Reception staggered starts are overkill?! UPDATE

[SMLSML]

I posted recently about how people manage staggered starts for reception... A lot of people said legally that schools have to take them full time if asked. For context my little one starts in September and will do 3 weeks of 2 hour sessions...

She currently goes to preschool full time and after-school club until 5pm. Childcare aside I honestly do think she will find it very disruptive and think we'll spend more time taking her to and from school. 4 other parents agree with me, however this is the response I've had from the headteacher... Is it even worth challenging? I totally get the gradual approach but 3 weeks feels overkill...

Just unsure of what to do and no idea how I'll manage 😩 I honestly don't believe it'll be beneficial for my little one either. Any advice appreciated!

I think what most parents so strongly dislike is the outdated assumption that it is a choice between full time school, and a gradual transition with lovely stay at home mummy picking you up and taking you home to unwind each day.

In reality for the vast majority of children it is a choice between a clear, consistent full time start to school, and a chaotic mix of poor quality ad hoc childcare, parents struggling with work commitments, a massive upheaval from their normal routine.

There are very few sahp now. We have to reflect that starting school full time is usually the better option for the child now.

Ok I am the working parent who refused staggered start and part time attendance in reception !.
I flatly told the school we had to vacate our nursery as of 1st Sept and that we were not able to take time off work to pick up after just 2- 3 hours at school. I work as a teacher and husband at the time worked long days in London.
I pointed out that our children had bene in full time nursery since age 8months and had a longer nursery day than a standard school day and would cope. I forced the school to deal with it!! The school tried to argue they could not accommodate and so I pointed out that if my child was prevented from attending the settling in part time sessions it would impact their friendships and opportunity to build the early friendships and routines.
The school sucked it up and got on with it. My youngest was also dropped of at 7.30am early breakfast club on his first day in reception to the horror of the headteacher. I smiled said goodbye and collected at 4pm!! My chikd had a fabulous time and there were no issues.😊

I started school in 1984 and didn’t have a staggered start of X hours per day! It was the norm where I lived to start the September born children in September and then start a few more children every couple of weeks until the late summer born Childers started at Easter. Anyway, I remember being dropped at school and spent the day playing in the Wendy house with another girl. My mum came and picked me up and the teacher told her I had been happy all day with no tears and she could bring me back tomorrow to start full time if she wanted to, and that was that.

At DS’s school the have one half day and then they are in full time. However, they make it clear that if parents feel their child would benefit from a more gradual start they are happy to agree this. Therefore, everyone is happy.

Totally agree.

And two hours a day isn’t even enough to let you just take a half day off work, you’d need to take a full day. That’s 15 days of annual leave for the three week period OP’s school is doing. It’s completely impractical, especially for any single parents. It’s such a huge chunk of leave.

Please can I ask OP of you have got any further.

I am having the same issue with our school, I have quoted the Admissions policy, the schools Adjudicator report and even checked with DofE helpline who confirmed the entitlement. Yet, the Head is still refusing to give me an earlier date saying 'it is up to school to decide'. The first group is starting reception on the 4th but I've been given a start date of the 10th! I just don't have the annual leave. I honestly don't know what to do.

Have you spoken to your local authority?
Is the school part of an academy?

Yes I rang admissions at the council for advice and they said it was a matter for Department for Education. DofE did confirm my understanding of the admissions policy was correct but suggested I speak to the Head. Feel like I am going round in circles now.
It is a voluntary aided maintained school. They close for summer next Friday so I am running out of time to follow any complaints procedure too.

What a load of absolute bollocks! Maybe take a look at the law.

Agree! So many ignorant of the law.

I’d go to the press. It’s despicable that outdated headteachers think they’re above the law.

I'd speak to the education department of the council again, ask that they speak to the Head on your behalf.
I'd request your 15/30 hours funding for that week too since the school are refusing to allow you to use it and say you need to use it with a childminder that week.

Awful isn't it 😫 None of the parents who agreed with me initially wanted to push it for fear of being 'that parent'. Not happy at all but we're having to do a juggle of annual leave between my husband and I and grandparents. I still think this will be more confusing for my little one overall 😩 but the reply from the head pretty much said they wouldn't budge. So sorry you're having the same issue, is mad how all schools are so different. One of my colleagues children is starting the same time, they have 2 shorter days then straight in as normal, just so frustrating 🙃

I’d suggest contacting the school governors copying in the head teacher and local education department asking why the school is prepared to breach legislation?

Thanks for this. It's a hard one as I'd be on my own doing it and don't want to be 'that' parent before even starting properly... Totally get this is how this keeps happening as no one wants to challenge it but think this is the issue sadly 🥺 the whole system needs overhauling and made optional in my eyes. Can only hope it's changed for when my second starts school 🤞🏻

You’ll probably find others will follow your lead - it happened with us and ended up the majority over both DT’s classes notifying the school that their DC’s would be attending full time from day one.

No one wants to be first to stick their head above the parapet but plenty will follow.

I had this several years ago when my three year old started lower foundation at 3, I went down the funding route, so not sure if it would be the same with starting upper foundation at four.
We told school that they were getting her funding so needed to have her in. They ended up compromising and sharing the funding with her old child minder who had her the first week in sept, then the school had her in full time as other children had similar two hour stints visits.

I can't believe you're not taking this further with the LA! It's not about being "that parent", it's about calling out a school who are blatantly not acting in accordance with the guidelines. They must take your child, and by contacting the LA, they will ensure the school stops this ridiculous nonsense being 'mandatory', as they have no rights whatsoever to refuse to take your child or any child in this situation full-time.

You let them get away with this now, they will continue to piss you off over shit like this for the next 7 years. More fool you for not challenging this. Schools have conditioned people to not challenge what they are told by the teachers, thank fuck I opted out of this shite and home educate my children, who are free thinkers and are encouraged to question things. And this coming from me, a former teacher, never fitted in because I didn't agree with the bullshit conditioning and indoctrination that goes on.

Contact your MP?

Having been both a reception teacher and a year 2 teacher, that's not quite true. You're dealing with known children in year 2, not in reception. You also have to completely reset the environment in reception, not in year 2. It's a much, much bigger job. Completely different. However, I do agree that this school is being completely ridiculous, and that children should be able to be in full time from day 1. I personally thought that having one day split in half so that we had half in at a time was really helpful, but I'm clear it was helpful for us rather than the children!!!

No, the LA wont get involved.

The school maybe a trust and in that case the LA have no jurisdiction. If it is a maintained school, Local Management of Schools’ means governors are responsible and accountable.

The LA may advise on the legalities but will direct you back to the school complaints procedure, in order that the governing board investigates.

Yes thank you that's the advice I have had.

The LA won't intervene and said speak to the school or DofE. DofE said speak to the LA but did confirm on the phone her entitlement to full time, I have requested this in writing but not received it yet.

With my school it is maintained, I have gone as far as I can with the Head, she is adamant that it is up for schools to decide how reception start, even when presented with thw guidance. So I will need to follow the complaints procedure, however the Head is retiring next Friday on the last day of term and the complaints process is so drawn out it'll be after my daughter has started school even with the delayed start.
I will process the complaint still, but it is likely I will need to see if preschool will have her back again so September.

I'm more surprised that somebody would have taken the time to admit the children prior to their start date (which completely screws up attendance data for the entire year if any of them decide to go to other schools or EHE), create aspects for the academic year, build marksheets for each class - and then didn't just import from a csv file in five minutes including coffee, but insisted that the teachers used the spreadsheets they'd have to have downloaded from the DfE and split into classes first in order to type them in manually. (seeing as the Y6 data is already in by July and there certainly won't be a data drop in the first week of September)

Tell them you will be collecting at the end of the day on Day 1. End of.

They are legally required to start them full time from Day 1 if that's what you choose.

That’s what I’d do if I had a head flatly ignoring the DoE clarification of the legislation.

I wouldn’t be asking, I’d be sending a message along the general gist of “thankfully we’ve now had it clarified by DoE that schools are required to offer full time places from the start of term, so that’s what we will be taking up.”