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

But they offer full time from day one?

Offering flexibility and allowing some children a gradual start to reception is very different to trying to force all children to do 3 weeks of staggered starts and half days.

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.

It's really not always like this. Plenty of schools have all their reception children start full time from day one. So saying it can't happen is absolute nonsense.

They can and do - many schools automatically start full time from the beginning of term. Legally any parent has the option of a full time place straight away

I'm still waiting to hear our school's policy. We can't take /don't have leave to use: do people use nursery's if their child cannot be in school?

As someone who has taught many F2 cohorts of children this is absolutely not true. They can and do and in my experience it's much better for them to be in straight away learning the routines rather than faffing about with ad-hoc childcare arrangements and random half days, full days or not in at all today days.

Mine will be going full time from day one when he starts school because that's what works best for most children in my experience.

Everyone I know thinks this is ridiculous as well including primary teachers of ks1. I partly chose schools based on their usual arrangements for the start in September. My third choice school had a 3 week induction however we got my first choice which is just four days introduction this year. I'm a secondary teacher so instead of meeting my new classes on my child's first day at school, I will be dropping off and picking up for the half day. My parents are then doing the other days but they've chosen to help me as a single parent rather than using their timeshare apartment this year. My son is 5 in September and is very ready for school. He might be tired but he doesn't like changes in routine so the staggered start with different routines each day is going to be a challenge for him.
Then on his first full day he will have to get used to breakfast and after school club too. It's created so much stress for me.

Legislation enables you to send them full time from day one regardless of any school policy (which is not legally binding).

We had 6 weeks of this nonsense. Interestingly it all changed when my dtds started primary and the deputy head’s daughter also started. They did a week and a half. 3 days mornings and 5 days pick up at 1.30 then normal hours.

it doesn’t ease them in, it’s disruptive and confusing. Dd1 did alternating mornings and afternoons so for afternoons we had to fill time while watching the clock. Luckily I was on maternity leave as I’ve no idea how we would have managed if I was back at work.

One of my law lecturers at Uni took her child's Primary school to court over this, and won. Not legal to have mandatory half days, denying them the education they're entitled to or something, can't remember fully.

We can't take /don't have leave to use

This is the thing, I have no more annual leave and every day I have already booked is to cover childcare in the school holidays. I'm lucky DDs school isn't doing this.

My daughters school does a week of half days gradually getting longer. As im a teacher and can’t be sending my (y5) class home for half daysro accommodate this, she will have to will have to do a mix of grandparent care and play dates for the afternoons. She will find this far more stressful (different thing every afternoon and not what she’s used to) than attending school full time from day 1. When she started her preschool at 3.5 (school nursery mixed with reception, with about 8-10 kids per adult) she did one half day then straight to full including wrap around. And she was fine. As most children would be. Sure, some will struggle, so offer the option of part time to all, but provide full time for those who will cope.

the whole thing smacks of ‘it’s easier for the teachers this way’. I’m sure it is. My job would be much easier if I only had them half the time for the first few weeks. But it’s not an option! So I crack on and teach them all the whole day.

It's also in the best interests of many children to spend time in a structured setting with equipment and resources designed for children, other children around them and to be taught by EYFS qualified practitioners, and the older they are for their year, the more this is likely to be positive for them. There is no way I could have stimulated my son in the way that preschool did. It would have been detrimental to him to have been at home with me all day aged 3 and 4 even if I had not had to work. I would have been doing him a disservice.

No not aligned with what children are used to.

My kids school is the same. They're not full time until returning after half term October break which makes zero sense to me.

Oh yes - sorry if I wasn't clear. A PP said that private schools start full time from Day 1, which suggested there was no choice but to be full time. In fact, my experience was that you can choose what suits your child best, whether that be full time or part time.

And if, like my DD's friend, both parents are full time secondary school teachers? They are not able to flex their hours or take annual leave.
They don't want to be difficult, and they know the school doesn't either, but they cannot just not teach their afternoon classes for three weeks.

Our contingency plan because DP earns less and employer is more flexible is he is first contact in emergencies. Similar to a couple of my brothers.

I've worked with men who while they earn more as their wife/partner worked for the NHS in a clinical position they were the ones who handled all the emergencies. Didn't matter if their child was 2 or 22.

Reception teachers have to complete compulsory baselines that can take 20 mins for each child. How can a TA, if indeed there is a full time TA, interact and settle the rest of the class? On top of that teachers do their own baseline assessment as the government one doesn’t help at all. If you want to children to have an education and not just be child care, this is why there is a staggered start. Less children in class mean quality interactions and better education once they are full time.

The part of this thread that I am really struggling to understand is why parents enable this. You’ve been legally entitled to full school days for the last ten years! The few remaining schools that have failed to switch on to this need to modernize quick smart and stop breaking the law. As @Parker231,
myself and others have pointed out, it’s ridiculous to claim that you’re hard done by, that it’s a struggle, that childcare around half days is such a pain when you simply don’t have to comply with outmoded schools’ whims! Stand up for your child’s right to an education and stop allowing schools to bully you.

Chocchip. Your year 5s are not 4years old though are they. They don't need a staggered start.
I've worked at schools which staggered and those that haven't. The staggered start children always settled better. Far less tears.
When you start a new job you feel tired and sometimes a bit overwhelmed. Lots of new people to meet, a different building to discover, new routines and expectations. Children are the same ,even if they've been in a nursery since birth.
I understand its difficult for parents and some schools do seem to prolong it for quite a while.! However it really is for the children's benefit. Not to annoy parents!

My answer was to offer full time places from day one and also offer parents, who thought this may be too much for the child, an opportunity to reduce the hours. That way we met the needs for all.

Very few (one) parent planned a staggered start for her daughter. The rest, full time, all managed with our school day planned to meet needs. Time and a space to rest, time for a long story, time outside.

Some schools and teachers manage a full time start, why not others. It’s up to parents what they decide is best for their DC’s.

Tough.

My child will be 5 when she starts school. She is entitled to be educated from when she starts as she is compulsory school age.

I would give a school more leeway if she was born in the spring or summer terms.

@Shutthefeontdoor - biggest load of old rubbish I’ve ever heard. The reason for staggered starts is not time to complete baseline assessments 🤣🤣🤣🙄🙄🙄

3 weeks is less than a month, so I see no problem at all, tbh. I think the base line is that the school is thinking about best for all the children with different background.
But then, when my dc started school, there were children who were allowed there, despite the restrictions, due to the parents' circumstances etc.
So, I think it's not wrong for school to do the best for children, they may not have been to nursery and need more time. But if you think they are ready and you need the child care, then just talk to the school.