To let DS2 go to school very early?

[Ferrybridge]

He's year 5 and likes to have some time in the playground before school.

This morning he left home at 8:15, meaning he would have been in school before 8:20. The classroom doors open at 8:45 and official school start is 8:55. It was compounded this morning as it's raining hard (In my defense wasn't raining quite so hard when he went out)

Anyway, I did suggest he didn't want to be wet in school all day, but he was determined and I thought, Oh well, you'll learn, so let him go.

So, he regularly has half and hour unsupervised in the playground and today he will be wet through. Will the school be judging me? If they are I hope this will be the only thing. In all other , I'm a model school mum, cakes baked, healthy packed lunch, reading diary completed regularly, assemblies attended letters returned promptly, named & correct school uniform, rarely speak to teacher outside parents evening (but always turn up and arrive on time for that) etc

Goldbubble's post is very old school if I may say so. Most city schools understand the importance of children having free time to play safely because children are more dispersed and can't just walk over to a friend's house when they want to.

My dds went to a school where this was allowed, but usually one or two parents would be there, also after school we would stay in the playground while they played on equipment and had downtime with friends.

"£4 for breakfast club without breakfast? "

Good grief. Our school charges £3.50 for breakfast club with cereal and toast from 7.45. They charge £1 to allow over 8s to be dropped off at 8.20 without breakfast.

It doesn't cost £4 a head to look after over 8s. For the over 8s two dinner ladies on minimum wage look after 30 to 40 children comfortably. Lets assume that £20 is spent when overheads are included. The school is still in profit.

I feel its wrong for schools to charge the highest amount they can get away with. It makes it very hard for women to return to the work place.

At my DDs old school you were not allowed to leave your children until 8:30am - for school which started at 8:45.

this meant chaos in the roads and carpark, as everyone was arriving at once - and also anyone whose parents had a job starting at 9am, usually just dropped their children off before the 8:30 time. They were in the school grounds, but off the road.
There were lots of notes home telling us not to do it - I was lucky because I work nearby and could walk my DD in time before my work.

At DDs new school, they allow drop off from 8am - its not breakfast club, there is no food offered. Some girls use it, not all - but it means they are supervised in the main hall. In effect they are all just sitting about chatting and playing quietly. At 8:30 they are chucked outside to play, or if its wet they go directly to the classrooms.

So the end result is that pupils can arrive between 8am and 8.45 - its easy for parents - sometimes we are late, sometimes it suits me to go early. And as most of the parents are working - we can get to work on time too.

Our school sends out letters that parents are sending their DC earlier and earlier (usually in the summer term).

Yr 5 and 6 are expected to go straight into the classroom as there's work left out for them.

Old school, achillea? Until recently, I had 3 children at 3 different schools (in London) and that was the system at all of them.
It may well be different at small village schools, I suppose...

"TBH, seeker, I don't really see the OFSTED report as my issue. If the school asked me to stop sending him I would, but they haven't, nor have I ever had any communication suggesting children shouldn't be in the playground early"

Fair enough. Personally, once I realised that it could be a problem for the school, I would check. But hey ho.

If the school has a problem with it, let them say so. It is not a parents job to second guess anything that may or may not affect the schools insurance or ofsted reports. We follow rules given, its up to school to make those rules.

op out of interest, how will your DS be getting to senior school in 2 years?

He'll be going on the bus (if he's accepted at DS1's school) Why?

Oh, public or school bus?

I was thinking about other ways he could start to become more independent...

but if you are rural (like me) its quite hard isn't it?

Sorry it looked like an odd question :)

It's a public bus, but only really used by school children.

I sent him to buy milk yesterday (I waited in carpark) and he needed to ask a random adult to reach it down for him, but I expect I was assuming too much about what others should be expected to do there too.

No, I started to do things like that with my eldest (when he was 9) I think that is fine...

I just think he shouldn't go in to school quite so early. I think 10-15 mins is enough before school starts.

Are his friends local? can they play after school?

We are lucky that the Primary here backs on to a small park, the kids all burn off their energy after school.

I also wouldn't worry about the independence thing too much...my eldest (nearly 14) did lots of small things to build up his 'streetwise -ness' he is quite capable of getting all over the place.

It just comes :)

"I sent him to buy milk yesterday (I waited in carpark) and he needed to ask a random adult to reach it down for him, but I expect I was assuming too much about what others should be expected to do there too."

But that's an incredibly sensible thing to do- both you and him. Did somebody say it wasn't?

My dcs were walking to school unaccompanied at 9 - it was a safe route that they would be joined on by other friends and they were all perfectly capable of doing the journey without a parent. I've always thought it much more risky to discourage independence at junior school and suddenly release a child out alone, and quite unused to this state of affairs, at 11 when they go to senior school.

However, the school would not accept children in before a certain time because if children were on the premises, the school would be responsible for any accidents by dint of permitting them to be there. So I don't think that as a a parent you can relieve the school of that responsibility.

If there are no rules about the earliest time children can get to school then I can't see too much problem, tbh. Although I think half an hour unsupervised is quite a long time.

This would be my ds too op. Also year 5, ready and waiting to leave for school at 8:15 (we live 2 mins walk away)

I have no problem with him playing football in the playground for 20 mins
I have no problem with him choosing not to wear his coat despite me telling him it is raining (I only enforce it if it is really chucking it down - pick your battles). He will learn that being wet isn't comfortable. he isn't made of sugar, he won't melt.

But our school says quite clearly, they are not to be in the playground before 8:30, so he isn't allowed to leave home until 8.25 and I come to school with younger ones, so I am in playground from 8:35 anyway (not anyway near ds, that would be too embarrassing for him ). If he was the only one, I think he would still send him off happily at 8.25, he wants to be in the playground, he isn't messing around anywhere else.

So if school is happy, I would be ok with it.

ds gets lots of small freedoms like this, go to the shop, to the library, cycle round to friends (no roads to cross). If dd has after school club he walks home on his own. I think it is an important part of growing up.

My feeling is yanbu, but our school has specifically asked children not to. So really depends what your school wants.

On every newsletter we get it states that children should not be left on their own before 8.45 but every day there are loads that are. A child who had been left on their own before the time hurt himself on his scooter and it was left to another parent to call an ambulance. The school will not be responsible until 8.45 when a teacher is on duty.

I am a TA and my DD is in reception- I start work at 8.30 so I put DD in breakfast club, but I've noticed several other TAs with kids in the school just drop them off in the playground at 8.30. Noone seems to mind.

YANBU