Should I refuse reception settling in days if I can?

[Jiski]

Hi,

Has anyone ever gotten their child to stay full time when it’s supposed to be a settling in day. Can you do it? How did you do it?

I’ve read on an old post that it was possible, but the link to government guidance doesn’t work and I don’t know if I just can’t find it or if it’s outdated advice now.

My son already goes to nursery full time and does lots of other activities like Squirrels and swimming so he’s used to long days. Also, I don’t think he needs to settle in as he’s been to playgroup at the school a number of times and should be in a class with 3 of his nursery friends.

FYI I don’t have any annual leave left as my annual leave year resets in November.

Thanks

Op . I know lots of kids f/t from day one exhausted . My Ds was absolutely hyper - loved it . Each child bus different . This is when they just started one intake the year before would have started January as he is classed as summer born

There should be some flexibility for those children that find it harder @OrangeLemonLime24 but in reception, the vast majority of children will find it easier and much quicker to settle full time from day 1.

The real settling in period starts from the point that all (or most) children are in full time.

Parents always use the argument that their children have been in a nursery from 8.30 - 6pm. They seem to forget this is a new environment for their children ,with new classmates, new adults, new rules and a totally different routine. It's similar to an adult starting a new job and we all know how overwhelming that can be. And these children are only 4.
A settling in period really does benefit most children.

I agree. Also, not all children go to nursery before they start school, and not all of those who do have full time nursery placements . My daughter didn't go to nursery and it was really helpful for her to have a two week settling in period.

In my experience it really doesn't. All it does is delay the children actually settling. How can they settle when the routine is not fixed and they aren't doing all the stuff they would be doing at school e.g having lunch, doing afternoons or being with all their classmates?

All it does is shift the actual settling in several days or weeks down the road.

How does a mixed up routine help - a few hours in school and then some hours with whoever you can ask a favour from? Different routine on different days. Would be a nightmare.

A couple who I'm friends with insisted on full time from the start and the school allowed it. They are both secondary school teachers with no family nearby - they can't take annual leave or shift their hours, or wfh, they have to be in.
They didn't like doing it, because they know the school wasn't trying to be difficult on purpose, and they didn't want to be difficult parents. But there was no other option.

I didn’t bother as I didn’t want mine missing a paid nursery day. He was fine when he started school

What a stupid thing to say about the teachers. They will have planned in advance. It’s for the children. You lot who have had your children in full time nursery will not be paying for that anymore so take annual leave or unpaid parental leave to support your child with the transition.

At the end of the day, school isn't childcare. As a working parent, you need plan A, plan B and Plan C as you just don't know what's going to happen. Random development days, DC being off sick, school closed due to no heating etc. using up all of your AL is not a good plan! Has your husband used all his too? Unfortunately parents usually havexto stagger their leave. Are there no other parents even that you know, so you can help eachother out? That's generally how I got by.

Do what you want OP. You're going to ask to go full time no matter what anyone here says

Some children don’t need a transition period. Most parents keep their annual leave to cover some of the school holidays and unpaid parental leave is at your employers discretion as to when you take it. DH is a GP - not very practical for him taking parental leave.

This. How are you going to manage with no annual leave. Honestly teachers do have a good reasons for staggering starts (and no its not to organise the classroom and themselves !) Reception is a big change for all children.. its a really big event in their little lives can you not just use AL for that week between you both (or flexible working) and then week 2 request they are in full time. It cannot be that difficult to organise if you are already working flexibly enough that you won't need afterschools.

No school isn’t childcare. School is important and I expect them to be there during term time for the entire school day. Which is why I have organised childcare for the times/days my children are not in school. So, to randomly say my child cannot be in school when I expect them to be leaves me with a childcare hole.

My husband will be working 6.30-3 and do pick up. I will start work at 9.30 after drop off. The pattern is the flexible working request. I can’t just do half days at a whim and neither can my husband

At our local school, my kids went morning only for a couple of weeks and that allowed the teachers time to do all the home visits, so nothing about the teachers needing time to sort themselves out. As if; they sort their classrooms out on the TED days and over the holidays.

We don’t have home visits. I didn’t even know that was a thing.

What’s the settling in looking like? Is it two days of half days or until half term?

School isn't childcare, but children have a school place 9ish-3ish, 195 days of the year. Schools are funded to provide that.
Working parents organise there lives around that, the Government organises it's expectations for parents working around that, so schools do need to provide that.

Sorry but if you were on benefits you couldn’t say that your not going to work because your children is in school and you need to be there just in case. The government have already made their position quite clear on that. school can be more than one thing.

We did the opposite and refused full
time for the whole year for our summer born . They have to accommodate either way - full time education the term after a child’s fifth birthday

Lots of schools don’t do a settling in period and have all the reception children start fulltime from day one as the norm, certainly that’s the case in my local area. Settling in weeks are not necessary although I appreciate they suit some children. I teach reception, albeit in an SEN school and we let the parents pick the type of transition they want. Some choose full-time straight away, others want to build up slowly, it’s about what suits the child. I do admit I do appreciate it when a few of the kids are doing a slow transition rather than all of them starting fulltime as it makes it easier for me to get to know them and gives a less hectic start to the year but lots of children are fine with fulltime straight away. You know your child best and if they would cope fulltime from day one it’s completely reasonable to push for this from the school.

I'm sure you realise this but school is going to be different to nursery so if you have no annual leave until November you are going to struggle. I loved nursery in comparison to school because the children went all day and there was no half-terms, inset days etc or really any expectations that parents were available to pop in for meet the teacher, Easter bonnet parades, etc. You need cover for a lot more holidays, illness (your child's not yours), INSET, half days at end of term etc than previously.

Isn't it sad that education has become all about childcare.

Our school spends the first week doing at home visits so there isn’t a teacher in to watch them.
The second week was half days. Do either if you work from home? Take 2/3 days parental leave each?