To think 2 and a half weeks 'lead in' to school is mad!

[fifitot]

DD started reception. The children have 4 days consisting of 2 hours, 4 days the following week from 9.30-2 and then it is not until the following week they start full time.

It's madness. Most of the kids in her class have been in the nursery anyway and hardly need nearly 3 weeks to bed in to school!

Talk about inconvenience for parents. I'm all for a gentle introduction for the kids but think this is ridiculous. Every other school near us does a couple of half days and then away they go! How people who work full time manage it I do not know.

It will be half term and they will have hardly done a full day in school!

As we do in Scotland haliborange. If your 4th birthday is Jan or Feb, you can automatically defer to start the Aug after you turn 5. If you turn 4 after end Feb you automatically go the following year (ie once you are 5). And I think Sept-Dec birthdays can also defer, but don't usually get additional pre-school funding except in excceptional circumstances. And if you do defer, you go into p1 (= reception equivalent) not p2. So DS1, who is 5 in Nov, is actually one of the youngest in his p1 class, and some of his classmates will be 6 in Dec. It's much much better, IMO.

I agree Midnight. We live in Scotland and deferred our son until this year. He will be six in a couple of months.
He is really enjoying school and is very confident.
He would have been lost last year, didn't really pay much attention in nursery and was generally very silly.
I'm glad he has had half days, he will be 9-5 for the rest of his life so these past weeks have been a chance to have a bit of fun in the afternoons before he is institutionalised.

Your children don't need to go to school at 4 or 5 or indeed ever. I home educated mine. That's a big commitment, not feasible for everyone, but you could just keep them out for a term, a year or however long you feel they need.

BonyBackJefferson: with you till
"Talk about inconvenience for parents"
you think this is inconvenient, its just starting."

Hear Hear.

A lot of schools seem to hold up their lack of awareness of/concern for the difficulties for working parents as some sort of badge of honour. As thought it's selfish for parents to want to earn enough to pay the mortgage.

Having said that, some schools are much more flexible.

As for the staggered start: I fail to see how prolonging the agony (if indeed it is agony) makes it any easier for the child. I have yet to meet any parent at my DS's school who thinks it's a good idea.

We used to have 2 intakes in Sept and Jan (for the ones who were 5 after Feb 28th). The starts then were 2 x half days and then straight in. Much easier. But the delayed intake spent years catching up on what they'd missed.

OH goodness! What do working mums do? I was lucky, we don't live in the UK. DS started reception from 8:30 to 15:00 everyday from day one. I think if you get them into a routine soon, it is much better.

I would not have been able to work otherwise. HOw do they expect mums to go back to work then?

"I know it's a pain for working parents but really, the school isn't there to provide childcare for your child."

and yet the previous government (and maybe this one, who knows) was keen to get all parents back to work once dcs at school

We're obviously v.lucky with our school. DS2 (July birthday) did two days of 8:50-12 (the school went back on a Thu), then a week of the same, then full time. We've had no problems at all.

And in the week of mornings, he did two afternoons in the school nursery as I was working. Lots of children with working parents did full days from the start split between school and nursery (next room along), as 95% had been to the school nursery the year before anyway.

It was the same with settling in before summer, they just got dropped off at nursery as usual, and the nursery did the shuttling to foundation for their settling in.

Our whole school has mixed classes - 1/2, 3/4 and 5/6. When they introduced the nursery (this is only their second year), nursery and foundation became integrated, and children can choose where they want to be at certain times during the day. So DS2 had already spent a lot of time in foundation as he felt happy in there.

my dd stayed at nursery until the two weeks of half day were over, I hadn't got any holdiay to take as mine were set by my employer at that time set weeks - so I had to keep on with the nursery that my dd went to and then she started full time with everyone else after the first two weeks.

The head teacher told me she wasn't happy about this, but I coudln't lose my job

I now work in a very different area and have differnet holdiays to make me much more adaptable to schools and the times they are open and closed.

The whole of our borough (Richmond) don't do full days until January which is really annoying. I contacted our education officer who said that central Government doesn't fund any LA for the autumn term as it's not a legal requirement that children start school until the term after they turn five. Therefore all LAs have to fund any autumn term attendance themselves and as our borough is one of the lowest funded in the whole country we were lucky to get a half day! V annoying for going back to work I agree.

me too alipeepee, i am on the 3 school runs a day mission, used to it as DD2 was in the nursery (same hours) all last year, but boy am i looking forward to January!

Alipeepee, I am not sure the LA officer was legally correct (they often say dubious things like this and present them as fact IME). I believe the law might have changed about 4-5 years ago and parents were entitled to demand full days.

Explanatory memorandum to the Schools Admissions Code

4. Legislative Context

4.1 Paragraphs 2.65 and 2.69 of the Code have been amended to require admission authorities to provide for the admission of all children in the September following their fourth birthday. It will also require admission authorities to make it clear to parents that they may request part or full-time classes for such children, until they reach compulsory school age.

Came into force February 2010

www.dcsf.gov.uk/sacode/downloads/admissions-code-feb10.pdf

I think the LB of Richmond may well be breaking the law.

hmmmmmm

not sure what they will/can do about it if we insist that they stay at school though, if no budget/provision for the kids.

it looks like this only comes into force from sept 2011.

I didn't even realise that schools did this. DS1 wa straight into full days at thye start of the September after his birthday, he seemed fine with it.

DS started school this september (was 4 in April). The school staggered the starts (siblings in first day, then half of the remainder the next day, then the remainder) but the kids did full days from their first day.

Sounds like we were the lucky ones. Head said as they will be coming full time they should start as they mean to go on.

DS would have been gutted if he had to come home at lunch time. As it is I have trouble getting him home as he loves it sooo much!

Boffinmum that's very interesting but guess DS2 will have the benefit then if it's from 2011. I honestly think it's quite disrupting going home at 12 and all the children seem to be so bored/tired at the moment. I know it doesn't make much sense but i think if they had a break for lunch and then started again they'd be much more into it. It's like they only just get started then have to leave and so never quite get into the whole school thing. Roll on January!

In my DC's school they do 8.25-12pm for 2 weeks and 8.25-1pm for another 2 weeks and then go full time. My DC2 is knackered and it is showing. He is starting full time next week and I am dreading it. But I guess he will soon settle in to it, we will just have to put up with Grumpy McGrump for a while.

Next year my DC3 starts school and he is a July baby so they will do part time till Christmas, then full time. He is in nursery 5 afternoons a week and is knackered as well.

It's great fun at the moment. I did 2 weeks of dropping off DC1&2,picking up DC2 and dashing across the playground, same site, to drop off DC3 for 12pm (obviously we were late for a couple of weeks, but the nursery were fine about it.)Then going back to pick up DC1&3 AT 2.30.Then 2 weeks of dropping DC1&2 off, dropping DC3 off at 12pm hanging around till 1pm to pick up DC2 and then coming back to pick up DC1&3. Next week I shall drop off DC1&2 at 8.25, drop off DC3 at 12pm and then pick DC1&2 up at 8.25 and DC3 up at 2.45. Oh! except for Wednesdays as DC1 finishes at 3.30 as he has enrichment so we will have to hang around for him.