What does your child do between 8:45 and 9am at school?

[Newbie887]

Just had a parent consultation where we were told off for being “late” every day. Apparently my daughter is unable to complete the work they are mean to be doing between 8:45am and 9am, and is often upset because of this. She is 6 years old and in Y1.

The school day starts at 9am (or so I had assumed). Doors open at 8:45am for drop off and shut at 9am. They school has requested that children be dropped off at 8:45am in order to be ready to learn by 9am. I had assumed this meant coming in, sorting out bags and coats, and generally transitioning into the classroom.

My problem is I can’t get my daughter there any earlier than 8:50-9:00 due to having to drop my son off at his school. A lot of the other parents who have older children who have moved on from this infant school to their nearest primary have the same problem due to it being a rural area.

Is it unreasonable to expect learning to start at 9am rather than 8:45am? What do other peoples kids drop off / starting school schedules look like?

Is the starting time 8:45, but they keep the doors open for the latecomers for 15 minutes or is the starting time 9am but the doors are open for 15minutes for the early birds?

When mine were in primary the doors opened at 8.30am. They were all expected to be in classrooms by 8.45am and actual teaching started at 9.00am. The 15 minutes were to get coats off and get ready to start the day - so chatting and generally getting settled. The school considered this an essential 'decompressing' time for the children.

Fwiw, my dc's school has a staring time of 8:45 but they open the doors and let the early kids get settled from 8:30.

Our school starts at 8.45. Children do early morning work which is extra consolation practice of things they did the day/days before or pre-teaching of new learning.

You need to prioritise getting your children to school on time. Why are they at different schools? Why is the same one always dropped off first? Can you use a breakfast club/childminder? Can you move one of their schools?

You need to clarify the start time with the school.

If it is indeed 8.45 then you need to find a way to make it work, eg using a breakfast club for your elder child, asking for him to be let in a bit early, asking another parent to mind him in the playground, sharing drop offs with another parent in a similar situation.

If it is 9am you need to ask the school to remind the y1 teacher of this, and to not complain about your DD being late if in before 9.

If they are doing useful activities 8.45-9 however, then finding a way to be there for 8.45 may be beneficial to your DD regardless of the official start time.

At ours gates open 8.45, classrooms open at 8.55 and doors close at 9am. So one set time really (8.55) for being on time, not a window.

If tours is an Infant/Junior set up, they need to expect some kids to need a stagger time!

Mine do ‘morning maths’ which is six maths questions. See photo.

We use it to fill in the gaps for the previous week’s learning as well as just basic maths skills. We go through it at nine after the register.

Some will have done all of it every day and some none of it ever. That will of course make a difference over time.

*some maths questions- not six!

Our school start time is 845 and they will let kids in until 9 o'clock before they become late. I think you're expected to be there and in at 845 so it's probably best to double check although I get why it's harder for you.

Do you think the problem is that your dd is upset about not getting the morning task done ?

Sounds daft. If it's an Infant School does it not co ordinate with the Junior School and stagger the start times?
I expect loads of parents have children in both the Infants and Junior school so are dropping off twice.

I would clarify the start time with school. Ours have a short window: doors open 8.45 and closed 8:50. People are usually milling around on site from 8.30 onwards when the main gate opens so tend to throw kids into class as soo. As door opens at 8.45. if you're after 8.50 then it is considered late and entry is via the school office. You need to understand from school if she is officially being marked late every day or not. If the doors don't officially close until 9am and you're turning up between 8.50 and 9 but crucially before 9am cut off then you're not late - you're arriving within the window. I'd be surprised if the doors are officially closing at 9 though as that seems really late.

In reception the start time was 9am but doors opened at 8:45am to give a 15 min window for kids arriving and transitioning into the classroom. She has now moved into Y1 with a different teacher who seems to start at 8:45, even though that’s when the doors open

Yes this is what it was like when she was in reception, 15 mins from 8:45am to 9am for everyone to arrive and “decompress”

When mine were in primary doors opened 830 and they used to be allowed to play until 845. That got stopped and they had to do consolidation work from 845-9, kids were not happy. Gate closed at 840 though.

It’s just an infant school that only goes up to Y2. My son is now in Y3 so has had to move onto our nearest primary which is a 15 min drive away from the infant school in our village. His gates don’t open until 8:30am though and parking for the infant is at the bottom of a hill, not right at the school, so it’s impossible to drive back there and get the younger kids into school for 8:45am.

the suggestion of a before school club for my son may have to be the answer, although I’ll have to look into the cost of that. It’s not something we had budgeted for. We are currently appealing his transport to school descision so he may be able to get a bus there after Christmas which would sort everything out.

I was just wondering if it was normal for state infant schools to start work at 8:45am rather than 9:00. But seems like it is.

It is probably on the website. I do supply teaching and I quite often look on a school's website before I go so I know what time they finish.

It’s just an infant school that only goes up to Y2. My son is now in Y3 so has had to move onto our nearest primary which is a 15 min drive away from the infant school in our village. His gates don’t open until 8:30am though and parking for the infant is at the bottom of a hill, not right at the school, so it’s impossible to drive back there and get the younger kids into school for 8:45am.

If he’s at a primary school, can’t your youngest just go there as well so they’re both together? Or do you mean he’s at a junior school?

All schools have different hours. My children have started at 8.30, 8.45, 9.00 and 8.55 indifferent schools, finishing at 3.00, 3.10, 3.25 and 3.30 respectively.

Tbf, I think it does depend on the teacher. Last year the classroom doors would open at about 8:50, so I remember a lot of waiting outside and being 'early'. But also one time I was there at 8:50 and had to go through the office, as they had already shut the classroom door.

This year I am there at 8:45 and the classroom door is almost always open. I can see kids already sat and working on their morning writing/ maths activity.

The official start time was always 8:45am.

Sorry, I mean it’s a junior. Years 3-5. There are a lot of village infant schools in our area that feed into a few larger juniors like this

How far is the junior school? And does the infant school have a breakfast club?

That’s odd, what do they do in Year 6?!

I presume you are not alone here in this situation, so would be emailing the head to find out what usually happens and if your daughter is actually ‘late’.

The school sounds very poorly set up if their timings don't match with the local junior schools. Personally I would continue doing exactly what you're doing now. She's not missing anything important and putting her into breakfast club would be daft for the sake of a few minutes.

8:30 - 8:40 drop off here, anything after this is late. They start their morning at 8:45 with carpet time and a story (they have a rota and a different child picks a story the day before). Sometimes things have to change in schools. Can be for a number of different reasons (current setup not working, ofsted recommendation, significant parent feedback in one area). You'll just have to find a way to make it work somehow. I use wraparound care on the days I can't make it work otherwise.