Part time reception

[amazighman]

Hi all.

My daughter has just strated her reception year , currently doing full time , I think its in her best interest to go part time , maybe 4 days a week .

Can school refuse request even though its not compulsory education? Afaik that during reception year the child isnt obliged to attend

Thanks in advance

I thought they had to attend once enrolled?

If they're 4 why did you not just wait a year? I don't think you can just make them part time but could be wrong.

I stand to be corrected but I believe reception attendance is not compulsory , hence some parents take their kids on Holiday during school term

I know they can't be fined because the child is not of a compulsory school age (5) but pretty sure once they're enrolled they have to attend.

shes enrolled now she has to go full time. Yes people take their kids out for holidays but that doesn’t make it right, the school has the right to fine them.

Compulsory from 5, so whether she turns 5 next week or next August makes a difference. Some schools will allow part time (flexi schooling if with home schooling on other days) but many won't as it can be disruptive and means she will miss out on certain things, like if they introduce a new phonics sound, she will then be catching up next time she's in.

How old are they?

Yes, IIRC you don't have an absolute right to part time attendance, but it is possible for a pupil below CSA

But I would think carefully about this - missing a whole day might mean that she is always missing certain lessons/activities and that will impact her friendships as well. Talk to the teacher about what is happening when, and decide a schedule that way, rather than randomly picking a day.

Also, it might well be better for her to attend every day, but leave early all/some afternoons

Your school may agree to this on a short term basis. It depends on if they agree with you that she needs it. It’s not really something that most schools are happy doing unless there are exceptional circumstances. I can only remember my school agreeing to it once and that child had quite severe SEN needs.
Having kids in part time can be very disruptive. And can mean they’ve missed out on important teaching that schools do not have the time or man power to catch them up on.
Whilst technically education isn’t compulsory til they’re 5 it doesn’t really mean in practice that you can just pick and choose when you want to send her.
Your child’s attendance doesn’t impact just her but her class, her teacher and her school as a whole. Poor attendance data can affect their Ofsted judgement!

If you make the decision for your child to attend part time, I would definitely suggest that they do 5 mornings and 3 afternoons, rather than having a whole day off every week.

Pretty soon, very short phonics sessions will start, which are almost always in the mornings.

You aren't obliged to enrol a child beliw CSA in a school but if you do then their attendance level coubts towards the school's attendance stats which affects their ofsted grade. So deliberately keeping a child off actively harms the school.

BUT for attendance to be considered 100% the child only has to be there for morning and afternoon registration. She could go from 9am to 1pm each day and be counted as attending 100%.

Talk to school about your concerns, and ask them for a plan for a reduced timetable to limit what she misses in terms of phonics etc.

Hi all.
Thanks for your inputs.

My kid is 4 years and 5 months old.
I just think its too much for a kid to do 32hrs a week ,5 days at school ,

In Finland which ranks first in child education , school starts age 7 not 4 , more isn't necessarily better

I believe small kids need family more than school

Is she not doing settling in sessions initially? Our school does a month of staggered start/finish time, with half the class going in for mornings, other half afternoons. Then the entire class will go for mornings and lunch, up until October half term. They only start full time when they return at the end of October. This works well, although I know it's a logistical nightmare for working parents, it really helps the kids adjust to the long school days while still young.

We are happy for EYFS to go part time, but it’s mornings only, not picking and choosing days.

This is one of the reasons we chose this school by the way, the other local one only did a week of settling in sessions before full time was expected and I thought my DD would struggle with that.

Check the local authority website for the current legal situation.
When DD went (decade ago) full time wasn't compulsory before their 5th birthday but it was after that.
She did 4 days a week until Easter.
School was slightly surprised by the request but she was offered a place (school was under subscribed) and the teacher did have some concerns on what she was missing.
In practice it was absolutely fine and 4 days suited her very well. She was never behind her peers.

@amazighman most children in countries who don't start formal education until later are still in some form of childcare from a young age.

In Finland which ranks first in child education , school starts age 7 not 4 , more isn't necessarily better

You know that preschool is compulsory in Finland, right? Just because they call it Preschool and not Reception doesn’t mean it is radically different provision.

There are few confused people on this thread. Most children in Finland start school being able to read and write. School is never compulsory in England. OP it could be a bit late now but what about another year of school nursery and delaying reception until 2023 - you would have to check your LEA’s policy on this.

This is the kind of thing that really should have been discussed with the school before she started.
You can ask. But I would be prepared for the school to be resistant to part time school. It is not a commonly done thing.
Unfortunately life is full of compromises. We can’t always have things exactly the way we want them. You may have to choose school or not school.

By the way my Dd was 4 years and 1 week when she started so I do know how you feel. She felt very little. I’d have loved to have her home for longer.
But at the end of the day we have to work within the system that we are part of.
Is your Dd actually struggling or showing signs of being unhappy or is just your opinion that she needs to be at home more?

Or, she can go full time and if she's tired/struggling one week, you could keep her off occasionally. Just respond to how she copes?
Some children love being at school even if they are quite young - reception is very play led. The facilities for early years in many schools are good and allow for a lot of learning through play.

School in the UK is statutory the term after they turn five. The early days are tough but the children do get used to it. When I taught Reception, several of my children would fall asleep at story time. She will be fine, whatever you decide. Sometimes the early days are harder for the parent!

She is very tired and irritated most of the time , I will have a word with the school and see if they will allow couple afternoons off

Most children are tired after-school especially at the start, normally evens out after the October half term.