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.

so what do people do if they have KS 1 and 2 children? Drop of one then hang about the play ground for 30 minutes??

out school allows children to be dropped of from 8:30-8:45. Naturally this means children arriving is staggered. The teachers set up some basic activity’s for children to do from 8:30 and the prior days starts at 8:45. I think that makes more sense that expecting people to wait until 9:30 or hang about ages between dropping children in different key stages.

This is bizarre. At my dcs school reception is 8.30-8.45 & older years 8.45-8.55. I have one in year 1 & another starting reception next here. If I had to wait an hour I’d be fuming! Ridiculous.

Surely it makes more sense to maintain the 8.30 and have the olders start at 8.45?!

How is this going to work at the end of the day, it won’t stop congestion if the KS1 parents are still hanging around waiting for KS2 to finish, and KS2 parents are turning up to collect.

Parents with 2 kids have put the older kid in breakfast club so they can drop them both off at 8.30 (that’s why the breakfast club is full). Pick-up is the problem, the parents are having to wait for an hour or the teachers have the younger kids playing in the classroom for an hour until the older kids finish and the parent collects them together.

I can see how the 1hr gap is annoying for parents and teachers. I can see why they want to change it. But I can’t accommodate that change at 1 week notice. Not unless they create additional breakfast club spaces.

I need to know how people managed with an hour between drop offs in the morning. That's nuts!

Think the school are supposed to give considerable notice to changes to the school start or funish

I wonder if there's enough parents in your situation that it would fund another staff member to create more breakfast club places?

That wouldn't work if the school doesn't have enough space to actually accommodate extra children in wrap around care.

Those are crazy times to start with. I've never heard of more than 15minutes between ( and that was with separate infants and juniors schools to give time to walk between). Also starting at 9.30 must be finishing about 3.45, that's very close to when it gets dark in winter. Wouldn't it have made more sense to bring ks2 forward to reduce the gap? Either way, I'd expect more notice.

There's no statutory process for changing the school day. Guidance says stakeholders should be consulted as early as possible so you could argue they didn't do that, but it's not a requirement anyway.

I’m a primary teacher and still think this is batshit. I can’t think how the school manage this in a way that benefits them, or how they logistically staff it.

Why do they even have a staggered time

While a lot of the bureaucracy surrounding changes to the school day has been removed, schools are still required to consult with parents and other interested parties. See final paragraph here:

www.gov.uk/government/news/schools-given-freedom-from-bureaucratic-rules-to-have-control-over-school-day

I would go into school and complain about the lack of consultation.

I would complain too, that's ridiculous

It’s a great idea.

I can imagine it must be a nightmare if you’ve got kids on both ks1 and ks2 and this will be much better.

But they need to give a bit of leeway for parents who can’t get into the breakfast club.

Have you spoken to them about it?
As they’re used to starting at 8:30 anyway I’d ask if they’d be able to put on an extra breakfast club for a few weeks so parents can sort childcare out.

On these threads I usually find myself on the school's side, but I just don't see how anyone could think this is reasonable. They must know that many people start work at 9 and this will be unworkable, especially at such short notice.
You can't give up your job. That's beyond crazy. You have to put the onus back on them to sort the matter out. I'd be dropping my child off at the usual time and telling the staff to sort it out

They split the start times during Covid to halve the number of parents and kids arriving at any one time. I can see that it’s a pain for parents and teachers. I agree that it’s sensible to reduce the gap. But they haven’t consulted and many parents (including me) won’t be able to accommodate dropping off 30 minutes later, because childcare and jobs and everything have been arranged around an 8.30 drop off.

As I said, if the change was planned for September I could arrange a childminder or get a space in breakfast club, or negotiate with my boss, or even apply for a new job that starts later. But I can’t get childcare or a new job at a weeks notice.

For those asking how parents accommodate the gap - that’s not my problem. I presume they do the school run twice. But the school is taking their problem and making it my problem, and that’s not fair.

the teachers have the younger kids playing in the classroom for an hour until the older kids finish and the parent collects them together.

The teachers have been providing childcare in their classrooms for an hour?!

I presume the breakfast club is also paid for. So a lot of people are being forced to spend money on breakfast club that if there was a more reasonable start time would not be needed. What about those who struggle to afford this especially at the moment with the cost of living increases etc. So it is not just about inconvenience it is actually costing people money too.

Have you spoken to the school? You may find they'll help you out for a limited period

How is 9am not a reasonable start time?

Yes I have spoken to the school. They shrugged and said they’re allowed to change the start time, school is not childcare, and it’s my responsibility to make arrangements for my child. I said of course but not at a weeks notice!

It isn’t going to be “a few weeks” until I can get childcare either. The school said there will be no spaces in breakfast club until children leave in September. Local childminders have said the same. The time to make childcare arrangements is over the summer when kids leave school and places open up. Not in February!

I didn’t know about it until now but apparently a lot of the KS1 kids have been waiting in school for their siblings to finish, because the parents won’t do two pickups. And the school has decided that the gap is too big so they want to close it. Fair enough. But do it in September!

Why have they done it this way? Surely it makes more sense to bring the KS2 times back towards the ks1 times?!!

It makes sense for the congestion to have staggered times, but it's impractical.

that aside, definitely contact head/governors & say you'll lose your job and suggest KS2 starts & finishes half an hour earlier instead.

It needs to be until July when childcare places open up for September. That’s five months. And they’ve just shrugged and said it’s my problem.