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

Has she been in any form of childcare before now?

There is a lot of strange information on this thread, if child is not compulsory school age, then the parent has the right to request a part time time option, most schools, even if they don't favour it (like our kids school), will work with the parents to come up with a workable solution rather than just having kids out randomly, kids below CSA do not count towards absence statistics in the same way as children above.

She is still in the very early days so of course she is tired!

without any need to do so I don’t think any school would agree because the problems it causes will outweigh any potential benefits

Being tired and irritable is normal as they get used to it. Mine are older primary age and they’re always tired and irritable at the start of term.

There's no harm in chatting to her teacher/the school and trying to find a solution that works.

You're right, she doesn't legally need to be at school, you can take her out and try again next year, that would be fine. But once they're enrolled at school they do generally insist that you follow the school routine/rules. It's not really about what the legal requirement is as much as what the school rules are. So for example, it's not a legal requirement that they wear uniform, but you can't send your child to a school with a uniform in their own clothes and say it's fine because they're not legally required to wear a uniform. That's not really how it works.

Wow the ignorance on this thread! Op you can send you child whenever you want until term AFTER the 5th birthday. You pick the hours not the school it's entirely your choice.

My seven and ten year olds are tired at the start of term - this weekend is a chill weekend because they are always knackered at the start. So if your issue is that she’s tired then be prepared for that to happen every year, whenn you definitely won’t be able to send them part time!

If the reason you want part time is that you believe 4 is too young and they should be at home for another couple of years, why don’t you just home educate? School isn’t compulsory.

Was she at nursery? Reception is very play based so not drastically different from nursery anyway.

If you take her out for a day a week she will start missing sounds when they start phonics. Our school learns one sound per day so she would miss 20% of the phonics learning which is going to be a problem.

@Smartiepants79 We can’t always have things exactly the way we want them indeed but what you can do is exercise you legal right as a parent of a non CSA child and send them to school when it suits your child not the school.

@LilacPoppy no you can’t 😂 you can choose to either send them or not, but you can’t send them on Monday, not on Tuesday, pick them up lunch time on Wednesday. By choosing to enrol in the school you accept their rules on attendance, her place will be withdrawn if you choose to not send her all the time with no agreement from the school.

2.17 of the Admissions Code states parents of pupils below CSA can, if they wish, send their DC part time until CSA.

Considering reception is when children normally learn their phonics, learn to read and write I don't really get why you would potentially make this even harder by not sending your child 20% of the time. It might be your right but it will be frowned upon by the school and the teachers will be pissed off with having to spend time helping your child catch up every week. Do you want to be that parent? Unless you're planning to move to Finland then what they do is irrelevant.

Are you in Finland? If not, what is it’s relevance?

That’s not correct. The school does not have to accept someone coming and going as they wish.

You have an absolute legal right for your child to attend part time before CSA (term AFTER their 5th birthday) or not attend at all until CSA but keep the place. Quote the admissions code if your headteacher is ignorant or non compliant.

If they are LA you can make an official complaint to the council and if an academy their funding is dependent on them upholding the admissions code, so it’s a serious matter. Sadly many headteacher still try it on hoping parents don’t know the law.

This is irrelevant. It’s up to parents to choose and schools must also tell parents they have that choice in their information.
If schools are inappropriately under pressure to do formal learning in reception that’s a matter of complaint to ofsted but doesn’t change the law about school attendance.

In the nicest possible way what difference is going 4 days as opposed to 5 days going to make? Your child will adapt

@SianNotAMan it's absolutely correct. I suggest you read up on the law regarding non CSA attendance. School policy does not trump law - ever.

@MakeWayMoana yes you can absolutely pick you dc up whenever you want. You seem disappointed by this ?

@MakeWayMoana I missed the laughing emoji . How amusing you find your ignorance a laughing matter. That's funny in itself.

Absolutely right @LilacPoppy and if any school policy isn’t compliant with the school admissions code I would suggest they immediately write to the governors, who have the legal responsibility to ensure it is compliant, to notify them.

You are completely wrong. By law a child under 5 can attend school part time.

Really odd of you to set yourself up as such an expert when you in fact know nothing about the subject you're discussing.

I taught for over a decade. When I had my own child I sent them 4 days a week. Completely the right decision and I’d encourage anyone to make the choice that’s right for their child.

I would think about this.The problem is that by coming and going and the others not ,she may lose out on her friendship groups and any sort of School Time too,

Hi op, we are currently going through this with my son. He was 4 the end of June, started school this week and by Friday was an emotional wreck over choosing his dessert.
The school is fantastic, teacher told me he was really compliant beginning of the week but this has tailed off come thurs. I suggested a part time option, sadly its only one intake otherwise I would of held onto him until January.
His teacher said its absolutely an option but let's give it a free more weeks and see if he builds up his stamina. Suggested I pack him a lunch and I can also put snacks in his bag to keep him going.
Work with the school, they should all want the same outcome...a happy child.

An exhausted child will not learn so your point is irrelevant. All children are different and once primary assessment is completed, teachers will know where the child's baseline is. Children will be supported to meet their individual needs, children will often be grouped according to ability and that level of ability will be supported by a leading adult.
No teacher will judge a parent sending their under 5 to school part time if they are not coping. I work in education.