10-minute window to drop kids at school - is this common?

[JackalOnassis]

Not a moan, just a general wondering. We have an infants (Reception, y1, y2) and juniors (y3+) school locally. At the Juniors you can drop them any time from about 8.30 in the playground.

At the Infants' the doors don't open until 8.50 and close at 9.00. So you need to wait with your child until you can "see them in". Minorly annoying, as however early I am, I can't get back to start work by 9am! (This is not actually a big problem).

Obviously you can pay for Breakfast Club if you need to drop earlier.

Just wondered how common this was?

Ours is the same, doors open from 08:50-09:00 but the playground starts filling up at 08:30 and there are a few parents who drop their children in the playground and leave, I assume they have agreement with other parents to keep an eye on their child and make sure they get in OK, I have done it for DS friends who's parents have to rush off to work/appointments.

That's how my DC's school was, the playground opened early, but you had to wait there with your DCs till the classroom doors opened at 8.40 (each couple of classes had their own entrance) and see them in. Doors closed again at 8.50. No staff on the playground at any point.

Sounds kind of handy to me, my DC’s school was drop AT 830, the range would make things easier.

8:45 here and gate shut at 8:50.

Very common - but of course as per usual, the assumption is that Mummy (and it nearly always is the mum doing the drop-off) doesn't actually have to get to work on time or anything trivial like that.

My kids go to a small village primary school, only 5 classes. The gates open at 8.35am and close at 8.45am. there is a member of staff at the gates at all times seeing children in. Most ks2 children go in by themselves and head straight to the classrooms while ks1/reception children walk in with parents and then walk to their classrooms. There is usually the year 1 or reception class teacher waiting for them and seeing them in.

My DC's primary school had a 10 minute window 8.40-8.50.

But one of them attended a private primary school for a couple of years (for complicated reasons) and the drop off window was much longer to assist working parents.

Here the gates open at 8:25 and you can drop into the classroom anytime between 8:30 and 8:45.

8:45 and 8:55 here. They go in and sit in the class, we don't need to wait.

Presumably also structured so parents dropping at the junior then have time to get to the infants if needed?

Our primary had a 8.40-9am window, with some classrooms that opened directly onto the playground taking kids in from 8.30 if they were ready. New head made everyone go in through the main door from 8.50-9am. Overnight there was total parking chaos. We got letters home telling us not to "loiter" in the playground and limit our social lives to coffee shops, that sort of thing. She also went round the playground at 8.30 and rounded up unaccompanied children and put them into breakfast club and charged parents for it. After a couple of years of traffic carnage it changed to 8.40-9am, it was immediately better. Even if there was a supermarket sized carpark next door, you cannot physically get an entire 3 form entry primary school in through 2 doors in 10 minutes.

@NotAMissionPriority that sounds crazy!

8:45 - 8:55 here.

There is always a huge line of parents snaking round to the office who are late though. But to be honest, there would be anyway.

@JackalOnassis

Ok, rather than 'strange', I'm surprised at your 'wondering'.

I understood from your OP that you were wondering if just having a 10 minute window was usual. It now seems you mean the time school starts is surprising.

I just thought either of these points were very common & easily known - perhaps not.

"She also went round the playground at 8.30 and rounded up unaccompanied children and put them into breakfast club and charged parents for it."

I like her. Utter pisstake just dumping your kids in the playground

This is pretty standard. Our school used to be just open the doors at nine but they now open them at 8.50. We've always had to pay for breakfast club childcare and after school. I've been a teacher for 23 years and this has always been the standard. The school I work in (secondary) recently decided to start the day at 8.30 which makes it very challenging as a parent of a primary aged child.

My DCs school was a 10 minute window starting at 8.40. Every school I’ve worked in has been a 10 minute window - never starting earlier than 8:40. Years 5 & 6 can come to school unattended but all other years have to be with an adult until the class doors open.

A 10 minute window is very normal.

Me too.

Parents dump in the playground as well and the children just wander out to the streets (two entrances) looking for their friends.

One of dds friends is left from 8:30 everyday, I’ve told her mum so many times that she wanders half way down the road to find dd and she laughs and says it’s okay if you find her.

It’s a school with a billion social problems in a shitty area though, so it really is the tip of the iceberg for the school to do anything about. They can’t even manage to stop parents smoking weed at the gate (but thankfully managed to stop them from doing it in the playground).

There was no ‘window’ at all at my kids primary. You stayed until they lined up at 9.

My kids go on a council bus and have done since they started aged 4. But on the occasions I do go the gates open at 845am till 855am no parents go into the school it is a drop and leave at the gate for all ages and always has been.

Ten minute drop off at my school too. Dropped at the door, greeted by teaching gaff.
School starts at 8:50 but doors open at 8:40.

There is no supervision in the playground beforehand and the gates are open. If a child approached the door with no supervising adult we would flag this up and contact parents.

There is breakfast club, from 8am, for those who need it. This is a paid for service though.

It really isn’t. Schools are education not childcare. If you need to get to work use a breakfast club or a childminder. My husband drops my kids at childcare, so we can both go to work.

I would prefer the government to support parents with subsidised childcare, ideally to be provided on school premises, however it certainly isn’t anything to do with schools being somehow sexist or discriminatory against working mums!

Half an hour on the playground? What if it’s pouring down or freezing cold???

No, the assumption is that the parent - whichever on that is - makes proper childcare arrangements if they have to set off for work earlier rather than expecting schools to provide free childcare.

Dd went to an independent primary and the drop off window was longer. You could leave in playground from 8:30 and there were staff supervising.