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Original poster

Anyone struggling with staggered start dates for school?

31 replies

chumsnut · 05/09/2024 09:45

The headmaster of my son’s new school has decided to stagger the start date for kids in reception. This has been really stressful for me emotionally and financially. We already spent tonnes on wrap around care for the holidays. Plus, I had to spend tonnes on wrap around care for the stupid staggered start date. The kids only go to school 3 times over 1.5 weeks. This is terrible at the start of September as it clashes with deadlines. I don’t get why he has chosen to do this as we never given an explanation for it. Plus, very few parents got a place for after school care. I am really tempted to make a complaint as I am pretty sure that it is affected other families as well.

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IdLikeToBeAFraser · 05/09/2024 12:34

nosmartphone · 05/09/2024 12:30

Baffles me how women have children without thinking about at all about how they're going to accommodate school demands 4 years down the line.

If you can't do staggered starts, how are you going to do Sports Day, Parents Evening, Celebration Assemblies, school trip pick up/drop off etc etc, days where school is closed due to a problem with the water for eg.

I totally changed my career to prepare for all this. Honestly baffles me when every year we have the same thread yet you know that school is coming when you have a baby!

You're just trying to wind people up aren't you? If you really believe this, how do you function in a modern world?

For the record, childcare is a thing. Sports Day etc is something some parents have to skip, for others, they manage it because it's occassional. This is completely different to 3 weeks of part time days at start of reception whic his not something anyone thinks about. Hell, half the time it's a surprise and people only figure it out in the weeks before reception starts.

Kitkat1523 · 05/09/2024 12:34

nosmartphone · 05/09/2024 12:30

Baffles me how women have children without thinking about at all about how they're going to accommodate school demands 4 years down the line.

If you can't do staggered starts, how are you going to do Sports Day, Parents Evening, Celebration Assemblies, school trip pick up/drop off etc etc, days where school is closed due to a problem with the water for eg.

I totally changed my career to prepare for all this. Honestly baffles me when every year we have the same thread yet you know that school is coming when you have a baby!

I never did sports day or assemblies or nativities when mine were small due to working…..that’s just how it was…..I wouldn’t have changed my career to make it possible

SnapdragonToadflax · 05/09/2024 12:43

nosmartphone · 05/09/2024 12:30

Baffles me how women have children without thinking about at all about how they're going to accommodate school demands 4 years down the line.

If you can't do staggered starts, how are you going to do Sports Day, Parents Evening, Celebration Assemblies, school trip pick up/drop off etc etc, days where school is closed due to a problem with the water for eg.

I totally changed my career to prepare for all this. Honestly baffles me when every year we have the same thread yet you know that school is coming when you have a baby!

Why should it only be women who think about this in advance and make provision and limit their careers to accommodate school? Bloody hell, what backward thinking.

Anyway - none of the things mentioned are essential to attend, other than pick up for which working parents use childcare (and of course days where school is shut which is a rare emergency). Personally I had no idea about staggered school starts until my friend's child started school the year before mine.

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CastleTower · 05/09/2024 12:44

Full time start from day 1 at our school, and all the schools we looked at in our area.

All the headteachers made it clear that they didn't think staggered starts are good for the kids, and that the thinking on this has changed over the years.

SatinHeart · 05/09/2024 13:17

We've got a staggered start over a week for DC2. I then have to drag them back to school for the normal time pickup for DC1, which DC2 is finding confusing and frustrating so far.

With DC1 it was more than 2 weeks of half days though so a definite improvement!

Frowningprovidence · 05/09/2024 13:21

nosmartphone · 05/09/2024 12:30

Baffles me how women have children without thinking about at all about how they're going to accommodate school demands 4 years down the line.

If you can't do staggered starts, how are you going to do Sports Day, Parents Evening, Celebration Assemblies, school trip pick up/drop off etc etc, days where school is closed due to a problem with the water for eg.

I totally changed my career to prepare for all this. Honestly baffles me when every year we have the same thread yet you know that school is coming when you have a baby!

Well staggered starts are not universal and have no benefit. Our school didn't have them.

I didn't go to sports days or celebration assemblies. I did do nativity.

I did get a place at wrap around.

Parents evening was one short 'early go' from work.

School closures have thankfully been rare.

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