school have changed school start time by default

[chocoholic05]

My dc are in reception and year 2. They have lways started at 845. They wait in the playground outside their classrooms and at 845 their teacher opens the classroom doors calls them in and the parents go back through the playground and the gates are closed. Has always been this way. We are never late. We live over a mile away and until halfterm we caught a direct bus which were every ten minutes.
At halfterm this all changed. The bus outside the school closed. Bus routes have been drastically changed. Not only do I have to walk further when we get off the bus but the buses are now every twenty minutes not ten.Theirs been campaigns petitions etc all sorts so far to no avail. Despite this they still get their for quarter to every day. A few minutes before that most days.
Last Friday we got a letter saying that from Monday the school bell will go at twenty to nine the children will be collected by their teacher at that time and then the gate will close at quarter to! So now despite the fact we aren't arriving there any later this week than last everythings changed. We are fighting against a sea of parents leaving the playground the playground is empty of children and I rush them off quickly and hurriedly and the starts in this stressed fashion! It's awful and ds2 says he misses going into school with his friends. It's awful :(

[5Foot5]

And think of all the money you will be saving if you do walk!

[Yannah2006]

It's a half hour walk. My DS has been doing a 35 min walk since his last year of nursery.

We leave at 8.00-8.10 and still get there in time for the beginning of school.

I don't see what the problem is.

[Yannah2006]

Yes, i don't particularly like walking in the rain either, or the snow, but DS has wellies, salopettes, and a warm waterproof jacket. It hasn't killed us yet!

[cumfy]

Walk

[Myliferocks]

The bit I would have issue with is the short notice the school have given over the change of start time.
When one of the schools my DC attended changed start time we were given a term notice and told the reason why the school had changed it by 10 minutes.

[cumfy]

How much is the bus ?

[Tee2072]

I also recommend walking. Healthy for you all, and you can leave at whatever time you need to get there on time.

My son and I leave the house at 815ish to be at school at 9, we are usually there by 845, so he has time to run around with his friends. We walk 1.5 miles. He's 3.9 years and in preschool.

[sppp]

Have the kids got scooters? If they scoot it is faster than a child usually walks and you can walk briskly alongside.

Use a bike lock to tie them up at school, or bring them back home with you if they are light enough. Or scoot on one while balancing the other one on the handlebars. I do it all the time, it is easy, and so much less stressful than being at the mercy of public transport and worrying about being late.

[EmmelineGoulden]

YANBU to think they shouldn't make such changes with no consultation and no notice to parents.

I don't think there's anything wrong with the school's new approach. That doesn't mean they should impose it in a high handed manner. It is rubbish of them. Nevertheless there is probably little you can do other than talk to a parent governor and see if you can have them instil a little more partnership into the schools approach to its relationship with student and parents.

In practice it's unlikely to change this particular decision. You're just going to have to suck it up and think about some of good practical solutions people are offering here.

[ChunkyPickle]

Hold on, you took a bus rather than a 30 minute walk?

I hate to come over all three Yorkshiremen on you, but I was from a village, with no buses, and walked every day to school - 30 mins, with a summer shortcut that took it down to 20. Pretty much everyone in the village did the same - the only cars/buses were from people living in other villages or on farms.

The other advantage of walking is that you can always catch up a few minutes by walking faster, but if the bus is late there's nothing you can do.

I think YABU, and it's all very odd to be complaining at all.

[Hiphopopotamus]

I'm going to go a little against the tide here - I can understand your frustration. As someone who regularly takes public transport, I understand where you're coming from. For someone that drives to work/school, a five minute earlier start means adjusting your morning by 5 minutes. For someone reliant on public transport, it can mean adjusting your whole morning schedule to fit in with timetables. It's annoying!

However, if I was you, I would probably get the earlier bus - better to have too much time, than not enough!

[badguider]

A week's notice is not a lot to change the start time (even though it is only by 5 minutes), I would ask the school why they've changed it so suddenly.

However, I would agree with those who say that travelling under your own steam (foot, scooter, bike) you have far more control over your travel time for a journey of about this length.

[Permanentlyexhausted]

I can't understand why you'd go on the bus if you still had a 10 minute walk at the other end. Just walk it, and get the kids to ride scooters or bikes.

[jazzandh]

get a scooter yourself if you haven't a bike. Excellent adult scooters around now.

[alemci]

YANBU who wants to hang around in the playground if it is raining and cold for 20 mins. If you got there before in the nick of time at 8.45 why have they made it earlier.

sounds a bit of a hike. I was very fortunate as the school was on the same road where we lived so my kids fell into school. I hated hanging around in the playground but would get them there on time.

[SarahBumBarer]

Eh - YANBU. Why should you wait around for 15 extra minutes so school can start 5 minutes earlier. No way would I waste 15 minutes of my time to benefit someone else by 5 minutes - my time is valuable.

It's beyond unreasonable for the school to change the start time without consulting with the parents on this and taking things like bus times into account.

[Permanentlyexhausted]

Alemci If you got there before in the nick of time at 8.45 why have they made it earlier.

Sarah Why should you wait around for 15 extra minutes so school can start 5 minutes earlier. No way would I waste 15 minutes of my time to benefit someone else by 5 minutes - my time is valuable.

Because the school does not operate to satisfy the whims of one mother! Obviously!

I can't quite believe what I'm reading!

[poshme]

Slight red herring here, but all the people expressing amazement at people not walking when it's only 30 minutes- it's 30 minutes walk for us, along a country lane with no pavement, with very bad visibility and speed limit of 60mph. We very rarely walk as its so dangerous.
Walking isn't always as easy as people suggest.

[RustyBear]

There used to be a requirement for Governing bodies of community and voluntary controlled schools to consult parents before changing the times of the school day, and a change to the start or finish was only supposed to happen at the beginning of a school year, but this requirement has recently been revoked. But there is still a general statutory duty on governing bodies to act reasonably. Our LA has interpreted this in guidance to Governors as meaning there is an expectation they will still consult 'as they consider appropriate', and give reasonable notice to parents.

[foxache]

The changes have made the OP's morning routine suddenly much more difficult. It sounds as if she had a good structure in place until four days ago, it's unfair of the school to have changed so suddenly.

Why did this thread have to turn into attacking her? After the first ten or so posts telling her to walk, surely you know she would have got the message, didn't it feel like ganging up?

[alemci]

no but is it the end of the world if they are occasionally late.

As I said before it is no fun being in a cold playground for 20 mins before the start of school and I agree with Sarah about time being precious.