when do you get primary school pack and when do the teachers come to your house

[Fizzypop001]

just that really would like to no when people got theirs and how long until the teachers come thanks

When I taught reception parents were invited into school for an induction meeting where I gave a brief "presentation" of what to expect in reception (a potted guide to EYFS) daily/weekly routines etc. and some Q & A time. At the meeting I gave out a copy of the school handbook - EY handbook- phonics leaflet, help your child with maths, letter formation chart (RH/LH)

I didn't do home visits because most of our pupils attended the nursery class and had received home visits from the nursery teacher.
Children not already attending the FSU get the chance to attend 2 mornings a week in the final half term if parents wish.

DD (in reception now) did not have a home visit as she had one before starting the nursery at the same school which was about June time iirc.

We had a meeting about her starting school (at the school) early July which was when we found out who her teacher was (the same one she had in nursery), got the packs then and an opportunity to order/buy uniform.

I have 2 children at school in Scotland and there were no home visits (thank goodness). The children did go to visit the school with the nursery and meet their teacher before school the summer break. We also got to go with them and sample the school dinners.

Ours come in for three mornings, once a week for three weeks, in June. We split the new intake into three and have a third at a time. The final time they all come in together ( that is whole school moving up day -so each class moves onto their next teacher for the day!) and we give them all a free school dinner. They then start full time the first full week back ( we have mixed age classes so any "odd days" in the first week in September are for the oldies to settle back into their routine before the newbies arrive!)

I am against home visits as an introduction to school- they set up an imbalance in power, and make for an unequal relationship between school and home, IMO. Teachers are indeed there to judge (and actually aren't qualified or trained to do so in matters of CP in this context), and I question the value of visiting when the child doesn't know the teachers from Adam. Better they are carried out once the child has been at school for a while, if at all.

thanks allot really useful info here just getting abit impatient waiting for the letter to come my dd is more then ready for school winter born so its even more annoying

I don't speak for all schools of course, but I know that at our school, they are coming to check out the home situation more than meet the child.

what do you mean by that moaningminge home situation

2 settling in sessions, one June (parents given info pack and have a PTA coffee session and uniform sale during it if they want to), one July with a presentation for the parents. reception started first day of term, half days, home visits in the afternoon after all children had done 4 half days at the school in the previous week so they know who the teacher and TA are.

Home visits have happened for many many years, I remember my mum mentioning them and she retired a long time ago. Some schools do them, some don't. I don't mind it, for an anxious child it gives them the opportunity to see the teacher and TA on a one to one basis in their own environment, my daughter liked showing the teacher some of her things and doing some exercises with them as part of the starting school book. We will have another one this year for my other child. I think the home visits CAN serve another very important purpose in that there MAY be things which come to light there which can indicate support issues, the staff can find out details like whether there are 2 adults there or a single parent household or an extended family or only child or 17 siblings etc. It gives them an insight into what the child's experiences may have been. I don't believe they are there to judge people or their homes I really don't. for my daughter it meant they found out things like she liked being out in the garden, picking flowers etc, has a sibling, a stay at home mum, likes books. things that may not come to be obvious at school for quite some time. It doesn't mean they would view a child in different circumstances any differently but it does give them more of a way to get to know the child.

Ours were optional, I think virtually everyone accepted. as the children were on half days for the first 3 weeks anyway people were having to take time off work or arrange grandparents etc to cover so it didn't seem to be a problem to people. it is only about 15 minutes but equally if you said no then I can't see it would be a problem. They may however ask to meet you in the school briefly just to check there wasn't anything they should know about your child's personality (mine has a phobia for example which I hadn't had the opportunity to raise or tell them how we were tackling it)

thanks periwinkle007 do agree with what you have said hope it will be a good experience for me and dd and starting school as well

We had a parents meeting and were handed a stack of paper.
Senior school sends a great pack of info leaflets and forms to fill in. Some of which demand money, tie, locker deposited, house subs (yes it's a state school).

Home visits, No. Perish the thought, I'd have to tidy. In any case most of YR have been to the nursery on the school site and used big school facilities so non of it is new.

theWoollybackswife

I'm in Northamptonshire too and was never offered a home visit for my 6 year old's school.

Like many other posters, I've never heard of such facility. Is this a new thing?

startail they usually do the home visit in nursery but because my dd is at private nursery and is going to the reception class from there they will do a home visit ive just moved few months back so had no chance of getting dd into state nursery which i would have prefered because would be familar with school and children and its run by teacher unlike private nursery

So the home visits are to 'check out the home environment and identify if extra support is required' and to confirm the marital status of the household.

Er? Prejudice much.

So my son will be labelled as a potential underachiever from day one because gov stats stae that single parent households rear academically and socially inferior children.

I will also feel labelled as unco-operative from day one if I decline a home visit :(

Wtf, have never heard of this.

Teachers have enough to be doing surely without home visits, that's mad.

We had a home visit from the reception teacher and TA about a week before DS1 started school. I thought that it was a brilliant idea. DS1 got to meet his teachers in a familiar setting and they got to know a bit about him. They were both lovely and spent about half an hour chatting informally with me about likes / dislikes etc, even down to what works for him personally should he ever be upset. They also spent time with him, telling him about school, his class room etc. He loved meeting them and ended up charging upstairs to change into his brand new uniform. He was not impressed when he realised he wouldn't be going to school with them right there and then. He's naturally quite a confident child but I really think this helped him to adjust, as when he started school his teachers were already known to him. I think a home visit would be even more beneficial to a shyer child. It also helped me a lot in adjusting to the fact the my pfb was starting school

what i think periwinkle007 means is the daily experiences of the child at home

no I seriously don't think any child would be labelled based on whether there are 2 parents at home. HOWEVER it does stop teachers putting their foot in it with kids when talking about home life. How can a teacher know if a child is being raised by grandparents for example and not have a mummy or daddy, they could very easily say something not relevant to that child.

My mum taught in an extremely deprived area and to be honest from what I gathered from doing work experience in the school it was useful to know the home background.

it can also help with knowing which language is spoken at home by which parent with the child. there are many children starting primary schools who may well speak English having been at nursery (or not speak any yet) who may speak more than one other language at home or their first language might be something else but they speak English at home for some things, read in their mother tongue or learning to etc.

Snowme The Northamptonshire bit referred to the coordinated transfer day (usually a Friday in July here). My 3 DCs have all attended the same primary school and only DS (my youngest) has been in a year where home visits were offered to the incoming YR children who hadn't been at the playgroup. He is 6 too and I can only assume it is something that varies from school to school.

When the teachers (2 of them) turned up to DD's home visit (for nursery) they came in chatted a bit and had a quick look at the bookcase (I guess to see which books were available) other than that they chatted to DD and chatted to me about any problems she might have as she is hyper mobile, has major food intolerances etc...

They asked DD which was her favourite toy/book ( were most at the fact she could read already) and just asked me if I had any concerns etc...

They stayed about 15 mins altogether...

"Teachers are indeed there to judge (and actually aren't qualified or trained to do so in matters of CP in this context)"

Firstly teachers aren't there to judge. The reason they go to the home is it is meant to put parents and child at ease. Many parents have negative memories of school from their school days and don't feel comfortable chatting to the teacher at school in front of other staff and parents. It's intended to be less formal and more relaxed,
and finally teachers are trained CP ...in all contexts

My dd was massively excited about the teacher visit and took her off to show her her room

I was a bit dubious about the home visit at first, but it was absolutely fine. It was nice for DD1 to show the teacher and TA her room and her toys. She was very comfortable being in her own home, and it also meant DD2 was happy- if we'd gone into school I'd either have had to arrange childcare for her, or had to try and keep her occupied while talking to the teacher.

I do think there was an element of 'checking out' the home, but only at a basic level. They certainly didn't inspect, didn't ask to go anywhere except the living room, and when DD1 wanted to show something in her bedroom they checked I was ok with that. They weren't intrusive at all, it was a pleasant experience.

Similar to mrz. We have a meeting, give out a handbook and other bits about phonics, maths, handwriting. We home visit the children who have not been in our nursery and also visit them in their current nursery schools. It's the best way of getting a good picture of how to support the children. We also then get a reasonable picture of who to buddy them up with on the visit day.