Alphabetical nursery starting dates discriminating?

[vdlc]

Hi,

our 3yo DS is starting nursery now and we've only just been told that he won't be starting until the very last week of Sept (almost October) because they are introducing the children in groups of five each week by alphabetical order and he happens to be in the last group. We are not happy about this, does anyone else's nursery have this system?

I was already worried about him not being an English speaker and about the fact that he is going to be the youngest in his class but there is not much we can do about either things. The delayed starting date however seems like something that works against him and has been planned very randomly.

Should I say something? I don't want to be That Mom, as I feel he already has enough disadvantage!

Thanks

So he's only starting a few weeks later? Why is this worrying you?

Sorry, what bit is discriminating? You seem to contradict yourself by saying the start date is very random.

I don't like this 'discrimination' word thrown about when people really mean 'I haven't got my own way'.

Because the rest of the children will already know the teachers, the space, the activities, toys, etc, as well as each other... a month later means he will be the new kid, on top of everything else ! I also don't see why he should get 5 weeks less of education on account of his family name, it just feels too random.

It's not "my own way". I don't want him to start in the first week, I just thing all children should start at the same time, I don't see why this need to escalate, and using family names as a criteria, but it is clearly just me! Thanks!

Starting all at the same time is no good for anyone. 20 (or however many) new ones who are nervous, don't know where the toilet is, staff learning names and parents, special needs and particular circumstances all need learning for adults and children. This induction is common and staff do this all the time. You don't so you just have to trust them on this.

YABU. It allows the nursery staff to settle each batch of kids. It is not discrimination.

It's hardly education at 3.
He'll more than likely find it much easier to fit in when the staff can spend more one on one time with him. It's a much gentler way of introducing them to school.
Doing things alphabetically seems as fair a way as any.

I agree this does seem a long drawn out process but they have to 'discriminate' in some way. If it was done on age, some people would be upset. If it was done on children who had already been in the school nursery, some people would be upset. If it was done on maturity, baseline assessments, gender etc, some people would be upset. Honestly schools try to do what suits most people most of the time it's something you have to get used to. And remember whatever they do, it's not done to annoy you specifically, it's based on past experiences. By all means ask them why each group needs so long to settle, but this was something you could've asked last term presuming you knew about it then.

Just realised this is nursery and not reception. Does it really matter?

It's not discrimination, the letter your name starts with isn't a protected characteristic.

How would you rather they decide who starts first? At my DS's school it's done on birth date.

It's nursery, not Oxford or Cambridge.
Plenty of children don't go at all and are at no disadvantage when they get to actual education. It'll be fine.

No, I only found out about this on Thursday, I had no idea. It's not done this way where we're from so I'm only asking because I need to learn about this stuff.

I don't worry specifically for my child, I think all the kids in that group will start too late, and I know it's not about me.

Thanks all for your replies.

Oh my goodness, you are already THAT MUM if you are thinking of kicking up about this. For goodness sake, just chillax!

He will be fine. Wouldn't you rather this than him having his first day with x amount of other nervous children all wanting the nursery workers' attention?

You could always change his name to Aaron.

Spotty, I think it's based on surnames.

Op, it's 3 weeks. Really it won't make a jot of difference to your dc. Stop worrying about it.
He will be fine and they probably do it like this to make it easier on the children, not harder.

Why can't everybody start at the same time? Don't undrrstand the phasing in approach at all. I would have been rather annoyed if my daughter would have had to wait weeks until she could join her learning group. Not only because it would have meant prolonged childcare sorting out nightmare, but also because it kind of disadvantages those children who have a) to join an existing group at a later point and b) get less time at that setting.

Oops

I also don't get how it would enable staff to have more 1on 1 time - unless they're looking to withdraw attention from the children already there for the new joiners.

DS's school bring in batches of 5 twice a week for three weeks so some don't start until the end of September.

Its so the staff can assess them properly and get to know them - the teacher takes the new group and the TA deals with all the others. They do it because they learnt from experience that it works better.

Within a few weeks you really can't tell teh difference between who started when. It's not like the ones who started first are onto Shakespear before the other start - they're mostly finger painting at 3!

Op you are being a bit silly. Calm down. It is a few weeks. He will miss precisiely nothing. There is no discrimination happening here. Your son will not be lightyears behind his classmates at GCSEs. There wont even be anything to 'catch up' on in the first week other than learning the teacher's name and where his coat goes. Seriously, RELAX!.

OP - some would say you were the victim of 'alphabetism' - where people with surnames beginning with a letter towards the end of the alphabet are put at a disadvantage, because they are always 'last'.

I would have thought a better way for the nursery to this would be by birthday - but you'd also be among the last there too by the sounds of it.

I would have a word with the nursery staff tbh, because of him being a non English speaker, the should take extra care to help him settle.

Children need to be introduced into nursery gradually so that they can be given time to settle in and there aren't 10 children crying for mum at once!
All our returners were back on the first day.
We have 1 new start in each class (2 classes) twice a week -so we can help them settle in for a couple of days each before another new one arrives. It does make a slow start and this is frustrating for parents but is necessary for us to properly support children with this difficult transition. I've had a few phonecalls from parents double checking the start dates.

We go by age so the pre-schoolers first then the ante-pres. Sibling start together and anyone identified to us by social workers or health visitors are bumped up a bit earlier if needed.

I think if it was entirely up to me I would change it slightly so that if children have previously been attending a nursery and the nursery told us there'd been no problems with separation we'd have them in sooner and a few at a time (or all at once if not too many).

I think it's quite common. I know several schools who do it too

Someone has to be first and someone last....alphabetically seems fair to me(and our surname means ds woud have been among the last )