or parents. And it's completely impossible with any commute of more than about 20 minutes!

DD just has three days off when they do home visits and then two half days, half the class at a time. This makes sense to me, I'm fine with that.