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.

That sounds crazy! Similar to someone else, my youngest’s school is having to change the school day to add 10 minutes from September, and has sent out a survey on whether parents would prefer it in the morning or afternoon. An hour’s stagger is ridiculous even for during Covid, let alone keeping it until now. Ours introduced a 10 min stagger. Even 9 is a late school start, and 9.30 is very late

This does sound pretty batshit tbh (and I'm similar to pp, usually on schools side with things). I'd be interested to know if school governors were consulted and what their views were.

As a governor I was told recently that our school would be increasing the school day (in line with new govt regs) from the next term (I think) so would expect that such a drastic alteration would have been put
to governors .....who should have said woah you can't do that with one weeks' notice

Yes it’s paid for. So by changing the start time they move the burden from one person to another. Some no longer need breakfast club because they can drop the kids off closer together. While others like me will have to start paying for it because the start time has moved later. In fact I wish I could start paying for it, because currently they can’t accommodate DC so I’m screwed!

The school has requested that any parents who no longer need breakfast club because they can now drop their kids off closer together, should vacate their spot to give it to people like me, who now need breakfast club. Not a single person has pulled their kid out of breakfast club!

On a tangent....but schools which are adding ten mins to the school day, what are your current timings?

My children's primary is 9 to 2 for p1-3 and 9-3 for p4-7. Which I think is long enough. I've two at secondary school too, the grammar is 9 to 3.25 and non selective is 9.05 to 3.15.

Absolutely crazy that they’ve given you such short notice, and you won’t be the only parent struggling with last minute childcare issues thrust upon you. Definitely complain to the school. I’ve worked in schools for many years, pre-children, and I’ve never heard of something like that happening in such a short time frame.

That is absolutely ridiculous. Completely clueless to the sort of juggling parents have to do.

Their initial set up was bonkers too though so I'm guessing it's not a school that particularly cares about parental logistics.

A big gap in time sounds madness for those with siblings at separate times

If the school are being unhelpful in this then talk to your work. Explain it's a temporary situation for a few months and you need to change your starting time if possible. Obviously this will all depend on what your job is but in a lot of jobs a bit of rejigging for the sake of 30 minutes can be done.
Forget the school for now - get work sorted.
Then complain to the school governors and local authority/academy group (depending on whether you are a LA or Academy school).

Correct. And give quite a bit of notice if any changes

I think that's unusual. I've never worked anywhere except split infant/juniors that isn't 9-3.30, even for Reception children (P1, sort of).

The change will be a pain for infant/juniors though where the infant school often finishes 15 minutes before the juniors to allow parents to get between sites.

Is it really only one week's notice? What about anyone who will be away, perhaps visiting family who live a distance away as I used to as a child over the February half term?

Single parents are more likely to be in full time employment I expect, so you could argue a form of discrimination.

Technically it’s about 10 days because they informed us on the Friday before half term that the change would start on the first day back. Great timing, you have a hard time complaining because the school is closed!

Not a single person has pulled their kid out of breakfast club!

They're probably all waiting to see what happens next. The whole situation sounds like madness. How do other parents feel?

I suppose those with two kids are thrilled. At the expense of people like me who will lose their job.

@Nariiad have you actually talked to your work about this as you have known about it since last Friday?
Would you really just be fired on the spot? I don't think they could do that.

They haven’t fired me. But they’ve said they can’t accommodate a later start time and I’ll need to find childcare. Which I can’t find at a weeks notice in Feb when all the childcare spaces are full. It will all blow up on Monday when I can’t get to work for 9am after they’ve told me I have to.

So much for employers being flexible for working parents ! How long have you worked in your job? Could you send the child to grand parents for a few days to give you more time to try and find a solution. Have you asked to see if any other mums can help you out for while ! Hopefully with the cost of living some parents might stop the breakfast club who don't need it any more.

Don't blame this on her employers. I had some jobs were this could have been accommodated and others where this couldn't.
This is squarely on the shoulders of a humongously unreasonable school. I can't believe the governors allowed it. They should have made provision for parents who couldn't do this. The op can't be the only person who's struggling with this, so I'd be complaining to everyone： governors, councillors and mp.

It shocks me that they've done this and it's equally shocking that 25 people think they've behaved reasonably. 🤷‍♀️

Obviously we have no idea what your job is @Nariiad but they sound more unreasonable than the school.
Tell them you need to take half an hour emergency unpaid leave on Monday morning and request an emergency meeting with your manager for Monday.
Show them all the communication from the school including details of the breakfast club that has no spaces. Tell them calmly and clearly this is an unexpected and unplanned situation and is temporarily. You might be able to sort something within the week like dropping your child of at a friend's house and the friends parent takes them to school (infact that's an option I would go for).
Are they really that prepared to lose a member of staff over a 30 minute situation that could be sorted within days?

The whole set up is totally bonkers to start with. I’ve never come across a school like this (except during covid). I’d complain, there’s nowhere near enough notice. Then I’d look to change schools if possible to one that has normal start and finish times.

They should give more notice of changes but at the same time that difference in start time is ridiculous and would cause you problems in the future if it stays the same

I think since the school are being so unreasonable I’d be going to the local paper, bet they’d find a solution then.

Are there any other local schools with space and a more sensible start time, you might find that you could arrange an in year transfer faster than a childcare space. You absolutely shouldn’t have to, but if you’re job is really on the line needs must.

We currently drop off between 8.40 and 8.50, and collect at 3.10. There is no variation between key stages (though nursery start at 9). We drop off at classroom doors so if you’ve got more than one child you have to be pretty speedy in the morning.

How on earth can they expect children and parents to wait 1 hour between start times! I can’t believe they have been getting away with that - it is ridiculous! 930 is too late to start the school day and I bet they are into morning break within 1 hour.

If they extended the window for drop off between 845-9 for all, there wouldn’t be an issue with congestion as parents would drop and go, keeping traffic flowing.

Do you have a partner that could help share the drop offs?