Settling in before starting reception

[Misty9]

I'm interested to know other people's experiences of settling in periods for reception, as I mentioned what ds will be doing for his school and most of my colleagues were horrified: ds starts settling next week and has mon-thur doing afternoons (including lunch) and then from Friday and the whole of following week is in full time. Apparently this time will include "baseline assessments" but no other info is given and the parent session isn't until the end of the first week. Colleagues felt this was too much and also a bit pointless being before the summer holidays even.

Luckily ds is the oldest in his year but if it's too much for him I'll be keeping him home some of that second week. What do other schools do?

Around here, 'most' schools do a couple of hours meeting either for a morning or an afternoon. Some do a couple of those.

What are they doing with all the dc that the Reception staff should be teaching ?

In our authority, all schools co-ordinated the 'moving up day' so all Yr 6s go to their secondary schools on the same day, and then, internally, the classes move up to their new room and teacher for the day, and the Reception children come in for part of that day. Usually even teachers who are moving schools can move, a it's the same across the City.

I can't understand how they have the staff or the space to do this. I mean, staff, you could feasibly buy in supply cover, but spare rooms??

Then how do parents manage childcare for school runs, which won't have been started this side of the school holidays?

I'm staggered the school has the staffing to manage this given it's still going to have its full complement of normal pupils too! Even if some are on residentials, they will have teachers with them. I would have thought more than an odd morning of intros this term was very unusual; we do a couple of short play sessions about 1 hour each!

Cross post with BFG ;-) Yes, I didn't even mention space!

We're actually fine for that as we are expanding and have spare classrooms, but few other schools will be so lucky.

DS's school had them in to play for a couple of hours once a week for the last 6 weeks of the summer term. They mixed with the current reception children mostly and it was just play.

We have a 45 minute session next Monday, then a 2 hour session the following Monday (which we can't make as on holiday) and that's it until September. Two weeks seems overkill!

We have three mornings in July (when each class is moved up) and then nearly 3 weeks of mornings ( half the intake, other half do afternoon) in September

Eek 3 weeks of half days! We're full days from the start!

Ceevee yep and Hubby can't get leave so trying to work out how on earth I can make it work 😖

I'd be happier with half days in September to be honest, though it would be a pain with childcare. Apparently the whole school.move up for those two weeks, and year 6 goes to high school!

I feel it's too much but dh disagrees and I guess we'll have to see how ds gets on - I will be contacting the school.to ask roughly what are they planning to do with them all though...!

30 min story, 1hr play, 1 hr meet other kids and parents. Then 3w part time in sept.
I think that is minimal however odd hours here and there must be annoying for almost all working parents

DS did 1hr last week with parents present, after school had finished for the day. Then he goes for two hours during school hours next Tues, it's 'transition day' so I think all children move into their new classes for the morning/afternoon. That's it till Sept when he starts with 3 mornings -
one pick up before lunch, the other two he stays for lunch. Then he's full time!
School are calling it a 'staggered start' but it doesn't seem very staggered to me! Although I'm quite grateful because it would have been difficult to manage with mine and DH's shift patterns.

so soon!
my DD did an hour in the classroom with daddy last Tuesday, and an hour this morning whilst daddy went to the hall.

I think that's it then until September - home visit during the 1st week of term so no school for the reception year and then into 6 weeks of half day hell settling in days!!!

They have one morning session and one afternoon session for the ones in am and pm nursery to go across and meet their teachers. Anyone who is joining that doesn't attend the nursery can go to either session (or both).
What you have described sounds more like the settling in first few weeks in September. Though i think at the girls school they just start full days straight away. We don't have a home visit as we had one for nursery.

Our settling in is 1 session of an hour and 1 session of 90 mins then all in full time from September.

We have had a morning in reception (current reception children off doing PE or library), and there was a repeat you could go to, and a Saturday morning if you wanted. The nursery children start going to reception in groups in July, and the last week of school all the kids move up to their new classes (Y6 get to go on trips and hang out in the reception rooms)

Sept they start full time from the start, about 6 kids each day over 2-3 weeks.

The school where I teach are allowing the children in for a half day WITH parents over a 2 day period. It is the same 2 days when 'move up' occurs for the rest of the school to coincide with the local secondary schools.

My son has one morning in Foundation 2 in a couple of weeks and that is it. BUT he is in the attached nursery and does his PE sessions in the hall, is included for school events etc so make regular trips. It is unfortunate for the children who aren't at the school-based nursery but history shows that there are generally only between 0 and 5 children who come from other nurseries.

My son had a 45min classroom visit today, another 30min meet your teacher session on 6th Sept, then will do mornings 9:00-11:45 each day from 12th Sept and full time 9:00-3:25 from 19th Sept!!
It took him at least 2 months to settle at pre school.....got my fingers crossed this time round is quicker!!

Ours splits into two small groups and group one do a full day, have the next day off, while the other half have the full day in. Then the third day they are all in. The following week they are all in together all day.

Dd already goes half days to the preschool there and a CM for wraparound so she is used to long days. They also in the last two weeks of preschool open the nursery and reception classes into one so the kids can get used to the classroom and the facilities.

Our school does 30mins to meet teacher and look around classroom. July Then that's it. Start school 6th sept 8.45am-3pm thrown in at deep end

We did a home visit of 1-2hours. 2 visits with parents/childminders/grandparents etc in summer.

Then Sept, starting with oldest children, they did a couple weeks half days before going gradually more full time.

PS I should add I would never work in a school that does 'straight in at the deep end' full school day for reception children. It's not fair on the children.

Parents went in yesterday to meet the teacher (without the kids).
Half hour session today. Whole class with one parent each for story time.
Two hours tomorrow morning.
Three hours Friday morning including lunch.

They start in September whole class but just mornings for the first week.
Mornings and lunch the second week
Full time the third week

My daughter starts reception in september. And this is only school I have heard of doing it like this I was actually shocked to. I wasn't to happy about it. Only other time I have been to school was for registration forms

The school went to see DS in nursery, we have a 'stay and play' at the school and a teddy bears picnic, then in Sept we have a week of half days, but on the Friday, they are encouraged to stay for lunch.

Anything more than a week would be a logistical nightmare, how do you all arrange time off work etc?

Ours have a morning next week including staying for lunch.

Then that's it until September when it's full time from day one for everybody.