To think the school is BU?

[Nariiad]

DC’s school has staggered start times. Reception and KS1 (including DC) starts at 8.30 and KS2 starts at 9.30. Some parents have complained that they have to wait too long between picking up their younger and older DC. So the school has decided that after half term Reception and KS1 will start at 9am in order to reduce the amount of time that parents have to wait to collect older siblings.

I start work at 9am so I need to drop DC off at 8.30. I’m not happy with the change because it basically means I can’t get to work. And I’m incredibly annoyed that the school has just dropped this on us at a weeks notice with no consultation. If they had said it would change in September then I could have arranged for DC to attend breakfast club at 8am. But breakfast club is full until kids leave in September, and the new start time begins next week. So basically I am fucked, I can’t get to work for 9am and I’m going to lose my job.

AIBU to think that this is absolutely shocking and unfair? I have no idea what to do. There are no breakfast club spaces and no local childminder spaces till September. I was expecting to be able to drop DC off at 8.30 for another 2.5 years until she reaches KS2 age, and now this problem has been dropped in my lap with a weeks notice.

presumably this is to help mitigate staffing issues, in which case the school is simply doing the best it can

I can see the rationale for the time change but a week's notice is appalling for all the reasons you cite. They should have given at least a half term's notice and expanded the breakfast club provision for parents who needed it.

No they have said it’s to reduce the time that parents with younger and older kids have to wait between dropoff and pickup times.

They are supposed to consult parents on changes to timings of the school day.

Check with breakfast club if the change for juniors means some spaces have opened up. Not ideal but may help.

but otherwise I would turn it onto the head and ask what he suggests you do at such short notice.

I would be contacting the head urgently to state that you will lose your job as a result of this decision. I would also contact your workplace to request a later start date due to circumstances out of your control.

Thats beyond shit. They forget they don't operate in a bubble

Why are ks2 starting at 9.30? This whole situation is bizarre

YANBU.

That is ridiculous.

I would email and the school and also the governors stating that at such short notice, this will be a potential SAFEGUARDING issue due to younger children having to be dropped off at 8.30 and having to wait until 9am until they can enter the classroom as there is no way that parents can change their working times at such short notice and there is no space in breakfast club.

I would then ask if they are prepared to provide an additional breakfast club from next week starting at 8.30am.

Have you spoken to school about the problems this brings? I would do that first.

I’d be raging over this too - they’ve given you a weeks notice, that’s nowhere near enough time to sort out alternative arrangements. I’m sure you won’t be the only one impacted though, hopefully if lots of parents say they can’t rearrange things with such short notice they will sort something out.

Complain. No advance notice. Sept would have been more appropriate. Slightly insane to begin with though an 8.30 and 9.30 start surely something like 8.30 and 8.45 would have been better

100%

How strange to stagger the start time so much. That sounds extremely annoying and inconvenient. Do parents really hang around for an hour waiting to drop if their ks2 children after dropping ks1 child at 8.30?! 😳

The short notice for a change is also not on.

What an absolutely bizarre set up, in dd’s class half the parents would have had to spend an hour hanging around every morning.

I can’t imagine you’re the only person in this position, I would be complaining loudly to the head and the governors/MAT.

in the meantime, are there any friends of dd who would have her for the extra half hour until you can get something sorted?

Crazy situation to begin with having some years starting at 8.30 and some at 9.30. I have never heard of those hours anywhere.
I would be making an urgent appointment with the head, and my boss. Explaining the situation to both and seeing whether either will offer any flexibility.

They staggered the start times during Covid and kept it that way because it reduced congestion with cars parking outside.

My guess is that by tomorow this will be backtracked as the amount of parents in an uproar will likely be alot. I am hoping your work will agree for you to start later.

As someone else said, I’m fairly sure they are meant to have a consultation period before any time changes but I’m guessing they will say that they consulted the people with children in KS1 & KS2.

What time do they both finish? I’ve never heard of a school starting as late as 9:30! That’s madness.

Just to add, our school have been told that they need to add an extra 10 minutes to the school day to comply with the new minimum hours, so they’ve sent out a survey to see if people would prefer the extra to be in the morning or afternoon, and nothing will change until September. That’s how such changes should be done.

This would drive me mad OP. Both the ridiculous lack of communication, and also to be honest the whole concept of KS2 starting so late. Do they finish late too? Or just have a really short school day??

Very odd to have school start at 9.30 or even 9! Well it would be around here. I'm surrounded by a lot of primaries and the latest any of them start is 8.40. When did the 8.30/9.30 staggering begin? Sounds absolutely crazy to expect parents to either do two trips or hang around for an hour

Umm so was KS1, 9am pre-covid if so they will potentially just say they are returning to the original time.

Hopefully your boss will be understanding until you sort something out.

If KS2 start at 9.30, what time do they finish?! I have never heard of a school starting that late!

Also even the new time will mean people with siblings hanging around for half an hour. So still annoying for them too! (Although not as bad as an hour.)

I would complain, this is too short notice, plus the reasoning of covid car parking no longer applies.