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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

Reception - morning drop off

42 replies

Tillypea · 30/06/2018 17:46

I know it's going to vary from school to school but how long is it normal for you to stay in your child's classroom at drop off? And what's the earliest time you can leave your child in the classroom under care of the teacher (not breakfast club)? Totally new to this and slightly confused!

DS starts school reception September this year and in our induction letter it says parents are actively encouraged to spend time with child in the classroom in a morning (do an activity, read a book etc.). Great idea to get them settled in for the first week or so but is it expected throughout the whole year?

Would of course love to stay but with starting work at 9am I'm really going to struggle with getting to work on time as it is! Surely most working parents are in the same boat?

OP posts:

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wendz86 · 02/07/2018 17:33

Drop off between 8-45-8.55 . If you were able to you could stay and help them do an activity till 8.55 . I did with my first as was on maternity leave but would only be able to on a Friday with second .

Figgygal · 02/07/2018 18:08

We were never allowed in the classroom they lined up outside and taken in at 8.45 when bell rang

PerfectlySymmetricalButtocks · 02/07/2018 18:10

We weren't allowed in the classroom, there just wasn't room.

4GreenApples · 02/07/2018 18:27

We have a 15 minute drop off window from 8:45 - 9am.

Parents are encouraged to drop DC off quickly - so make sure they’ve hung their coat up on their peg, then shove them through the classroom door and wave goodbye. The general view of the teachers at the school who I’ve had contact with is that the children tend to settle down faster once the parents have left.

Teachers are technically available for a quick word during drop off, but if it’s anything that can wait, they’ll ask parents to catch them at hometime or make an appointment.

CramptonHodnet · 02/07/2018 18:28

When DD started at primary, parents were expected to go into the classroom and sit with their child, playing learning games for the first hour or so every day . It was cramped, noisy and she hated it. We moved schools when we moved house but a friend of ours said it continued for the whole of Reception year.

tomhazard · 02/07/2018 20:19

At my dc school they can go in from 8.45. After the first week we weren't allowed to go into their classrooms with them- they have to be waved off at the door and go in themselves to encourage independence. The school are very firm about this which I think is great and you never see any child clinging onto their parent anymore

Tomorrowillbeachicken · 02/07/2018 22:03

In the morning at our school you can only go in classroom for first half term. After that no one is allowed in.
Then after Feb half term all kids go in side doors.

BackforGood · 02/07/2018 23:16

Quite unusual to go into the classroom at all - makes it MUCH more difficult for the staff to settle the dc.
This is clearly specific to your school. You need to ask there.

MrsPreston11 · 03/07/2018 10:57

We've never gone in with ours in the morning.

Even first day, walk them to the gate of their outside play area and they walk in from there.

Does sound nice getting to go in, but I think I prefer it this way. I think it would have caused more separation issues (for my oldest especially) if I had to go in the classroom and then leave.

BuggerOffAndGoodDayToYou · 04/07/2018 21:50

Schools vary but at mine the classroom doors open at 8.40 and close at 8.50. Parents do not come into the classroom. After 8.50 children come in through the office and are marked as late.

We have several mornings per school year where parents are invited to come in and work with their child but it is not compulsory. I’d guess that about 20% of our children have a parent that comes in.

PitterPatterOfBigFeet · 05/07/2018 10:59

I would go in with DS and often he'd want to show me something (some display they'd been working on or a book or new toy he particularly liked) then he'd want to run off and play so I'd leave. Apart from the first week no one stayed longer than 2 minutes at the very most.

ItWentInMyEye · 05/07/2018 11:03

Doors into school open at 8.45, we take the children to the classroom, encourage to put book bags/hats etc away, sit them on the carpet and leave. A bell is rung at 9 and any remaining parents must leave. DS is in reception.

Littlelambpeep · 05/07/2018 11:07

We had a meeting and have been told not to stay. No loitering - quick drop off. Surely most parents are working anyway.

drspouse · 05/07/2018 12:45

We have a separate gate for YR, you can drop at 8.50 (but other years are earlier so next year DS in Y2 will be dropped first). The YR gate shuts at 9. I remember one parent trying to drop off at about 8.42 and being told no, even though he had a hospital appointment himself. the hospital is very close and he looked like he could use a brisk walk himself

I think we went in about twice but a few parents had to go in for a few more days; occasionally after that for example we needed to quickly discuss something e.g. make an appointment, or my DD yet again needed the loo so we used the classroom ones, or DS had left something the previous day which needed to go home and he was going to after school club so I didn't trust him to get it at home time.

drspouse · 05/07/2018 12:46

Oh and our YR pegs are inside (so if you needed to find something you could go in occasionally) but Y1 are outside the classroom so we hardly ever go in (except maybe if all 3 of DS' jumpers are in his tray).

kalidasa · 05/07/2018 13:08

At our school there's a 'soft start' from 8.40 - that means the teacher is in the classroom getting on with things and from 8.40 onwards the children can come in and quietly play or get on with things themselves. It is a really nice peaceful start and I think the rationale is it makes for a clean start into actual work at 9 and avoids lots of noise and excitement of them all coming in together. If you need a word with the teacher you can do so at this time too. We take both DSS to their classroom door because all the early years classrooms (nursery, reception and year 1) have doors straight out to the playground. Above year 1 I think you drop them at the main school door and they go in themselves. We don't usually go in to the classroom with DS1 (reception) but I do with DS2 (nursery), to hang his things up etc.

Our school doesn't do any stay & play or anything like that. It does have a breakfast club free for all from 8 am. We don't use it as we have an au pair at the moment, but we would if we didn't as we're both working. Schools seem to vary quite a lot though!

elkiedee · 05/07/2018 18:38

My kids were both in the nursery class part time before reception, and DS2 never settled - I'd been made redundant just before he started and ended up having to stay for ages in the first week, pick him up early and he would always follow me to the exit and wave forlornly.

I was very relieved on the first day of Reception - he was expected to just go in with the teacher, he seemed relatively happy to do so and I didn't have to go and pick him up until 3.30!

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