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.

It's absolutely shit OP

I think I'd be posting everywhere, on community groups, Facebook school groups, babysitting groups etc to see if anyone can help you. For example if you have 5 parents in a similar situation you could all wait with the kids outside school for a bit for one day a week. A teen who lives nearby the school might be able to pop out and entertain them for half an hour for some extra cash. I'd keep the lines of communication with your work and explain a. What you're doing to try and remedy the situation with childcare and b. How youd make a temporary later start time work (make it clear its temporary) for example working a shorter lunch or working later or doing an unpopular task or shift or answering work calls (if appropriate) while you wait with kids.

They currently start at 8.40 (gates open 8.30), and finish at 3. In September it will either be 8.30-3 or 8.40-3.10. That’s a first school (years R-4), the middle school does 8.25-2.55 and as far as I know isn’t changing

The school sounds utterly crazy! I'd be looking to move my child to a school where they are actually living on this planet.

So here's the thing. There's multiple parents in the same situation. This means you have the option to share the insanity between you.

Are there any other parents who can help at all- at least in the short term?

I'd engineer a child swap with several other parents.

The school are nuts though

In my experience, the schools can not be reasoned with. This school sounds batshit anyway - do you really want your child going there?
I have, on more than one occasion, had to look at moving my children's school for childcare (lack of!) reasons. Luckily so far I haven't had to - but my younger is in yr3 so still plenty of time for the now only one childcare option to fall through (they just pulled the plug on the aftersvhool club fnat I was instrumental in getting started as there were no childcare options at all at one point - not a CM, nothing). All we have now is one childminder who happened to move to the area and her kids attend the school. If she goes... I'm fucked.
So yeah, working mothers get screwed regularly by childcare shocker!

He???

My guess is that by tomorow this will be backtracked as the amount of parents in an uproar will likely be alot.

I think this is likely too. Like many things, if you're the only person affected, you end up suffering; but if it's loads of people, the combined outcry almost always forces them into retreat. This is how it worked with the rocketing fuel prices and likely will again next winter, if the government don't put measures in place (assuming the fuel prices don't tumble back down, which would be the best solution, of course).

The whole 'school isn't childcare' excuse is ridiculous: parents obviously, quite reasonably, plan their employment around when their children will be in school in term time; and for universal credit claims, parents of school-age children are expected to be in (or actively seeking) work when their kids are in school, as there are teachers in loco parentis during school hours, which is exactly what childcare is, to all intents and purposes.

The head sounds like an absolute fool, highly irresponsible and unfit for the job if they are incapable of planning the school's timings (including appropriate notice periods for changes, preferably following parental consultations and full impact assessments) in any kind of acceptable way.

It's especially tone deaf during this period of upcoming strikes: I'm not saying that the teachers shouldn't be striking, but how would they react if you gave them one week's (or more) notice that your child WILL be in school for the standard term dates over the next term and, if they find that they need to close the school at any point, it's their problem to find a solution and not yours? What's sauce for the goose etc.....

If they are insisting on going ahead with this, the very minimum that they need to do is guarantee free breakfast club provision during term time until the end of the school year. If they can't do this at such short notice (especially as it is their choice to make the change and thus not short notice to them), how on earth do they expect you to accommodate it? I agree with PP: make it crystal clear (ideally together with other parents in the same boat) that it's their decision to make the change and obviously not realistic (if even legal) for you to be expected to be able to accommodate their preferred changes at such short notice, so what plans have they made in order for their changes to work?

Clearly, as somebody in the highly responsible position of a headteacher, they WILL have plans in place for such a radical change - so what are those plans, please? And, just to remove any shadow of doubt, "I dunno" or "You will have to find a way to accommodate my wishes" are not in any conceivable way acceptable plans, as the LEA will surely 'agree' (whether they like it or not).

Seriously, this is much more akin to the (lack of) thought-process of a teenager in their first job after leaving school, who blows all their wages on 'cool stuff' on payday and then suddenly realises that they still have outstanding bills to meet and food to buy for the whole month; not a mature adult in the trusted position of a school headteacher.

Seriously? Get a random teen to entertain little kids on the street for half an hour (won’t they be at school themselves anyway). Hand your kid to a random off Facebook. Take turns standing outside the school with a group of kids who could run into traffic. This is absolutely insane and not suitable. My DC (and other DC) need to be safely in school, either at breakfast club or in class.

Why on earth was there ever an entire hour between start times?! That's just ridiculous and clearly not geared towards parents who work and have multiple children🤦‍♀️ our school start time is you can drop them off anytime between 8:35am-8:45am for every year group. You're definetely not being unreasonable for being annoyed at the 1 weeks notice either. Are you friends with any parents that you could drop one of your children off with who could take them in to school when they take their kids?

Grandparents are too elderly and disabled for childcare. DP goes to work at 8am in an inflexible job. The school run is on me. And it’s not my employers fault, they hired someone to start at 9am and I signed up for it. This is solely the fault of the school. There are literally no childcare spaces till September.

This affected our reception classes.

KS1 has always been 8:50 - 3:20
Reception used to finish as 3:10.
They've had to change it to 3:20
To meet the new requirements.

Is this in the UK?! Contact the governors and the local authority to see if you can ruffle any feather there. This is insane. I have never heard of a state school starting after 9!am - what time do they finish?!

KS2 finishes at 4. I agree it’s late but that’s not my problem. I agree that it’s difficult for parents who have a 1hr gap between pickups but that’s not my problem either. My problem is that they’ve announced, with 24 hours notice before half term, that when the kids come back they’ll be starting half a hour later. The lack of notice means I’m likely to lose my job because I can’t get childcare or change jobs at such short notice.

Start a formal complaint. Find the school’s complaint policy and start following it. Get any like minded parents to do the same. Then escalate as per the policy. Point out although they don’t have to consult on changing the school day, the DfE says it is good practice to consult. The reality is parents do use school as childcare to be able to work and to put a change in like this with minimal notice is going to cause stress, and is a thoughtless given a cost of living crisis. I would ask the school if one of the TAs could help out at breakfast club and create some extra spaces.

Why aren't you looking at other schools with childcare avaliable if you are going to lose your job? It is what I, and countless others have had to do. I had to move my eldest years ago for the same reason, and may yet have to move my younger 2 if things go that way. I'm not sacrificing my career, financial security, or house.

You think I should have to uproot my child from school and friends just to accommodate other parents who aren’t happy with their schedule? When it could easily be accommodated if the change were made at a more reasonable time with sufficient notice, eg September?

8.30 seems early anyway if op had choices of schools like ours it would be 8.50 to 9.00 so not much help

Agree teens are likely to be going to school re help

I don't understand why people are saying "find a different school" when the issue is starting Monday morning. Like you can just do that 🙄
People who move house to a completely different town can't even find places at different schools.
@Nariiad I think a temporary solution is to find another parent who you can drop your daughter off at and they can take her in to school for you. This is what people would have meant by finding someone "on Facebook" - going onto the school or PTA Facebook groups (or WhatsApp or whatever).
Do you have any contacts for other school parents? Phone numbers or email?
A "random" teenager could actually be a well established local babysitter who doesn't need to be at college/uni until later in the day so will be happy to babysit for half an hour and then drop off at school.
You need to be communicating with the other school parents.
When my daughter was in primary I frequently took classmates in if their mums had to dash to work or I would stay with them in the playground until the teachers took them in. It was no bother to me at all. I expect there will be plenty of parents who will help you out with this. You just need to ask.

Do you not have a single school mum friend who would watch your child with theirs for 30 mins? I know it's not great and school have screwed you over but ranting about it isn't going to help right now. Start looking for solutions

Just ask the school if your child can sit in a classroom with the teacher from 8.30am until you can make other arrangements. Teachers are usually in school well before lesson starts. I don't think they'll want you to lose your job over this.

I had my meeting with the HT at 8.45 this morning because she’s in school to prep for Monday. She shrugged and said we’ve given you 10 days notice. 9 days of which are over half term when people including childminders are on holiday and can’t be contacted!

I complained there had been no consultation and she shrugged again and said we will bear that in mind for the future. I asked how many parents are affected by waiting for a sibling vs how many can’t get to work on time, she said she can’t discuss that information. Basically just grey rock, this is what’s happening and we don’t care how it affects you.

She did say she is taking a roster of parents who can’t accommodate the change at short notice and looking to make emergency spaces in breakfast club, but it depends how many need it, they may not be able to take everyone. So that’s a result, but I’m still waiting to find out and it’s for Monday!

If your complaint with the head got nowhere, next step is Chair of Governors.

The whole thing is bonkers - the original set up with 2 start times an hour apart, and then changing it with hardly any notice!

In terms of helpful suggestions, I'd try:

1. Speak to the school and ask whether your child can continue to come to school early, until you sort alternative arrangements, and just sit in reception or their classroom.

1. Ask whether breakfast club can be expanded - if there's physically space, then they probably just need an extra member of staff, which could be paid for by allowing more kids to attend.

1. Get together with other parents in the same boat and see if you can take it in turns to mind all the DC outside school. Ask work if you can use leave to come in half an hour late once a week (or however often you'd have to do it) until you sort something. Also ask what other parents are doing - you mind find that someone is getting grandparents roped in and they'd be happy to have your DC too (obviously offer to pay them), to keep theirs company, or something.

1. Write to the Board of Governors and ask them to put something in place, or to postpone the change until September.

1. Write to your local MP, parish council, whatever you have and ask them to help.

1. Contact local newspapers etc and ask them to share the story.