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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask how your primary school is dealing with staggered starts?

64 replies

Desperado40 · 25/08/2020 18:41

I am not sure if I am missing something, but can I ask how your schools are planning to deal with staggered start and end times for different year groups? I understand the idea is to avoid crowds gathering at the same time, but with siblings at almost opposite year spectrum, I will have 25 minutes between drop off for one and the other. I am not sure what I am supposed to do with the younger child, if not wait around the school area to drop her off 25 min later. I am not even going to mention the impact on my work (that’s for another thread). AIBU?

OP posts:
firestarterdumdedum · 25/08/2020 18:42

Drop off 1 8.30-8.40
Drop off 2 8.40-8.50
Same at pick up staggered times.

Different entrances to be used for each bubble. There are 4 bubbles.

PotteringAlong · 25/08/2020 18:44

No, you’re not being unreasonable. I’m a secondary teacher. We have bubbles of nearly 300 kids in a year group. Why they cannot just treat the whole school as one big bubble and crack on I will never know. It seems to me that they are just over complicating the issue.

I would have the exact same issue but wrap around care are picking my eldest 2 up and dropping them off. Where they will mix not just between bubbles but between schools...

EvilPea · 25/08/2020 18:47

@PotteringAlong

No, you’re not being unreasonable. I’m a secondary teacher. We have bubbles of nearly 300 kids in a year group. Why they cannot just treat the whole school as one big bubble and crack on I will never know. It seems to me that they are just over complicating the issue.

I would have the exact same issue but wrap around care are picking my eldest 2 up and dropping them off. Where they will mix not just between bubbles but between schools...

Well it is one big bubble because of siblings isn’t it
iamruth · 25/08/2020 18:48

Our school have fifteen minutes between drop offs, three different times. My three are all in different times so 45 mins between. Apparently siblings are being allocated set drop off and pick up. My friends school is just doing a one way system around school and a window of 20/30 mins which seems much more sensible

EvilPea · 25/08/2020 18:49

Op my primary last year mixed year groups to keep siblings together.
But they can’t do that this year now everyone I am back. Some parents would manage to sneak theirs in a bit early if they were close. But ultimately what happened was a lot of parents loitering, defeating the object.

BKCRMP · 25/08/2020 18:50

Ours is allowing siblings to be dropped off together at the time of the earliest drop off

LooksLikeImStuckHere · 25/08/2020 18:50

They have staggered drop offs, 5 mins apart for each year but if you have siblings you can drop both children off at the earliest time possible from each of the siblings and pick up at the earliest time possible.

Oreocrumbs · 25/08/2020 18:50

Our primary has staggered start and finish times. They have said for those with more than one child that all of the children should be dropped off in the earliest time slot (that one of your children has) and all collected at the latest time slot.

Which is sensible, although they did wait a week or so after the original announcement of staggered start times to mention this so perhaps parents had brought up the problem of different year groups (I only have one so it wasn't relevant to me).

LBOCS2 · 25/08/2020 18:52

Ours has staggered starts and when I pointed out that because of it I would be spending two hours a day doing the school run, was told my "employers need to be flexible". Which is not helpful.

FudgeBrownie2019 · 25/08/2020 18:53

We still don't know. They'll be sending out guidance on Friday morning, ready for a Wednesday next week return. I think that for many parents it's going to make life tricky, but don't see how else schools are supposed to facilitate social distancing in any meaningful way.

superking · 25/08/2020 18:53

Two drop off slots, first 8.35-8.45, second 8.45-8.55. Infants and juniors have separate entrances so the slots are split across each entrance ie half of infants and half of juniors in the first slot, the other half in the second. Once in the school grounds each classroom has its own external entrance.

Doing the maths, there will be about 80 children going through each main entrance in each ten minute slot, which doesn't seem too bad.

Aroundtheworldin80moves · 25/08/2020 18:55

Four different drop off points (nursery, R&1, 2&3, 4-6). Each year group in each location has a different 10min window. My two drop off times are 15min apart, but only 5minutes really as it's a 10min window, giving me time to get from one location to the next. Can't really do family drop off times, as the drop off points are near the classroom locations, and they are trying to avoid parents on the narrow path linking the classrooms.

NickMarlow · 25/08/2020 18:56

@LooksLikeImStuckHere

They have staggered drop offs, 5 mins apart for each year but if you have siblings you can drop both children off at the earliest time possible from each of the siblings and pick up at the earliest time possible.
Our school is doing this too
Lovelydovey · 25/08/2020 18:58

Previously juniors was 8.45 and infants was 8.55 - different sites. Now both sites are open from 8.30 to 9am for parents to decide when to drop off and in which order. Teachers will be providing an activity in classrooms from 8.30 (no idea how this has gone down with teachers!). Supposedly no admittance if later than 9am.

Mine go to breakfast club at 7.30 so will no doubt be in the classrooms at 8.30....

Newdaynewname1 · 25/08/2020 18:59

3 morning drop offs, 3 collection times: one for nursery and reception, one for years 1-3, one for 4-6. there are 3 different doors to collect from, one per year.
sibling collected together, you need to let school know which slot you want.

Leaannb · 25/08/2020 19:00

@EvilPea..Not necessarily. Not all kids have sibilings and not all kids have sibilings in the same school.

TheRosariojewels · 25/08/2020 19:02

Ours are doing drop off between 8.30 and 9 for everyone, using 3 different entrances.

Useruseruserusee · 25/08/2020 19:02

No staggered starts but a half hour soft opening with a one way system around the school site. Separate drop off points for each year group then out a different gate from the one you came in.

Looneytune253 · 25/08/2020 19:02

Ours is quite sensible. The older ones that can go in on their own 8.40-2.55 with the year 4s brought out to parents by a teacher and the older ones released on their own. From 8.45till 9.00 you can drop off kids at separate door ways following a one way system for year 3 and below. Same in reverse between 3-3.15

Pascha · 25/08/2020 19:03

Staggered by surname in 3 groups, siblings dropped together according to eldest sibling surname so no waiting around for different times.

We'll see how it actually works next week.

NoSquirrels · 25/08/2020 19:06

Primary: 10-minute ‘slots’, drop-off Yr 5&6 first, then Yr 3&4, then Yrs 2,1, R. In reverse for pick-up. Siblings can be dropped together, preferably at the latest time & collected at the same time.

RicStar · 25/08/2020 19:07

Ours have proposed 5 minute slots per class with a range of gates it means up to 30 minutes between siblings- its a big school and so very very many people are going to end up hanging about on small pavements chatting / waiting with siblings. I am not sure school see this as their issue as it is off premises.

It also means some parents have to sprint around the external perimeter of a very large school site in an unfeasible amount of time so some children will be late / end up in next bubble slot as e.g. some reception and year 2 are opposite sides of site and parents can't leave either young child to dash around streets on their own.

I think it will break down and move to something else pretty quickly but I don't know what and appreciate its very hard for them to plan.

Sunflowerlover20 · 25/08/2020 19:09

A friend has 2 drops off literally 40 minutes apart so has got to sit in car with one child in the morning for 40 minutes and then in the car in the afternoon with the other at pick up time for another 40 minutes. Not allowed near school in between time’s as they don’t parents chatting while waiting for their time. Friend lives a 15 minute drive from the school so can’t go home either.

Sailingblue · 25/08/2020 19:09

Staggered starts in 10 min slots and two entrances. It is a bit of a pain because we’ll only have school for 5h50 so it is going to fly. Fortunately we have after school club running for a few days while I’m working otherwise it would have been impossible. I know not every school has been able to open theirs.

Redyoyo · 25/08/2020 19:19

We've been back for 2 weeks with staggered start times, 8:50, 9:00 & 9:10. Siblings are not taking into account my dd10 starts at 9:00 and dd8 starts at 9:10 luckily we live 5 mins from the school with no busy roads so eldest walks herself usually meets her friends at the end of the street and i walk dd8 round as shes a dawdler.
To be honest it is working really well the car park is flowing really well and the roads are not as busy, i hope they keep it up when this is over.