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

Our teacher told us afterwards (we had her again in p5) that it’s not so much about the shorter days but more about having a smaller half class for longer so the teacher can really get to know the children properly. This investment at the start lets them build a stronger closer relationship than rushing straight to managing a full class with obviously less 1:1 time per pupil.

Surely the answer to all the various concerns that people have raised is to be open all day from the get go but give parents the option of shorter days to begin with?

My son's school had optional Friday afternoon off for the first term of Reception. It wasn't taken up by many people.

Thank you all for your replies.
They are already having settling in sessions as well, we had one hour of forest school last week, there’s an hour in 2 weeks time and another hour without the parents in the last week of term ( groups of 6 children). The school also went to her nursery at the end of last term to speak to her key worker and get to know the children going to the school from the nursery.

I’ve decided that I’ll be asking for her to do full term from the second week and see how it goes.
Each year group has 2 classes so I’m sure I won’t be the only one and she’s almost 5 as well and school ready. We’ll wait till week 4 before starting after school club though.

Ridiculous. They should all start FT, and those that need half days, it can be discretionary for them.

We’ll wait till week 4 before starting after school club though.

Mkae sure you check the ASC before assuming you can start in week 4. Many have limited places and book up very quickly. If you wait a month then you run the very real risk of not having a place at all.

Yes it seems unnecessarily long.
Yes, it’s inconvenient for working parents.
Yes, it’s inconvenient for drop off and pick up.

But, school is for the children and if smaller groups at the beginning, make it a better long term environment for all the class, than that benefits all the children. The teacher can get to know them and their needs in small groups and when the class is full time, they’ll be in a better position to meet those needs.

We’ve already registered her for the after school club but I was thinking they may not be available yet for reception children in the first 3 weeks because of the school’s short days but if it is, we’ll start paying for it to keep the space but start using it from week 4.

The school my kids went / go to (now aged 13 and 10) were very clear that they felt the best way to settle children in us by immediately establishing the routine. Having weeks on end where you are picked up by parents, family friends, grandma and anyone else who can be cobbled together to find the childcare is just confusing.

They do let the kids have staggered starts if parents want. Usually it is just 2 or 3 out of the year of 90 and generally these are children where the parents are already in contact with the school as the child has special needs.

It works well and means that parents can save their holidays for the October half term. (At which point the kids are shattered.)

Yes, I agree
It's really confusing for them!
Full time from day one, or for the first week maybe 9-12 for the ones that haven't been in a nursery.

I've never forgotten my first full day at primary and not understanding why I couldn't go home at lunchtime....admittedly it was an absolutely draconian school, but I ended up on the 'naughty bench' humiliated and in tears because I had cried at not going home. (The naughty bench was made up of three long benches running down the main corridor, so everyone got to see who was in trouble, similar idea to the dunces hat). I don't think it helps children settle at all, i think it's more likely to cause separation anxiety, than if the children went in for a full day. I know both dd and ds really struggled adapting to a full day after three weeks of half days.
I thought the law had changed now anyway, and schools can't insist yr R do halfdays?

Mine were part time till October had term when they started!

We had a week of transition. A teacher visit to our home. A day off. A 2 hour session. A half day session ending before lunch and a half day session ending after lunch. Then straight into it. It worked really well. The half days for 3 weeks seems insane and unnecessary.

2-3 weeks is standard.

Your request won’t change anything, but it will mark you as that parent which isn’t a great start for your child.

It took ages for ours to start fully, with home visits, part time and staggered start. Many weeks

i dont think it is ridiculous
it just doesnt fit around your working pattern.
but school is different than nursery.
it makes the transition easier.

My DCs infant school wanted to do this. I said I wanted full time from the off as they were used to x5 days in nursery from 8-6. So get went full time in to school. To be honest they were nackered the first week but after that it was fine.

dd whose birthday is in may was part time until easter

My friends that are teachers say it really helps with getting to know the children, having less of them there at once in those first few weeks. I definitely agree with that for my own children who were very quiet in bigger groups when they were young.

It really isn't. Most schools who offer half days / staggered starts do a week, and plenty of schools have reception children attend full time from the start.

OP, or any parent / carer can insist their child starts full time from the start, there;s no need for them to do any half days, let alone 3 weeks of the bloody things. If by "that parent" you mean someone who doesn't want their child confused by a random start to school, would prefer them to get used to the actual routine, and is able to take time off fom work with their child in the holidays as they actually have some annual leave left, then I see nothing wrong with being "that parent."

Who do suggest looks after the children of working parents if they use a staggered start?

We are in the same position. First week 8.45am- 11am, 2nd week 8 45am- 11.45am, 3rd week 8 45am- 12.45pm. Then 4th week 8.45am-1.45pm. After school club doesn't start until the start of the 4th week and I have absolutely no idea how we are going to manage. We can't get a childminder for 3 weeks and no nursery will take him for 3 weeks either or will transport between school and nursery. Husband is a teacher so can't het time off and I don't have that sort of annual leave.
It's a bloody nightmare! So feel.for you!

I agree, many kids have attended much longer days in a childcare setting so are used to the idea of being away from home and family during the day.

Our school just does full days from the start. On the first day they start 30 mins after the normal school statt time so it's not overwhelming going in at the same time as everyone else, and a parent/carer is allowed to stay for a short time. Thereafter they are treated the same as the other year groups. It works well. There are always a few children who take longer to settle, but that would always be the case, half days or not.

When your child goes to nursery, you're a customer of the nursery.

When your child goes to school, you're entrusting them to the state and you're a caregiver who works in partnership with the school. Which is a nice way of saying you don't call the shots anymore. It's a change of mindset.

I agree this is annoying and tricky for working parents but there's not much you can do about it. Even kids who are used to full days at nursery can be very, very tired out by the transition to school and the school can't exactly operate a multi-tier system where some kids do full days and some don't.

I wouldn't be the parent who makes the school keep their kid until 3.30 when all the others have gone home at midday.

Who do suggest looks after the children of working parents if they use a staggered start?

We used a childminder. When my son started, the childminder had 2 other children starting reception and when my daughter started, she had one other child doing it.

This is ridiculous and there's absolutely no benefit for the children in dragging it out like this. You won't be the only one who can't make that nightmare of schedule work, so I would be sending them full time and reminding other parents / carers that they also have the option to do this.