School break times when raining, is this normal ?

[likecherrycola]

Hi I am a long term lurker but never brave enough to post but need some opinions on this. My dd is in P1 and basically when it is wet or raining outside the children have to sit silently with the heads on their desks , this goes for break and lunch time. Is this normal ? it seems very ott to me , I thought maybe some colouring in etc would be more "normal". Would ibu to discuss with the teacher ? I know the other p1 class is the same so maybe its the whole school but it seems cruel especially since we live in scotland and it rains alot.

But play is work for 4 and 5 yos!

In the infant school my DC went to they didn't have desks at all in reception, groups of tables they would sit round but typically a day would involve some phonics/numeracry (like, 20 mins) and then a range of activities including something creative (sticking, painting etc), water/sand play, play with things like shaving foam to write letters in, things like bead threading, barbies to dress up (fine motor control), outdoor play on wheeled toys lego/obilo/sticklebricks etc, play with cars, dress up in a themed home corner and so on.

I helped in several different reception classes (albeit in the same school)for several years so I have a bit of experience, tho I am actually a secondary teacher. Even there we don't just sit at desks!

When you say they just work, do you mean sit at desks and write all day? How old are they (excuse my ignorance of how it works in Scotland, I do know that children are older when they start school so maybe that's the difference)

They will be 4.5yrs - 5.5yrs if in P1.

None of this is normal for Scottish school in case some of you now think we have some weird policies up here!

MiaowTheCat I thought that was standard practice in p1 very concerned now .
clary Dd was 4 when she started now 5 but class is miss of 4/5 and some 6 year olds from the p2 part.They sit at tables and do there workbooks writing etc and sit in a corner for storys. The only game they play that im aware of is the letter bingo thing which dd loves.

I'm glad you said you saw it too cherry I was hesitant to post that as it sounded so unbelievable! Imagine allowing our daughters to watch that now

InkleWinkle Sorry if i have made it sound normal just going from my experience of primarys , its a strange one.

That sounds awful for kids both socially and physically :(

Igloofornow There is know chance dd or even ds if we ever have one would see that its disturbing , certainly had the desired effect though think everyone was so traumatised and shocked. We had to discuss it afterwards then vote on wether abortions should be legal.

No not know

Cherry - no not you just it sounded like some posters had jumped to the conclusion that it must be a 'Scottish' thing.

Did you say what area you're in sorry if I missed it?

OP - no, in the infant school I work in, that is definitely NOT normal.
Infact I really don't like the idea of it at all. Playtime, especially for little ones, are needed to get out some of the children's excess energies!

Wet play here - various activities out: colouring/drawing, construction/Lego, two class computers, book corner, some board games/dominoes/snap type cards, etc. The reception/EYFS children have more access to play stuff due to how their classrooms are set up, plus don't have set playtimes, other than at lunchtime either.

And if at all possible we will get them outside, even if just for 5 minutes, despite the rain - it is better for all concerned normally!

Strumpetron its terrible, did your school have any reason for it?

No I don't think they had one, in the end we caused havoc and it stopped

InkleWinkle Im in Glasgow

A class for 4 and 5 year olds with no self chosen play?
That is very worrying.

A typical early years class should have daily phonics teaching, small maths group work, and writing/ letter formation in small groups so the adult can model and encourage correct pen grip etc. The rest of the time should largely be learning through exploration: sand, water, playdough, home corner, paints, objects for counting, etc. They should have free, or at the very least, substantial access to the outdoors with opportunities for climbing, crawling, balls, hoops, gardening, water, sand, etc.

Staff would then work in a particular area to help children develop a concept, e.g. floating and sinking, mixing colours, matching pictures on cards or dominoes. Combined with several story and rhyme times in a day, each of no more than 5 minutes, it provides children with a broad, balanced curriculum.

4 and 5 year olds sitting at desks all day? That is developmentally totally inappropriate.

EYFS children should do the vast majority of their learning through self directed learn through play, with adults guiding their learning, etc. I thought this was actually something that has to happen. A school without this should not be getting good for its OFSTED, shouldn't even be satisfactory/requires improvement either.

Not normal here in reception they have splash suits so they can be out if they want whatever the weather other years can go out if they wish too or colour in, play games, read etc

Wow if this is all correct and they have no play based learning at that age at all I wouldn't just be concerned, I'd have her out of there like a shot and be informing OFSTED!

Bizarre, and not normal in the slightest.

OP - I hope all the answers have convinced you that this is school isn't normal and tbh I can't see how it can have passed an inspection. Do the EYFS rules apply in Scotland, everything you've said about the school seems to be against the rules.

Is it a free school?

I'll be interested to see any updates. I've been thinking about this a fair bit and it is so bizarre.

I don't know how they ever got anything like this past Ofsted either, unless they just behaved perfectly normally on the days of their last inspection.

I take it it isn't half term in Scotland this week? It has been here in Essex, and mine are back on Monday.

Did you speak to the school today Cherry?

It's not EYFS in Scotland, it's Cirriculum for Excellence. But tbh the principles behind it are the same. My DS is in P4, I will say that the school he is in now has physically smaller classrooms so a lot of the 'play' stuff is packed away, but even at P4 they still have play equipment and play opportunities, usually built in to their topic work (topic work/cross ciriculum learning is a key part of Curriculum for Excellence). So when they did castles there were toy castles, castles children had built, playmobile knights, lego, swords, sewing toys all set out round the classroom. With the less topic-focussed toys packed away but still there.

If your school has a good recent HMIE and a new head, I'm suspecting the new head is bonkers. You need an appointment with the teacher now, and if you're not happy you need to refer this up to the head. If you're still not happy you need to think about whether you want dd to remain in this school. None of this is 'normal'.

PS - don't ever talk to the receptionists, they are trained to tell you nothing. They also have no clue what happens in class.

PPS I can't spell curriculum. Clearly.

Annie no free schools in Scotland. Yet.

there are no free schools and we have curriculum for excellence, not EYFS in Scotland. At wet playtime/lunch time our school has 'wet day in jotters' that they can write/draw in and children from P7 act as monitors. There may also be activities like lego/reading especially for the younger children.

DD is in P6 and ds is in P3 and I have never heard of them having to stay quiet with their heads on the desk and they are freely able to sit where they want at lunchtime and chat with whoever they like.

we dont have Ofsted either it is HMIe instead

even without the wet play this school sounds awful. where I live the children in reception seem to spend most of the day playing.