Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Primary education

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

Flip

1 2

Original poster

Does it matter if your child doesn't know anyone when they start reception?

35 replies

LucyJones · 08/09/2006 13:32

It looks likely that ds will go to a primary school where he won't know anyone from preschool/play group in a couple of year's time. Will this matter? Will all the kids have friendships already formed?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

motherinferior · 08/09/2006 18:15

DD1 knew absolutely nobody and is now, a year later, surrounded by friends.

CJinSussex · 08/09/2006 20:40

hi-jack you back Noonar. We're from the 'East' - near Crowborough.

peegeeweegeewoo · 08/09/2006 20:58

I honestly don't think it matters.

DS (just turned 7) has just gone into yr 3. The friends he had at preschool and nursery did go to school with him, but all split up and make new friends.

In fact all the kids seem to change friends regularly - I think at this age they have
'five minute friendships' and they don't start to form longer lasting friendships till yr 2 or 3.
(in fact, DS still has no firm best friends, but knows lots of his classmates and always has others to play with...)

Tommy · 08/09/2006 21:01

DS1 has just started this week He knew a few people but one of his friends (has known her all his life!) knew no-one else at all. He has been going in the mornings and he has been doing afternoons but I would say that they aer both as haoppy as larry with it all

(So - in answer to your question - no )

Orinoco · 08/09/2006 21:47

Message withdrawn

Gobbledigook · 08/09/2006 21:53

Ds1 didn't know anyone and it was hard for him at the very beginning as most of the others had been in the school nursery together and he hadn't.

It didn't take him long to make friends though - he's quite a sociable child. He was definitely very unsettled for the first couple of weeks but fine after that. I arranged for people to come and play after school and that helped.

As someone else mentioned, it can be hard for you if the other mums know each other. Like ds1 I hated the first couple of weeks and felt quite lonely as the mums were already in groups from nursery. Again, I just thought 'pull your socks up girl!' and got talking to people and made friends quickly. I went to the first PTA meeting (well, I go to all of them) and met mums with children in other years which was good.

SoMuchToBits · 08/09/2006 22:03

My ds knew two friends from nursery school plus the boy next door when he started reception last year. However, when he started, he usually would spend the lunchtime with the dinner ladies!! They are lovely, but I really hoped he would make some friends his own age. After the autumn half term, a new boy joined his class. Ds and the new boy hit it off immediately, and are still best friends. Since then ds has also made several other friends and seems to be quite popular now. So I wouldn't worry.

nooka · 08/09/2006 22:09

Second everyone else here. Neither ds or dd went into a class with anyone they knew (although dd knew children in older year's because of ds). Both have made lots of friends. dd's class had lots of children from the nursery (I think it had expanded) and I thought the mums would be standoffish, (esp as I am a WOTH mum) but it wasn't a problem at all.

jamiesam · 08/09/2006 22:12

Ds1 has just started in reception this week - full time, from Monday. He wouldn't have known anyone in his class, but the school arranged a picnic just before the end of last term for this term's intake, and I got chatting to one other mum whose ds was in the same position of not knowing anyone. We only managed to arrange one meet over the summer holidays, but that made such a difference for ds1, to have a friendly face on day 1. After tears on day 1, ds1 has settled in really well and asked me to invite his friend to his birthday party next week. So I would strongly recommend that you try to ensure that your ds knows (even just met once or twice!) at least one other child in their class - for your peace of mind, as much as his...

IvortheEngine · 08/09/2006 22:22

Sorry, I haven't read the whole thread. We moved here just before term started and went on hols a couple of days later (we'd booked it before we knew we were moving) and so ds missed the first couple of days of his reception class. He walked straight in with barely time to look back and wave. He knew absolutely no-one and it made no difference to him. Also, he wasn't fluent in Welsh at the time and it was a Welsh medium school, but then again, some of the kids were from English, Scottish, etc backgrounds and they were fine, too. I hope it all goes well for your ds, Lucy.

Flip

1 2