To think that queueing outside the school gates is weird

[winterwonder1]

I may be totally out of kilter here (I only have experience of dropping off at one primary school), but is it normal to have to queue outside school for 15 minutes every morning?
We were allocated a different primary for youngest (a PITA in itself, but hey ho) and the new school has a system where parents have to queue outside the gates, which then open at 8.45am.
Everyone then walks their kids through narrow walkways to their building inside the site (a fair walk to reception block) for an 8.50am start. It's a big school and a bunfight of parents, kids and scooters all trying to get in to the site at once, in a really small window of time.
If you're not in the queue by 8.30am (so one of the first ones on site) it's a real scramble to get to the classrooms on time.
In elder kids' school, gates open at 8.30am, giving 20 minutes to get everyone where they need to be and meaning there's not so many people jostling to get in at once.
AIBU to think this could be done a lot better? Or were we just lucky with the other school and this is normal?

Our school kids are dropped at the gate and then parents go to work

3 months summer holidays!

Mine are at Secondary now but attended 5 schools between them.

School 1... gate opened 15 mins before, then the kids lined up on playground when bell rang

School 2... you could drop them off at gate 10mins before bell. Tbe school buses arrived 5-10mins before bell, then lined up on playground (no parents past the gate, 90% came on bus anyway)

School 3... playground wasnt fenced, and churchyard also used (Junior school)

School 4... Covid times you had to line up at different gates at different times

School 5... children in older years could only be unaccompained on site from 10 mins before bell, but gates were open from 7.30 to allow breakfast club drop off.

Bizarre.

Our school gates open at 8:20. Warning bell at 8:45 and you must be seated at your desk by 8:50.

Our kids like getting there right on 8:20 so they can play handball.

This is in Australia. I had no idea the start of school was so rigid back home.

Gates open slightly before or at 8:45am, drop off between 8:45-8:55, but there are four gates and they open onto the school yard so plenty of space for people to trickle in. There’s usually a queue 5-10 mins ahead of time but that’s because the vast majority walk to school so sometimes you get there early, sometimes it takes a while, and it disperses within less than a minute.

Teachers don’t get paid by the minute, so it won’t have anything to do with the wage bill.

Yes it gets very hot here in the summer.

Ah fair,

Why not? They probably don’t realise the stress it’s creating. The teachers will mostly be busy inside preparing for their day.

So is the UK now (the south at least)

Our school has a soft start between 8.40 - 8.50 and gates open at 8.30 so plenty of time and space for everyone to arrive without getting crowded. Your school sounds bonkers!

Soft start would make it so much easier!

School gate opens at 8:40 and closes at 8:50. You don't have to go in with them in the morning, but you need to go in and pick them up from the playground in the afternoon. My son claims to like going in at 8:40 because he can take his time getting to his classroom and isn't rushing to his seat. Most mornings at 8:40 I'm telling him to brush his teeth and get his shoes on though and he'll be trailing through the gate at 8:49.

Do other parents find the system doesn't work well? Enough of you emailing the school to complain might get them to try something else.

We are new, so I can't work out if it's fine for everyone else or not. Judging by how many are sprinting out on phones I imagine a lot are rushing back to login for 9am, but I don't know anyone to ask yet.

Yup, they never lock the gates at our Scottish school. You can arrive whenever you like. Younger kids the parents hang around till the line forms by the classroom when then staff come out/just before the bell rings. Older kids just get popped through the gate and parent runs off to catch the bus to work or whatever.

we also have restricted space on paths so each class has instructions on which gate/where to stand to keep the crowds down. And scooting etc in the playground is banned (although the younger kids all ignore this).

Your system is bonkers, OP.
Our gates open at 8:30. Children are meant to arrive for 8:40. Between 8:30 and 8:40 staff are not on duty and children are still in their parents' care (so no higher wage bill), but that 10 minutes gives everyone time to get to the right bit of the school before the bell goes and they open the classroom doors.

They will not be changing their start times because you (or anyone else) has moaned.
The system does sound a bit odd though. You’re saying all the children only have 5 minutes to get themselves to class or they’re considered late?? Do they actually record them as late?? Personally I’d be turning up as it suited me ( within the time frame) and them just getting to class as soon as possible but without stressing. My advice is to ride with the system and worry about it less!

I’m sure the school have noticed! Rather than ask them, find a veteran parent and ask them. There will
probably be a tale of the various things which have been tried over the years. It could be as simple as they used to do what you suggested but various parents abused it by dropping off their child earlier than they should have done knowing that there would be staff on site, hoping that they would step in if there was a problem and there being some sort of incident.
Even if the school had the money - which they won’t - what about the logistics? There may be members of staff who need to drop their own DC at school etc and who may not be able
to make it in 5 mins earlier to accommodate your suggestion?

I think ask. It's weird you can't just walk and wait outside the room.

Back in the “good old days” when I was at primary (1980s) the school gate was always open and kids just rocked up whenever before school, and played on the playground and we waited for the whistle to go before we made our own way to class. Some kids were dropped off
an hour or more before school if parents needed to go to work!

Our gates open about 8:30am, kids and parents trickle in from then onwards, kids play on the playground and the field, parents stand and wait, class teachers come out just before 8:50, children head towards their ‘lines’, bell goes at 8:50, and children go in and parents go home.
End of the day, gates open about 3:05, parents wait in playground, kids come out at 3:15

I’d mention it. While you have experience of another system, they may not, and may agree to trial it. It sounds like a chaotic system.

So much chaos this morning in the rain!

Ours have a ten minute soft start. They used to have a chance to play in the playground and talk to their friends which was sweet, but then the school moved to early morning work, so it’s straight in to start the task.

Gates open at 8.45 for an 8.50 start sounds crazy for a large school. There's a queue outside ours and it also opens 8.45, but kids are supposed to be seated by 8.55 and it's a single form intake, so not a huge school.

I start work at 8.30 so use the drop off club anyway, and for £3 a day it's a much easier, less stressful start to the day, even if DS is only in there 20 mins.