Active discussions

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

Original poster

No info at all from school re starting reception. That's crap, right?

118 replies

herbaceous · 10/08/2013 15:58

I'm currently composing a stroppy letter to head of DS's new school, about the fact that we have had no information about the start of school, such as term dates, inset days, rough timetable, curriculum, uniform, lunch arrangements, whether/when he'll do PE/music, what he needs to be able to do, what he needs to bring, or even when the school day starts. Their website is two years out of date, and thus useless.

This is shit, right?

There was a meeting for all new parents, at which you could buy the uniform jumper, but as there were 120 families, one person selling, and five minutes to do it in, no-one stood a chance.

We met his teacher for a grand total of ten minutes, and there was no chance to meet other classmates or for him to look around. It contrasts so starkly with some friends' experiences of home visits, information packs about stuff, organised picnics for new parents, etc etc. I just feel we're leaping into the void.

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Set a reminder
WipsGlitter · 29/08/2013 10:51

I think you have a few options. Cut your losses, pull him out and try and get him in somewhere else. Can you pay for private? Or grit your teeth, turn up on day one and give it a chance. You sound as if you've dismissed it totally though and it'll never be what you're looking for.

Original poster
herbaceous · 29/08/2013 11:14

I am willing to give it a chance - I do have 'form' for getting myself into a total tizz about stuff which turns out OK in the end. But I want to start getting balls rolling now in case I want to move him, but he's all settled and happy.

We couldn't really afford private, and the nearest private school is selective. He might get in, but might not.

OP posts:
Original poster
herbaceous · 29/08/2013 11:15

.. I mean 'move him BEFORE he gets all settled and happy'

OP posts:
BellaVita · 29/08/2013 11:27

I work in Admin in a school. If you emailed my school via the "contact us" on the school website, it would not be seen until our training day on Monday, it goes to the reception inbox.

teacherwith2kids · 29/08/2013 14:57

Herbaceous,

I have been in school today getting my classroom ready, and would say that if your school starts early next week (for us, children start next Weds, staff training days are Mon and Tues) you would stand a good chance of finding someone there today / tomorrow. Certainly we had head, deputy, at least one class teacher from each year group, a TA or two ... and some stressed builders trying to finish off the toilets...

Could you try dropping by? We weren't running a 'full service' today by any means - post / e-mail / phone calls were probably not being responded to with the efficiency that would happen in term time, as most of us were up ladders / shifting furniture / swaddled in backing paper / in the innards of seldom-opened cupboards, but someone would have responded to anyone coming to the front door.

Original poster
herbaceous · 29/08/2013 16:53

Thanks both. I'll get in touch early next week to find out when to come to school, what he needs, etc, and about the dreaded jumper. Well, I'll try to be in touch. Whenever I've emailed or called them before there hasn't been much of a response.

In other news, the admissions office seems to think I'd have a fair chance appealing the place on medical grounds, so there is a chink of light.

After all this, I bet the school turns out fine...

OP posts:
WipsGlitter · 29/08/2013 18:04

I agree with the poster who said you'd be better calling in person. I'm pretty sure our headmaster will have been there this week.

Original poster
herbaceous · 29/08/2013 18:12

The trouble with 'dropping in' is the split site business. All the main staff, the office, the head, etc, are at the main site, which is a bit of a trek, and may well not tell me much of what I need to know. It will mean going by car, paying for parking, dragging DS around with me.

Yet I doubt anyone's at the second site, where he will be, and where there is no parking.

I know. I'm being feeble.

OP posts:
teacherwith2kids · 29/08/2013 19:01

Is the head at the main site the same as the one on the new site IYSWIM? If so, go to the main site and rout out the head. If they don'tt know, then they have the clout to find someone who does.

Original poster
herbaceous · 29/08/2013 19:51

It is the same head, yes. No idea of the staffing structure, and whether there'll be a co-ordinating-type senior person in charge of the second site or not.

OP posts:
teacherwith2kids · 29/08/2013 20:26

So when you talk about the head not being in her office during the holiday, do you mean that she / he hasn't been at the new site? Or at the old site?

IME heads spend a large proportion of the holidays working but not usually in school except for a couple of weeks (because a) its lonely, b) there is often a huge amount of building or refurb work going on and c) during said building works (or in the winter just to avoid diusaster when the pipes freeze) services such as water, electricity and heating, not to mention internet access etc tend to be erratic.

When the head - or when teachers - are in school over the holidays, their priority is not the 'day to day' things that make them incredibly busy in term time, much more the strategic type things (develoment plans, new staffing structures, in-depth statistical analysis) for which there are precious few uninterrupted hours during term. So it is quite likely that they will not open all the post, answer the phone, maybe not even open e-mail as otherwise all their time will be consumed on such things (admin staff work term time only).

So it seems to me that, having started from a position of disappointment about your school allocation, you have become increasingly angry due to a failure to respond even though there is no-one available to respond to you. I do understand that frustration. It would, of course, be ideal to retain someone over the summer to answer correspondance etc but thatr is not normal practice in primaries.

Do go to the main site tomorrow and see if you can find anyone to ask. If they have staff trainingdays at the beginning of next week, you may in fact find it more difficult to speak to someone as if it's a key staff briefing meeting etc then no staff will be available to speak to you. Training time is very precious, so heads tend not to be happy if staff wander in and out to deal with callers etc.

Original poster
herbaceous · 29/08/2013 23:05

Hi there. Thanks for taking the time to talk me down! I was assuming the head hadn't been to the main site (which is where I addressed the letter), but as you say she might be busy doing high-level strategic stuff.

I can't visit the main site tomorrow as I'm working all day, but can do so on Monday.

And to reiterate - I'm not just angry and getting our fifth choice, and them having the temerity to not read my letter, but the intervening part - not giving any information to new starters, not having any settling in, and the general chaotic air of not caring.

OP posts:
teacherwith2kids · 29/08/2013 23:14

With my 'other' (parental) hat on, I do understand how it feels.

DS (ASD tendencies, then a just-recovering school-induced selective mute) moved school in Year 1, and started his first day after a commute of 30 miles (we moved that day). We knew nothing, and nobody, and half the staff were stuck the other side of a flood. DS had never met any of his class. The secretary popped a school jumper over his head as he walked through the door....

Equally, DD got a place at the same school about 2 days before the end of term. She had never been to the classroom or met her teacher. She knew nobody, though all the other kids knew each other...

It is stressful, though. I hope that either this school will turn out to be absolutely fine or that you find that another place opnes up shortly.

Original poster
herbaceous · 31/08/2013 08:30

Right. The school may well turn out fine, but in case it doesn't I've started the ball rolling on getting out of there. DS is blind in one eye, and wears a cosmetic shell over it. While this doesn't really affect his life in any way, it does need special attention now and then - if a bit of grit or something gets under the shell, it needs taking out. He also needs to be treated slightly carefully to ensure his other eye is safe.

When I went to the pre-application open days for the preferred schools, and asked them about his eye, telling them that he might need attention during the day, etc, they both said they had procedures in place for that sort of thing - children who need their inhalers, diabetics, etc. As I assumed that a) we'd get into one of these two schools, and b) having a 'procedure' was standard practice, I didn't play the 'special medical need' card.

However, when I went to the starters day at his allocated school, and asked what they'd do, the deputy head said 'no idea, ask the teacher', and the teacher said 'no idea, ask the deputy head'. When I reminded the teacher at the brief meeting with her, she said she was sure the TA could sort it out. But nothing since. Don't know when/where/how/if this is going to take place.

The total lack of info since has further lowered my confidence in their ability to care for him properly.

I phoned the admissions woman at the council seemed to think I had a fair case for medical grounds, and for appeal. I didn't realise you could still appeal, but apparently, unadvertised, you can!

OP posts:
ModeratelyObvious · 01/09/2013 10:42

If there is someone at the main site, they should know any basic info you need like INSET days.

If you don't have the jumper for day 1, DS won't get in trouble - hopefully it'll be warm enough not to need one anyway.

If you want to appeal, start a new thread in this section and ask for help. I think it will be difficult if your preferred school are full as the allocation was made with the information the LA had at the time. You may move up the waiting list though (this might be possible without appeal if you send additional info on medical needs)

2cats2many · 01/09/2013 11:04

You aren't the first parent I've heard of who has had zero information from the school about start date/ time, settling in procedures, etc and I think its appalling. It's mot difficult to send a letter to New parents before the end of the summer term with all of the needed info in it. Not everyone can attend new parent meetings during the day.

If your child turns up in their first week without the correct jumper, PE kit, etc, the school will just have to suck it up. If it was that important, they should have told you about it.

Original poster
herbaceous · 01/09/2013 11:16

That's how I feel. It's going to be boiling on Thursday, his first day, so he'll go in the correct shirt, shorts and sandals and they can stick their jumper up their arse.

Mind further confused by the fact it seems to be one of the best-performing schools in the area, on results at least. Lord.

OP posts:
Original poster
herbaceous · 02/09/2013 19:00

Right. I phoned the school office to ask

  1. start and finish times
  2. whether there'd be school dinners the first week, how much they are, snacks, etc
  3. the dreaded uniform issue
  4. what he needs to bring on his first day.

The office only knew, after consultation, the answer to Q1, then said they'd get the teacher to phone me back about 2, 3 and 4. Why the hell don't they know the answers to these simple questions? Why should the teacher have to trouble herself? She did phone back, bless her, but I missed the call, and when I returned the call it went to some weird voicemail message saying 'voicebox 5301', or similar.

RAGE.

OP posts:
Original poster
herbaceous · 02/09/2013 19:02

Meanwhile I was with a friend who's son is starting at our preferred school. They had a liaison officer visit them in their nursery with pictures of the school, spent a few hours in their new classroom the next day, have a home visit coming up, and will each have a chat with the head teacher when they start. Which is really staggered, so each child settles in properly.

An unfortunate comparison.

OP posts:
WipsGlitter · 02/09/2013 20:43

It's a bit crap not knowing if dinners will be available - how can they not know that??? Who were you talking to? Is it a staggered start?

tiredaftertwo · 02/09/2013 20:57

You don't sound neurotic or a half wit to me at all. I can't believe how rubbish this school sounds. Unfortunately, nor can I suggest anything useful as you have done all the right things. It is inexcusable (I have much older children so have been round the block a few times with schools and their different methods - or not - of communicating). Good luck and I hope your little boy has a happy start, despite all this,

Original poster
herbaceous · 03/09/2013 20:11

OK. Head emailed me yesterday apologising for their crapness. A welcome pack was supposed to get sent out before the holidays, but wasn't, and she'll give us all info by the end of the week. Better, but still pretty pants.

Still don't know what he needs for his first day, for example. I'll give him a packed lunch, and if he doesn't need it have it for his tea...

OP posts:
WipsGlitter · 03/09/2013 20:15

Was it just you that didn't get one or everyone?

Original poster
herbaceous · 03/09/2013 20:22

Everyone - 120 families. Pretty poor.

OP posts:
clam · 03/09/2013 20:26

Think I might have already said this way back on the thread but this school does sound completely shite!
Was looking today at how our Reception teachers are with the new little ones - very sweet and kind and patient, giving up most of lunchtime to help them cut up food/hold knife and fork/unzip yoghurts etc..
I really hope you find it's all better once he actually starts.