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Primary education

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

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Original poster

Half Days?

25 replies

SarahAJ · 03/09/2013 16:57

My DD is due to start in Reception next week.

The late start (Thursday 12th September) I expected. But what I did not expect was three and a half weeks of half days. Shes not full-time until Monday 7th October! Is this normal?

Not only this, but I only got this info this morning after phone calls during the last two weeks of July to the school and emails all summer (I thought someone might be answering out of office?) and finally insisting that I need the information as soon as possible due to working shifts part time. The teacher I spoke to also got incredibly snotty at me when I suggested that perhaps they should have sent a letter to parents earlier. Was this unreasonable?

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Elibean · 03/09/2013 17:00

Normal at our school, yes. But not normal to only get this info now - that is the bit I would be about.

Galena · 03/09/2013 17:01

DD is also full time from 7th Oct. Starts tomorrow though. And a friend's DS started today and isn't full time till 14th Oct. I agree you should have had this information before the holiday though. We knew what was going on at the info meeting in early July.

Elibean · 03/09/2013 17:01

Thinking about it, you should have had this information at the new parents' evening, or, if you didn't make that, in your information pack that is given out (at our school) at that point.

Original poster

SarahAJ · 03/09/2013 17:06

We went to every single meeting and got all the information avaliable except this. They weren't going to tell us this until they come to our home this Friday for a home visit. I only got the information because I kept calling. So frustrating!

OP posts:

Elibean · 03/09/2013 19:41

How annoying! And silly, on their part - non-communication about something that affects childcare/work for so many is totally daft in PR terms.

12345Floris · 05/09/2013 17:14

From what I've read over the years , all Reception starters are part time until the first week of October. Then 2 weeks after that, they're off for another week October half term! No wonder it's easy to be cynical about teachers complaining about their job...

pyrrah · 05/09/2013 17:27

By law your child is now entitled to 195 days of school a year, so you can just tell them that your child will be staying for full days and they will have to sort something out. Might be worth getting a group of parents to insist on this. If they try to refuse then talk to the LA who will deal with it.

DD's primary found the half-days and staggered starts a very odd way of doing things and so half of reception started full-time today and the other half start full-time on Monday.

BrightnessAndWallpaper · 05/09/2013 17:36

I think this is normal at many schools.

I can't help but think it is ridiculous though - not to mention very difficult on working parents and time off etc.

StarvingBookworm · 05/09/2013 19:16

Floris definitely not all reception starters. At DD's school she is doing 3 hours today/tomorrow, 4 hours mon/tues (so staying for lunch), then full time from weds 11th. Some of her friends at other schools won't have even started by then!

spanieleyes · 05/09/2013 19:21

Ours were in today from 8.45 until 12.45 ( so stayed for lunch-we provide free school meals for today, tomorrow and all next week) same again tomorrow. Then full time.

When my youngest started, it took until half term to be full time-drove me mad!!

Galena · 05/09/2013 21:16

DD isn't full time till Oct 7th. Her friend isn't full time till Oct 14th... Glad I'm not trying to fit in working too...

Jinty64 · 05/09/2013 22:25

Ours were in full time from day 1. I took the first week of work but couldn't have accommodated a long staggered start.

AbbyR1973 · 06/09/2013 17:19

Full time from day 1 although reception class not starting until Monday, whereas the rest of the school have been back since yesterday. We were given the option for half days had we wanted it but I don't think anyone in DS1's class took it up last year.

BucketsnSpades · 06/09/2013 17:26

DS is not going full time until the beginning of November. DH and I both work. Our bosses have been very accommodating but even with this we are unable to cover such an extended 'settling in' period and so we are relying on the kindness of friends and neighbours for free childcare and also requesting authorised leave for some days that we just cannot manage so that we can pack him off to a distant relative who is the only person available at that time. It will be the most haphazard and disruptive period of his life so far. Needless to say I'm pissed off.

TallyGrenshall · 06/09/2013 17:34

DS started yesterday, half days until the 16th Sept although we had the option of half days until Jan (all the children born in 09 instead of 08 had the choice).

The school has a nursery attached so I pay £9 a day for him to stay all day.

October seems an awfully long settling in period to me

Oblomov · 06/09/2013 17:59

OP, there was a new law in 2011, to support working parents.
It basically says, if parent wants, school HAS to, HAS TO, offer full days , right from the start of term.

I e-mailed my Head and politely asked if ds2 could go full time asap. She agreed.

The link , on the law change, is here:
newlaw

Oblomov · 06/09/2013 18:02

BucketnSpades, there is no need for you to put up with this, you do know that, don't you?

mrz · 06/09/2013 18:20

All our children start full time from day one (unless parents request otherwise), we've done this for over 10 years.

Panzee · 06/09/2013 18:28

My son has done 3 afternoons this week and will be doing 5 mornings next week, then full time. I don't see the point myself. I'm on maternity leave at the moment but if I wasn't this would be virtually impossible to do without using grandparents, childminder etc. Not fair for a new starter!

Lalamum18 · 06/09/2013 20:12

Local to us the general rule is ALL 1/2 days until end of autumn term !! So almost 4 months worth!!

BucketsnSpades · 06/09/2013 20:14

Thanks for the link oblomov, I had heard about this but didn't know if it had any basis in law. Things differ so much from one county to another. I'll be raising with our head. I still doubt they'll actually offer a full time place since Ds would effectively then just be sat on his own all afternoon with a teaching assistant but I do just want to make the point to the school that it's just unworkable and unfair on working parents.

Iwillorderthefood · 06/09/2013 23:08

Us too [lala]. I am happy with this as DD is just 4 and sleeps most afternoons still.

Fuzzymum1 · 07/09/2013 20:53

Our school does half days for the first week now. When DS2 was in reception a million 11 years ago they did a full half term of half days which was a nightmare for working parents.

DuchessofMalfi · 08/09/2013 07:09

DS started Reception this year and has gone into whole days straight away. The option is there to do mornings only if you want that for your child, but only one parent had taken up that option.

When DD started school (different school) they messed around with half days - two weeks of mornings then swapped to afternoons and back again) all the way to Christmas. Frustrating.

Pandorassox · 08/09/2013 09:35

I actually would have preferred half days for a while ds just turned 4 and started reception last Tuesday. The arrangement was quite strange it was :
In school for 9 am
Pick up at 12.05pm and take home for lunch
Return to school at 1.10pm
Pick up at 3.15pm

It was rather annoying with all the trips up to the school, though he does start full time tomorrow.

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