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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

Home Visits before starting Reception

17 replies

Zamboni · 23/04/2015 19:13

How important are these?

Just received communication from DD's allocated school and noted with excitement the Reception children start a week after everyone else so was thinking of snatching a few days away the week before. But that is the week when the home visits will happen. Will our card be marked if we are not available?

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spanieleyes · 23/04/2015 19:14

Our Reception teacher would arrange another visit at your convenience.

Ilikesweetpeas · 23/04/2015 19:24

Contact school to ask if your visit can be a specific day suitable to you. That's what I did and they were fine about it.

MrsChocolateBrownie · 23/04/2015 19:36

We had a mix up with ours and never got the home visit (got a nursery one and morning in school). Wasn't an issue

Muchtoomuchtodo · 23/04/2015 19:40

Our school doesn't do them and i don't know of any that do, so in my mind they're not seen as important by all schools and teachers.

I'd grab a last minute holiday.

Iggly · 23/04/2015 19:42

Why would it be marked if you have a holiday? You could have booked it already for all they know!

chocomochi · 23/04/2015 19:45

DD's school would rearrange to suit us. Don't think your cards would be marked though!

Original poster

Zamboni · 23/04/2015 20:17

Thanks all. Will proceed with holiday plans and make ourselves available another time if necessary!

OP posts:

LL0015 · 23/04/2015 20:22

I rejected mine as DD already at the school and it would have meant time off work.

The teacher did tell me though that they took a photo of all the children on their sofa with their favourite toy so I provided same photo.

Some have the opinion that the teachers are snooping. Others that it is to make the child more comfortable.

DD didn't get one. Didn't see why DS should. He was fine without.

Iggly · 23/04/2015 22:47

Our home visit was useful and it meant on day one of school,the teacher knew the ds's name and greeted him as such. He walked in without looking back and loves his teacher!

funkynmunky · 24/04/2015 07:32

You do know the teacher comes with a tape measure and checks the size of your TV? The bigger the screen the lower the reading group the DC is allocated to. Just so you know .

TheEmpressofBlandings · 24/04/2015 07:46

Our teacher was very flexible and understanding with ours as I was hugely overdue with dc3 at the time so we had to keep rearranging around trips to hospital. In the end she visited the Sunday before school started.

DebbieFiderer · 24/04/2015 10:06

We also got our letter from the school yesterday with similar info (wonder if it was the same school?!), but it said the visits are optional and you can book a time/date if you want one. I can't decide whether I really need to or not - probably don't from the point of view of DD settling, but probably will, mainly for me to chat to the teacher (for a gossip mainly if it is the teacher I want, to get to know her better if it is the teacher I don't know!). But I can't imagine it would be an issue if you couldn't do it.

Original poster

Zamboni · 24/04/2015 10:51

Useful tip funky, will make sure DH hides the tv

I think it would be good to meet the teacher in advance but we have a parents evening, a parent and child settle session and DD will have 2 settle sessions on her own too in the summer term as well as the home visit. I have no particular problem having them visit us but the opportunity for a cheap getaway is v appealing so will do as suggested and see if we can rearrange. Thanks all.

OP posts:

BarbarianMum · 24/04/2015 12:45

I was quite uncomfortable when we were offered this with ds2 (new school policy, didn't happen w ds1). But, despite me spending a week cleaning everything, it was a positive experience.

Ds2 didn't want to draw anything as suggested, but showed them our pet tortoises and was quite chatty. He's quite shy so it definately helped him to feel he knew his teacher and she knew him prior to starting. And when he did start he had a picture of a tortoise on his peg that made his day.

OP, in your position I'd try and re-arrange the date. Our school were fine about that sort of thing.

reni1 · 24/04/2015 16:10

Our visit was quite useful, the teacher and the TA came, TA took dd into her room where they counted sticks and looked at a book TA had brought and the teacher sat with us in the sitting room, so we had a good chat and could ask lots of questions. Dd also felt good about it having made two "friends" in the TA and teacher already. We could have split and one of us gone with dd and the TA, but I felt comfortable as it was.

NotCitrus · 24/04/2015 16:33

Ours was handy as otherwise they might have put ds in the same class as neighbour, but he and I both explained he wasn't fussed about neighbour child but really really wanted to be in the same class as another friend. They also explained which bits of the uniform most people don't bother buying!

hiccupgirl · 24/04/2015 17:51

We had a home visit last Sept before DS started school. It was really worthwhile to have the chance to chat to his teacher in a relaxed way - one of the TAs came too so she played with him while we talked. He was also much more confident about starting as he'd met them more personally.

I would see if the school can rearrange to another time but that might be the only time the teacher has set aside for the visits to happen.

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