3 weeks of half days for reception children.

[Tohaveandtohold]

So my child is starting reception in sept and we got an email on Friday of their plans for
their transition and the new term. My main issue is they expect them to do 3 weeks of half day so half of the class will do 9-12 the first 2 weeks and then at week 3 they’ll be there for lunch so 9-12:45. The other half of the class will do half day in the afternoon.
I just feel this is out of touch. My child currently goes to nursery 4 days a week doing 8-6 though she’s picked up around 5 anyway and has never been clingy, so I can’t see how 3 weeks of half day will benefit her. Also we both work, luckily I’ll only go to the office 2 days a week so dh will pick up those days and we’re not using up all our annual leave unnecessarily. Can I request she only does half day for a week and that they have to provide her with full time education.
Like I don’t want to be ‘that’ parent at the beginning of her school journey but I feel 3 weeks is just ridiculous and out of touch

I'd be interested to know what percentage of schools do this, lots of people have said 'most', which doesn't tally with my experience but obviously that's anecdotal. And if this should be expected by parents, why no-one bloody bothers to tell you!

Does that only apply to mothers? It shouldn't.

The main problem with all this is the communication.

It should not be OK for schools to withhold important information like this until the June before a September start.

They of course know what their Reception start arrangements are when the offer of a place is made in March. Why don't they share it then? (Along with wraparound details, if any, and clarity on whether Reception can use it and if so, what the likelihood is of a place).

I'm sure the only reason they get away with it is most people only go through it once (in the sense that by the second child, it isn't a surprise).

Mine is too young for school but I'm going to keep this in mind for when the time comes and ask schools if they do staggered starts.

Will be a good way of ruling out some schools.

I only knew about this because it nearly bankrupted my friend, who had twins (school year above mine). I saw the spreadsheet she'd made on her fridge and asked.

She had given nursery notice a few days before the school informed them of the start arrangements. The nursery had filled the places immediately.

DS did half days at preschool so half days at school was more than enough for him to start with - and he had 6 weeks of them. I remember in the run up to Christmas when he went full days, him and another child would fall asleep in the book corner in the afternoon sometimes.
I really appreciated him having such a long time to settle in and it really benefitted him. The school later changed to only a short time settling in and the number of children that got very upset at the start of each day was noticeably higher. For children who are not used to long days at nursery or who maybe haven't even been to nursery it's a great thing, but obviously isn't necessary for those already used to long days at nursery.

And the Dads? The only conceivable solution if there is a second parent is that you share it. Personally DS was finishing at lunchtime until Christmas. I continued to pay a ft nanny.

First thing my DD asked me when she came out of school was "why is it so short"?

She'd been used to going to nursery full time 7.30am - 6pm as I'm a single mum, worked full time and had no support. Whilst I appreciate that not every child spends that much time at nursery, there are very few children who haven't had any time at nursery.

A 3-week settling in period is waaay to long!

Our Scottish council had kids in all day from day 1 since 2005 , due to the high number already in nursery all day , and it worked out fine, it’s very hard for working parents to juggle half days

I think the approach needs to be child centred

When DC1 was starting primary half days were proposed - LOADs of parents complained, and we were told they could begin full time directly.
With DC2 it was full time from word go
With DC3 it was every other day for 3 weeks. This suited him perfectly.

Schools need to be flexible about this.

What some people fail to realise, is that children being brought up by their primary caregiver until they start school (if they start school), is the norm. Nursery (and school) are a choice. It's not biologically normal to put young children into a nursery setting to be looked after by strangers essentially. Yes, it's the social norm these days, due to many people not being able to afford children if they stop working, but it's certainly not in the best interests of the children.

Yet people using nurseries, which is an opt-in facility, want schools to be convenient to their lifestyle choice, rather than what is in the best interests of the children.

Your point @SouthLondonMum22 doesn't make sense as not sending young children to childcare is the biological norm.

At the end of the day, it should be what is in the best interests of the children.

Well done that Council!

And what is in the best interests of children will be different so this is why schools should comply with legislation and let parents know their options.

@ReadingSoManyThreads

Nursery (and school) are a choice. It's not biologically normal to put young children into a nursery setting to be looked after by strangers essentially. Yes, it's the social norm these days, due to many people not being able to afford children if they stop working, but it's certainly not in the best interests of the children.

How dare you presume to speak for all children? I can assure you that going to nursery was 100% in the best interests of my child, for myriad reasons.

You say that like it's a fact when it's actually just your opinion.

I work full time by choice and one of the reasons is because I believe it is in my child's best interests.

Staggered starts should of course be available when it’s in the best interest of the child but in most cases more than a week really isn’t going to be. It just adds more confusion for them and delays them actually understanding the new routines.

when Ds started we where awaiting an autism diagnosis for him so did discuss that he may need an extended transition- but when it came to it what he needed was to get into the new daily routine straight away and it was obvious that messing about with that would just create issues.

It is in the best interests of children for their parents to be able to afford housing and other necessary things, and some nice-to-haves too.

It is in the best interests of society for women with useful skills to be able to use them and not to be further disadvantaged following maternity leave by unnecessarily complicated school start arrangements.

There are a lot of sexist assumptions lurking beneath the surface with many aspects of how primary education runs.

Communal childcare absolutely is the biological norm. Being isolated with a single adult for long hours is not normal.

YANBU - it is a bit daft. They did something similar when my dd started school but when ds started school, they just did full days from the start. There was no remarkable difference in their Primary school journey.

I think it should be optional.

So kids will need more time than others

We asked our younger daughters school to take her full time straight away. They were not happy to but had to. It was not manageable for us otherwise and she had been in pre school full time. She was happy at school and got to play with the morning and afternoon cohorts. I'd tell them you would like full time straight away.

This would be so frustrating! My DC starts this September and we have been advised that they start in full days but staggered in the first week starting with the youngest (which will be mine because they are summer born) then once they’ve had their “first day” they are full time so until that time they can remain in whatever provision you have set up. Much more working parent friendly.

When will they realise that school timings should be for the benefit of the parents not the teachers or children. All school times should be by negotiation with the individual parents.
Fixed school times belong back in the fifties.
The end of the school day should be be between 3.00pm and 20.00pm
Flexibility is the most important factor.
😉😁😁😁😁

Well... not all. My experience is that private schools are very flexible, and will take into account the needs of the children (and their parents), previous experience of nursery/being at home etc. Mine hadn't been to nursery or pre-school and didn't go full time at first, though other children in their classes did.

You can feel it all you want but it’s always like this. 30 reception kids can’t do full time from day 1 in a setting like school. You will find this out.

They stagger so some kids will actually start after yours. Either way it’s the norm. And they do it for a reason.