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

This thread is truly awful. Yes, it’s the child’s right to full time education from day one (not the parent’s right to childcare but hey, same difference right), it’s hard to adjust your work schedule, Ofsted probably hate soft starts blah blah blah. Most schools who do this are just trying to manage things in a way that enables children to settle well, based on what they know about attachment and brain development. Pretty sure lots will be abandoning it, that’s the way things seem to be going , so you’ll all be fine.
Oh, be sure to remember that entitlement to full time attendance when you go on holiday mid year.

Perhaps schools should be transparent and ensure that parents are aware of their options and they can decide as to what is best for their child rather than the school almost mandating a staggered start which is not in the best interests of all children. Parents know their children best.

My child's preschool is 4.5 hours a day. They transitioned in 1 hour increments. It worked very well for us. That being said, my child has SEN and needed time to adapt so maybe that's why I was so thrilled about it. I wouldn't have felt right just dumping her at a new place with absolute strangers for 4.5hrs, despite the fact they shocked me by running straight in the door without looking back. Again, my child has major SLD and was completely nonverbal at that stage, so particularly vulnerable, others might not agree.

This nonsense would annoy me too, some settling in sessions and then perhaps a week maximum of part time days is more than enough.

I would have thought most parents are aware of their child’s statutory entitlement. Schools are not tricking parents into thinking staggered starts are the law. It’s just how that school organizes it. Your child is important to them too. They can’t allow each individual parent to have their own settling in plan, though many schools tailor it to children’s needs which is really great practice.

This sounds ridiculous. DD’s school did it over three days (spaced within a week). They got 20 kids in at a time for 2 hours (2 x 30 in Reception), then 30 in for a bit less than half day. Then 30 in for full day including lunch. Then all 60 in full time. The other days that week she went to nursery.
Spinning it out for longer just means they get used to doing half days and then need to adjust again to full days. Then adjust again as it’s half term! Any kid that needs more time was given more time but most of them were fine. I know there were a couple of parents who did pick up earlier for a bit but it was hardly any out of 60.

DD went into after school club from her first full day as I couldn’t get any more leave from work. She was totally fine. It was still a shorter day than nursery!

Three weeks of half days would have been impossible for us to cover.

I would have thought most parents are aware of their child’s statutory entitlement.

This thread has shown that many parents think they have to accept the staggered starts and half days. Why else would people miss weeks of work, find ad-hoc childcare and worry about how they're going to manage? Even those who know they can send them from the start are worried about refusing the staggered starts as they don't want to be 'that' parent.

Oh, be sure to remember that entitlement to full time attendance when you go on holiday mid year.

Way to insinuate that those of us who choose full time from day 1 are bad parents who will selfishly take our kids out during term time for a holiday. Not at all passive aggressive <slow handclap>

One of the many daft things about all this is that lots and lots of teachers are also parents. You're inconveniencing one lot of schools to convenience (is that a word - it should be) others.

Madness.

An awful lot of practices in education are not evidence based at all.

My kids school didn’t do this thank god, it was full time from day one, but my sisters school did and she said it was a pain in the 🍑 and completely pointless. And she’s a teacher herself!

Absolutely the right way to start for that age
not all children have spent their pre school time in day care etc
many will have been at home with their families.
it’s not about an individuals needs it’s for the well being of entire the years intake .
first days at School are a huge adjustment for many , some children arrive unable to use the wc etc
the slower the introduction and the more individual attention. Each child can have during that period is better for all the children. Overall, if the whole class starts at the same time with long days and there are children who are not adjusting well it will affect all the children.
if it doesn’t fit around you take annual leave !
think big picture it’s not just about you and your child,

Some schools requests are madness…
I'm sure they think what can we do to piss the parents off from the word go!
Do as you suggested and say you’ll do a week then straight in full days.

“if it doesn’t fit around you take annual leave”

You get that annual leave is finite? And needed for school holidays?

”Absolutely the right way to start for that age”

Then why the variance across schools from a couple of half days to a half term of them?

If my DT’s had done a staggered start it would have affected them negatively and potentially impacted into the whole class.

DH, their nursery and I had prepared them well for school.
We didn’t have annual leave to cover a staggered start on top of all the school holidays - used holiday clubs for many of them.
We did what was best for our DT’s and sent them full time from day one - together with breakfast and after school club. Same as many others with two working parents.

if it doesn’t fit around you take annual leave

and if both parents are teachers? Not everyone can take leave or flex their hours.

Absolutely the right way to start for that age

This is the kind of statement that demands evidence. So far we've seen none. There's zero consensus even from teachers and TAs on this thread, so why should parents believe anything except what they know about their own child?

Three weeks is excessive. My eldest had two or so when they started, which I though excessive. Thankfully this had reduced to a couple of days or so when my youngest started. No difference in how they settled in. I have definitely read a thread here where someone had insisted that the school take their kid full-time from the start as they have to by law. The school kept saying no, but they kept insisting so the school had to back down. If I remember correctly kids had no issue whatsoever.

This thread is evidence that most parents don’t know this. Schools absolutely are tricking parents into thinking they have no choice but to suck it up.

I know of a school that started a couple of kids a fortnight on half days, then half day and lunch, then full time. They didn't have all the kids in until after Christmas, and not all full time til Easter!

My DD thought she'd done something wrong when she was getting sent home early.

explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/childcare-and-early-years-survey-of-parents 76% of parents using childcare for 0-4s pre pandemic (obviously post pandemic lack of availability has become an issue).

It must be a pretty small minority of DC that go to school without childcare experience. Why design the whole system around them?

It’s not, it’s designed for all children moving from child care to a school setting.

It’s not, it’s designed for all children moving from child care to a school setting.

It clearly isn't, since there isn't a one size fits all solution. Staggered starts will be good for some, detrimental for others. Which is why they need to be an option, not imposed by the school.

That's bonkers!

There has been no research on the impact of staggered starts (or home visits)

My kids school does this. Husband and I both commuted at the time (he still does). I was part time then and just took annual leave; there was no other way round it.