Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Parenting

For free parenting resources please check out the Early Years Alliance's Family Corner.

Flip

Original poster

Did you get a school visit before child starting primary

25 replies

ijustdontknow01 · 01/04/2025 12:46

Hi we find out in a couple of weeks my ds school place. I have heard that someone from the school may come and visit, did this happen for you and when did they come out? Once finding out school place what happens next?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

TeenToTwenties · 01/04/2025 12:49

Years back now.
We got a visit in first week of September, yR went back a week later than rest of school.
DD played with the TA and I talked to the teacher.
Was very helpful.
(At her school there was no staggered start, all in from day 1).

tarheelbaby · 01/04/2025 12:52

Yes, we did have a home visit before each child started reception. It was just before the start of the summer holidays, well after places were allocated and accepted.
Someone with more recent experience will come along but as I remember, you are offered a place, you accept, the school contacts you for proof of identiy/age/address of the child. Arranging a home visit would take place after that but they will want to fit it in before the end of summer term.

SquigglePigs · 01/04/2025 12:53

DD is in year 1 and no, we didn't have a home visit. No-one I know has had one for years so I don't think it's a thing in our area now.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

Families General education

Reugny · 01/04/2025 13:01

No because the school is in a different LA. The joke being due to the schools location half the kids live in a different LA area.

BTW you can refuse to accept your child doing half days for the first few days/weeks of school when they start in September. This makes even more sense if your child has been doing full nursery/childminder days.

Dyra · 01/04/2025 13:37

I think it depends on the school. Our first only started school in September, so it's still fresh in the mind.

The teacher did a visit to both DD's nursery and to our home so that we could meet her and so that she could meet DD in surroundings familiar to her. That way it wasn't so daunting for DD and that the teacher wouldn't be a strange face on the first day of school. This was in mid June. The home visit was more for the first timers. The expectation for younger siblings was that the parents would have already met the teacher. Our DS will be going September 2026, so we'll see what happens next year.

They then had a stay and play at the end of July so that they could meet a few of their new classmates, and see their classroom. The class was divided in half and the visits staggered.

Finally, at the start of term, they had a staggered start:
Monday was a teacher training day.
Tuesday, half the class attended for half a day.
Wednesday, the other half attended for half a day.
Thursday, the first half attended for a full day of school.
Friday, the second half attended for a full day of school.
The following Monday they were all in together for the full day.

As it was such a short settling period we just ran with it and took annual leave. As a PP says though, you can send your child full time from the get go.

Radra · 01/04/2025 13:39

Yes we did - it was the week school started and reception started a week later to allow them to happen.

It was really a chance for the child to meet the teacher, and to get through the questions the teacher wanted to go through with us

Writerbiter · 01/04/2025 13:42

Teacher visited nursery to meet the kids, then half a day transition day in summer term then a staggered start for the first week of September

JaneGrint · 01/04/2025 13:50

That wasn’t something that my DC’s school did, but in our case our DC - and a lot of the children starting Reception - had previously been attending the nursery attached to the school, so the children in the school nursery had already been through various transition / settling sessions where they’d met the Reception teacher, seen the Reception classroom and so on.
There was also a separate after school session that new parents were invited to attend where the Reception teacher basically did a presentation on welcome to the school, what to expect etc with a Q & A session.

Our school also started Reception full time from day 1 which I felt helped our DC settle into school faster.

pearbottomjeans · 01/04/2025 13:51

We we did, certainly with DC2, can’t remember with DC1. Nothing happens once you find out your school place. You just wait. You’ll get some info along the line somewhere, of where to be and when, and a uniform list.

Tulipsandtoast · 01/04/2025 13:57

Yes we had a home visit last year. My DD really enjoyed it, she was proudly showing the TA her playroom and the cat whilst we chatted to the teacher. They took an (optional) photo of the teacher with the children and family at their house and then had these photos up at school once they started.

ThatMrsM · 01/04/2025 15:52

My son is in reception, we didn't have a home visit because he was at the school nursery so the reception teachers went over to meet the children in the nursery (he had a home visit before starting the nursery anyway). He also had a induction morning where the new starters could spend a morning there and have lunch at the school (without parents). Oh, and there was an open morning on a weekend where we could go with him to look around his classroom.

After you're offered a place you need to accept it and then you will probably be sent information on any induction days and there will be some forms to fill out.

Clearinguptheclutter · 01/04/2025 16:08

No but some schools here do do it

otoh we did get to visit the school with the kids on a few occasions in the summer term which was nice.

TorroFerney · 01/04/2025 16:12

No, she started school in 2014 if that’s relevant. We visited the school to see if it was a good fit but we are very lucky to have both local primary schools rated outstanding.

mindutopia · 01/04/2025 17:45

They don’t do this where we live, but it’s not unusual. I would imagine it would happen as part of settling in in June/July. Poor teachers though, as if they don’t have enough to do!

Our school had lots of settling in sessions, maybe one a week (1-3 hours) for 5/6 weeks, where they’d visit the school to do forest school or art or whatever, so they go used to being there and met classmates. Sometimes preschool took them and sometimes I did.

spanieleyes · 01/04/2025 17:55

We visit all the local nurseries and pre schools and then offer home visits for the children that don’t attend either. We then have three transition sessions where children come with parents, if possible, key workers and then on their own. September is straight in full time.

Cabbagefamily · 01/04/2025 17:59

No, we didn’t have a home visit. I’ve never heard of that. Maybe for children in difficult circumstances they do it. We had a transition afternoon where the kids spent an afternoon in school, but they went full time from day one.

Cotswoldmama · 01/04/2025 17:59

With my first the teacher visited his nursery, with my second it was during covid, so she made a doorstep visit!

anicecuppateaa · 01/04/2025 18:01

We did last year! The 2 class teachers plus TA came round to find out about likes/ dislikes, any concerns etc, and to talk about how the first week works.

avocadotofu · 01/04/2025 18:05

Yes we did, they visited in September. We’re in London if that helps at all He’s in year 1 now so not that long ago. I also teach at a school in another borough and we also do reception home visit for the children who didn’t attend our nursery.

CarrieOnComplaining · 01/04/2025 18:27

Yes, the Reception teacher and TA came. Got to know Dc in their own home, a chance to ask me about anything in particular I might want to ask or talk about. It helped with starting school.

We got the option. It wasn’t compulsory.

BeakyFlinders · 01/04/2025 18:37

With ours the preschool setting is in the primary so they are used to all the spaces and teachers before they start. DD is in preschool now and the setting leaders sometimes take her along to join DS (Yr2) in his classroom. They both love it.

MissGeist · 01/04/2025 18:40

Yes. This was back in 2012. Quick 15 min visit by teacher and TA to say hello. Find out what their favourite toys were and what they liked doing and ask if I had any questions or concerns.

Sundaydrizzle · 01/04/2025 18:42

We had one last year. Our catchment is very mixed due to being a church school. The teachers came in, sat down, looked around, said they were sure everything would be grand and left again.

It was so blindingly obvious they were just looking at your social status (for want of a better word) they'd just as well have asked for a photo of your frontage and living room. I know they're busy but it was really ridiculous.

amiadoormat · 01/04/2025 19:30

I did for my youngest starting pre school last summer - I’m guessing I didn’t for eldest because it was the September between the two lockdowns. To be fair to the teachers who visited it was to go through any medical or social/behavioural needs which a parent might want to talk through in private before the term started and when the teacher isn’t going to have enough time to talk so I did find it pretty useful

Doolallies · 01/04/2025 19:31

Yes they do it round us. Reception starts 2 weeks after the rest of the school and they use that 2 weeks to do all the home visits.

Flip

Swipe left for the next trending thread