List of names in class

[NGC2017]

So my son started reception in September. He loves it but there is no way he can name all the children in his class. He names a handful but then gets stuck. He will just call them his friends if he don't know them by name.
As he has been so excited by getting Christmas cards I have decided he can send some too. I just think its a lovely thing to do and is a good way to practice his writing.
Anyway with GDPR every where now I am guessing school isn't allowed to give me a list of the kids names in his class? I don't want the whole name, just the first.
Whilst on the subject I think it would be useful to know birthdays too. We like to send a card sending our wishes. Will this not be allowed either?
Maybe if the teachers ask for all parents consent and then get one compiled of who is happy to take part. Is this something I could suggest?
I really would like to address each child if I can, than sending a card with just his name on. Unfortunately I am not around of a morning to be able to start recognising faces and names.

Thanks

It's annoying isn't it @minisoksmakehardwork. There doesn't seem to be an consistency either across schools. I really was shocked today when the main characters in the play were referred to as 'the child'. the world has gone mad that we can't clap and praise a child and know their name. We did not have a nativity programme.

Another thing that has peed me off today. My son has 2 very good friends which his teacher has confirmed he has really lovely friendships with. He asked me a few weeks ago if he could ask Santa if he can bring them a gift from him. I thought it was so sweet and to keep the magic alive we sent them off to the North Pole on Monday so Santa could make a special trip to school so my son could give the gifts himself as it was his wish to give them. I took the gifts in today and explained the story my child has been told and said he really wants to give the gifts to his friends. No problem I was told.
After school I got a message saying thank you. I asked my son why didn't you tell me santa had been to school with your friends gifts. He said but he hasn't come yet. I think its going to be tomorrow.
So I asked the other boys mother and I was told I was lucky I'd stuck a card on as her son wasnt told who it was from, just that a child had sent him a present.
No doubt people will say I'm making mountains out of molehills but I am sad. I went to alot of trouble to make this special for the boys. I could have done it in the playground but I'm never there with the other mom's because of my work. I'm always last pick up. I did it this was so they could believe that santa had visited their school. The teacher told me it wasn't a problem, surely she should have told me we aren't allowed to tell the children who it's from. My son said to me tonight he is excited for santa to deliver the presents for tomorrow so he can give them out to his friend's. Now I know they have had them and he hasn't been able to do it. Yes the card will says who it's from but it's just crazy that we have done something nice but all he gets is 'a child has got you this'. Next our children wont be allowed to call others by their names

In the infant end Our school gives a list of first names and first surname initial if two children have the same first name. DS has autism so would only be sending say, five cards if we relied on his telling me the names. In the junior site the kids just send them to whoever they want. My oldest DS hasn't sent or received any this year (year 6) despite me buying him enough for his class.

I think that is what I was getting at with this thread @ItWentInMyEye. At 4 and 5 our child won't be able to know everyones name. I feel this age friendships are all starting so it's important to include everyone. It's only a card after all. In juniors it will be my son's decision who he sends them to if any at all.
I'm my sons class there are a few names he can't even pronounce so I have no hope as to knowing what they are really called just yet!
The other week the teacher came out to me and said I need to let you know that a child has hit your son very hard in the face. I remained calm but I knew who it was as there is a very naughty boy in his class. This has happened once before but my son hit him back. I'm sorry but surely as with that happening parents and children need to be brought in. For me the next day his mom come up to me and apologised as my son is the only boy who has time for this little boy and tries to include him. But it is annoying that our children can get hurt and we still cannot know who hurt them.

I am just going to have to accept that my sons school cannot disclose absolutely anything.

I don't understand the Santa story - is your son under the impression that Santa was going to arrive in the classroom and distribute two presents? Or that a teacher was going to say in front of everyone Santa has been and has presents for x and y?

You don't need to know who hit your son, you just need to know the school are dealing with it, oh and teach your son not to hit back.

@myrtleWilson no neither of us expected that. His teacher told me she would leave it til the end of the day when they were leaving so no others were around.

As for my son hitting back he knows he did wrong but at the same time if another child has hit him then good! There is no way I am going to tell him he is wrong for defending himself. I told him he needs to tell someone rather than hit out though. If he was the one going round randomly hitting, biting, kicking, pinching other children then Id say I have a problem. But if he continually has to tell the other child to stop and leave him alone and no one does anything (despite then staff being aware) ending with him hitting the other boy when he has already hit him, then I see it as he is sticking up for himself. He hasn't come near him since! And I still haven't been told how the school is dealing with this boy, none of the parents of the kids he is harming has!

If you help out in their class you learn the names very quickly. Might help with next year

If you help out in their class you learn the names very quickly. Might help with next year

The OP has already said that she drops her DS of at breakfast club and only just finishes work in time to collect him at 3pm. Yes, helping out in the classroom can be a good way to get to know one's DC's classmates (although presumably the main idea is to help the teacher and TA?) and yes, if you enjoy the company of 30 small children, it can be very rewarding. DH and I did it on our days off for a few years, also helping put with our school's breakfast club. But not everyone has the 'luxury' of working hours which allow it (even if it is something the school encourages, which not all do).

It's lovely that your son wants to give cards and gifts, OP, but teachers really should not be being expected to act as gift distributors and Christmas card list compilers. They don't have time for this stuff.

Wow I have full names of all children in my DChildrens classes and email and phone numbers of parents. The school gives them to us each year. Always useful.
Small village school though

You don't need to know how the "really naughty boy" is being dealt with.

In a reception class he can be a maximum of 5 years old. There is a reason for negative behaviour, and how it is dealt with will be tailored accordingly. (If it is attention seeking, it will be somewhat ignored while they focus on positives. If it is SEN... If it is delayed social development... If it is a lack of routine..sleep deprived..hungry)

Five year olds are not just "naughty"

Wtf, Clara?! It is definitely not ok for the school to do that.

Couldn't the convoluted Santa story have been done by you at 3.00 pm? I can't imagine the teacher remembering the details and nor should she have to really.

Why is it not OK?
As I said it's a small village school and guess what we all speak in the playground anyway. Makes life much easier to just email parents about party's , missing jumpers etc. I'm sure you can ask not to be included in the email/ phone list if you wanted but honestly it would just make it more difficult for you to communicate with other parents.
My year 6 child has 12 children in his year just to clarify what we are talking about here. I have had all those children over and know all the parents my year 4 has 18 in the year i also know all those parents. In a small village school it just makes life simpler.
Now a big London school with a socially mixed intake? Maybe that's a different matter.

If you help out in their class you learn the names very quickly. Might help with next year

Even if this was possible time wise for parents most schools would never allow random parents to "help" in their own child's classroom! You can volunteer at DC's school (either forest school or reading) but you're explicitly not allowed to help in your own child's class for obvious reasons!

WE got a list of parents emails and phone numbers at the beginning of reception (last year for my youngest). I'm pretty sure you could opt out if you wanted but as it's used for party invites and play dates etc it would put your DC at a disadvantage.

We've always had full lists of children's names and birthdays and parents name and addresses and telephone numbers etc etc both in primary and secondary, maintained by class reps and updated annually.

Post GDPR the PTA sent out a school wide mailing asking for everyone's permission to retain the data and use it for class rep/PTA purposes. Out of 1000 odd kids, I only know of a couple of parents who declined, although I think now we only retain names and telephone numbers. Most parents have therefore now set up whatsapp groups. We were also told to destroy old lists, but I wonder in reality how many people would follow that instruction.

For Santa story is pretty irrelevant. It was to make the point that even with that they couldn't say my sons name as the person who it was from. If it was such an issue then I would have assumed the teachers would have told me there and then it was not possible. But they didnt, 'sure that's not a problem we will do that'. So it's not me expecting too much from teachers. Just like I was told no about obtaining a list of names I could have been told no about the gifts. But the point of me adding that to this thread is that I think the world's gone mad that we cannot address kids by their names

In fact initially I asked if I could leave the gifts at school and do it myself. No we are happy to do that for you. Just let us know what we need to do!