Considering asking for half days, 4yo DD. Any ideas?

[fuzzpig]

DD (4.7) is completely shattered. She loves school but exhaustion is making her enjoy it less.

At the start of the school year (all September intake here) parents were told they could choose some or all half days for the first half term (which only about 5/60 parents did) and then go FT after.

So while I know DD doesn't legally have to be in school at all yet - June birthday so technically not until September this year does she need to be FT - the school (which we love) are presumably trying to discourage PT reception students.

I'm not sure how to approach this. I really think even one afternoon off midweek would do her good, allowing her to recharge.

Any advice please? :)

My DD is in Reception but not yet 5, she does 4 days a week at the moment but will go full time from Easter. She's done 4 days from September, the local authority website (when applying for her place) stated that under 5's could do less than full time and when I spoke with the school they were happy for her to do 4 days.

My DD is a late July birthday and I remember her being pretty tired but TBH I think nearly all reception kids are! Half term is coming up so try and keep that as quiet and relaxed as possible - if she wants to spend a couple of days in her PJs infront of the TV let her! In the mean time, try and keep to early beds times, a lie in at the weekend if possible and little or no after - school activities. Let her have a recovery time when she gets in with a drink and snack and quiet game/story etc. I think if you can avoid her missing school time it will be better in the long run. Not only will she be missing out oon the work the rest of the class are doing, but her friends may well be re-arranging their friendship priorities - kids are fickle at that age.

I did this. I didn't even ask. I just turned up every day at 12 noon and took her home! By the last half term she was doing mostly full days. Dd's birthday is 30th August and was not at all ready for school. Even the play school mentioned voluntarily that I might consider delaying school, but with having to secure a place at a popular school I had to enrol her.

Doing half days had no effect whatsoever.

I would find out about the routine at school and pick a time which is the least disruptive to her learning so miss choosing time or pe rather than numeracy or literacy.

No adverse effect, I mean.

It didn't affect friendships, speed of learning - anything. Afternoon of reception is "learning through play" so it's not as if they're missing calculus.

DD1 did 4 full days and 1 half day and it made such a difference.

Same as gramercy, my DD is happy and settled at school, doing fine with everything as far as I can tell.

Hello, my child goes three days a week and will until she is legally of age to attend school full time, which is the summer term (and will be the summer term for your child - if she is already registered at the school the legal attendance age is the term after they turn five, or the summer term, whichever is the soonest). This has consequences for funding for the school (they get less money for part time children after the January school census). However, if you are already registered as full time then the school could allow your child to go part time at least until the summer term without consequence, as funding has already been set (and the school does not have to give the attendance figures for children under five to the LEA, and these figures do not make up the attendance record for Ofsted). My child is flourishing at three days, misses nothing of importance as far as I can see, has friends, and is happy. She was getting exhausted going longer. I amdreading next term when she has to go five days a week. I would DEFINITELY do it if you think it will be good for your daughter. A few months makes a big difference when they are little.

Thanks :)

I was thinking of asking when they have phonics etc so she doesn't miss it. She is so tired that she's not really able to consolidate what she learns at school, even though she enjoys it - they don't set HW but she doesn't even want to do her reading book.

We do everything we can like healthy diet, bedtime etc but it seems to not be enough to get her through the day. She's had 4 days off since Xmas - due to a persistent cough, but I'm sure it is only because she is run down. Home life is quite stressful, DH is injured and waiting for ESA tribunal, coupled with a depressed mum it's not great - we try to shield her from this but everything is a struggle TBH.

I am a bit worried about approaching the school in case they say no (lame I know) as I hate bad feeling and confrontation - I know I just need to get on with it.

My DS is 30th August too :) he's 2 and barely even speaking yet so goodness knows what nursery/school will be like for him.

fuzzpig - I think you get bolder with child no. 2!

With ds (also August birthday) I did everything the school said - no questions asked. This was partly because ds was an easier child, but also because I was inexperienced in the ways of schools and very keen to tug my forelock. But by the time dd came along I was able to be a bit more assertive (note the "bit"!).

So how should I approach it do you think? Teacher or the head? Her teacher is leaving at half term so it'd be good to sort it ASAP

Id do it with the head. if you dont like confrontation or youre nervous, write a letter first explaining youd like to discuss the possibility.
Phonics and other important stuff are usually taught in the mornings. You could collect at 12 or if they re funny about it, compromise with a 2o clock pick up. Even that hour would make a difference. Good luck

Maybe worth collecting her after the lunchtime play out so 1ish from the point of view of friendships.

Write letter to head first asking if you can meet to discuss. Polite letter laying out points clearly, stating your concerns - exhaustion - asking if it is possible to have a day/two afternoons off, at least until end of term. Once you have him/her agreeing you can later broach the possibility of extending that period to next term. Perhaps say you don't want to disrupt school work so you leave it up to the school to decide what times to miss. That way they will feel as if they in control and not as if you are dictating terms.

OP - I don't think legally then can say no! Because she is under 5, legally you can take her out but I would check with the school. II work in a school and I know that the reception teachers would probably not want you taking her out as she would miss out on things. If she was at our school, she could be missing Knowledge and understanding of the world, ICT, library, PE, Pshce, music, handwriting practice and phonics. That's quite a lot to miss each week, But your school may be different in terms of what they do in the afternoons. A few parents say ours are tired but at school they keep going and show no signs of fatigue at school. Could your dd be similar?

My DD2 4.7 is also going FT since September and really suffering from tiredness. Ive also been through it with DD1 who is a Nov birthday and knowing that she was exactly the same I've decided to persist. This last half term and the one before Christmas are really tough IMO - horrible weather, dark evenings and lots of bugs to fight off. I'm hoping that we are through the worst bits and the next terms are usually easier. I would worry that it would be more damaging and unsettling to take DD down to half days halfway through the school year.

Well I spoke to the head today and barely had to say anything - as soon as she realised DD is a summer baby she said it's fine if we really feel she is too tired. She suggested Friday afternoon (starting tomorrow!) as the session to take off as it doesn't disrupt her week.

I think those 3 hours will make a difference, but I do see the point about friendships etc. Thankfully she is very sociable but I will keep an eye on it :)

Glad you sorted it out....it's very hard seeing them so tired and I think we have them full time FAR too soon...countries whre they begin at 7 are at no disadvantage academically so we need to look at making it optional in my mind.

Yes there are some (lots) parents who cant consider it because of work but the CHOICE should be there.

We are in Scotland so ds3 started P1 in August aged 5.1. There are children in his class that were 6 in November/December (deferred) and children turning five up until the end of this month. He would not have been ready for school the year before. I have had to pay for an extra year of full time nursery as I work but still prefer that to starting school earlier. In fact another year would have been ok too!

We have twins, born in August prematurely... our catchment school totally refused to let them go part time so we didn't apply for a place there. We got a place at another school and they were very reluctant to accept late entry or part time.

My husband then wrote a letter quoting the 'school's code' - the document that says the schools legally have to allow a child to go part time until the term after their 5th birthday (year 1 in our case)... once we had quoted the law, the school could not argue with that.

Just tell them what you want to do and what you are going to do. Don't ask permission - you may not get it! Reception tend to have little structure in the afternoons so she is unlikely to miss phonics.

I was expecting to have to be assertive about it like you earlgrey - I've known some friends who really had to fight for it. I was really surprised that the head immediately agreed :) I should've guessed she would though because it really is a lovely school and they are very nurturing.

My Y1 child still gets very tired, but as another poster said, the half a term before Christmas, and the half a term after are the worst - it gets better from here.