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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

Why is my son's school only doing two hours a day in Reception?

43 replies

CorporatetoKids · 10/09/2019 18:27

I am trying to work out why my son is doing almost two weeks of gradual hours in Reception.
9-11am, 9-12pm the first week and then another three days of only a few hours. I think he is getting very confused about it and it's a lot for parents to adapt to when we have to work!
When my eldest started a few years ago there were a few short days and then straight in.
I assume a lot of children have been in childcare before, so what is the benefit? My son thinks school now means 11 am finishes! Argh.

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Bugsymalonemumof2 · 10/09/2019 18:49

More and more schools are phasing them out. Ours is a week of 1pm-3.15pm and then full time.

fairislecable · 10/09/2019 18:52

I know of another school doing this and they say it is for the benefit of the children. Week 1 is 9-11, week 2 is 1-3, week 3 is full time.

The child is just 5 and has been attending full time nursery for 4 years it’s very unsettling for the child and very difficult to cater for when both parents work full time.

Sirzy · 10/09/2019 18:52

Ours used to do two half days then full time but from this year they have gone to full time straight away. They made it clear to parents that if needed they would come up up individual plans for any who struggled.

In theory you can insist on full time from the off but obviously that’s often easier said than done.

Aragog · 10/09/2019 18:56

Our Reception does a staggered start still too:

Week 1 - no school; teaching staff do home visits
Week 2 -
Monday - 1.5 hour in half classes (half morning, half afternoon)
Tuesday - as above but each half swaps (so morning yesterday does afternoon today, etc)
Wednesday - all in for morning; half home at 11:30; other half stay for lunch and go home at 12:30
Thursday - as Wednesday, but other group
Friday - all in full time

It used to be a longer staggered start so has reduced. Teaching staff say it benefits them and the children as they get to know the children better, and it is less busy for the first few days for the children, especially as they have a number who haven't seen to nursery or childcare before.

I'm not sure how all the working parents manage it personally. My own DD was full time from the start.

GrandmaSharksDentures · 10/09/2019 18:57

So glad my son's school didn't do this. They did full days from the start but only 3-4 children started per day

Mayborn · 10/09/2019 19:00

Ours has done full days from the start and they’re all fine. Tired, but fine. I can understand a few days where the class is split into smaller groups each doing a short day for eg the first week but anything longer than that is hugely disruptive for the child and parents.

DobbyLovesSocks · 10/09/2019 19:01

Am sure someone will come along and say that school is there for children and not to fit around parents and all that however I think this is ridiculous.

Majority of the children DS started school with had been at nursery either full time or very near to it and the world we live in now requires two incomes to be able to afford housing and the lives we have. Our DS was kept at nursery until the end of August and then I took two weeks off to be around for the first few days of school (I also refused the pre-school visit as we fitted in a weeks holiday and would not be around). Most good nursery's are running their older children's room like a classroom so children already know what to expect plus reception is focused on learning through play. I fail to see how staggered starts and reduced school days are helpful for anyone

Justajot · 10/09/2019 19:05

Our school does something different every year. As a first experience of the school as a parent, it makes you wonder if they take an evidence based approach to other areas of the school.

They also don't tell you until July what the plan is. I'm lucky that they didn't repeat last year's approach as I didn't have enough annual leave to cover the gaps by the time they informed the parents of the plan.

I think that legally every child has the right to a full time education from the first day of term. But parents either don't know or don't want to start their relationship with the school by insisting that the school change their arrangements.

Nyancat · 10/09/2019 19:08

Ours do 3 hours a day for the whole month of September it's an awful pain. Then they lengthen the day, stay for lunch and afterschools kicks in. So just when they are settled it all changes, would be better all in full time after the first week.

itispersonal · 10/09/2019 19:09

My dd school did this alternate mornings and afternoon and it was a nightmare.
Though parents of newer foundations class have demanded their child starts full time from September like the older children year 1 plus, as children are entitled to a full time education from the September of their 5th year! Which the school did.

itispersonal · 10/09/2019 19:11

And the school have made allowances for those children to start full time from the September.

To make it a bit more clearer. Been a long day

BendydickCuminsnatch · 10/09/2019 19:18

We seem to have a good deal compared to most of our other local schools - this week (week 1) is 8:45-12, and next week is full days. DS has only ever did 2 days at nursery so I’m worried about going in 5 consecutive days, but glad it’s only one week of half days because then it would just extend my worry about 5 full days, and confuse DS!

Most of DS’ friends only did 2 days at preschool max - I have one friend whose son has never been to preschool, straight into reception. So I do see the need to ease the children in to school, not all children will be used to that setting.

BendydickCuminsnatch · 10/09/2019 19:18

One of my son’s friends is going part time until Christmas!!! Parental choice though, not standard for the school.

Shakirasma · 10/09/2019 19:21

The school where I work doesn't do phasing in. They're all in full time from day one. I'm in my 6th year there and theres never been any major problems in that time, they generally settle in beautifully.

lovelyupnorth · 10/09/2019 21:01

My DDs 17 and when she’s started reception they did one week of mornings one week of afternoons then full time. So not really anything new.

AmarilloVan · 11/09/2019 21:01

We were delighted our son had a week of half days to ease him into school life. He had no pre-schooling as we spent the year travelling around Europe in our yellow campervan. Going straight into 6 hr 30m days would have caused needless stress.

ShiftHappens · 12/09/2019 07:45

it's bonkers.

A friend of mine send hers to nursery for 2 weeks more as her work couldn't accomodate the 2/3h days for 2.5 weeks.

mine went full days from day 1. nothing dreadful happened to them!

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 12/09/2019 07:49

Ds attended breakfast club plus full days at the preschool nursery for almost two years. Started Reception (same school, room next door) and had to do staggered starts.

Ridiculous.

katewhinesalot · 12/09/2019 07:58

Ours did 2 days of 9.30 - 11.30, a week of 9.30 to 1.30 then full time.

Tbh it's enough as they get very tired. It's quite stressful as everything is new for them. You can see them gaining in confidence every day.

Harleyisme · 12/09/2019 08:04

My ds's school does full days from the start. I have had 2 boys go though it and not a single child needed any differnt. If anything more kids struggled woth year 1 this year.

meditrina · 12/09/2019 08:22

It was something of a fad a few years ago, until people began to realise how detrimental it was to have added stress (unfamiliar ad hoc childcare) just at the time when DC benefit from no additional changes to the starting school in the first place.

And no, I'm not saying 'childcare' because that's what I think school is. It's what parents need to find to wrap around school.

Schools should provide full time places. If you cannot accommodate weird hours, then it might be worth seeing existing provision can continue until school will offer full-time place, and then make one transition to school and new (long-term) chilcare arrangements.

If you do that, tell the school why - more and more schools are abandoning the practice, probably because they value good relations with families and do!mt want to set them off on the wrong footing (for unproven marginal benefit of prolonged staggered start)

Benes · 12/09/2019 08:24

We've just had this. It's a bloody nightmare. Not just from a work/childcare perspective but it's confusing for the kids. Thankfully we're full time from today

amy1008 · 12/09/2019 08:55

My dd's school does full time for all from day 1. No problems at all. My dd was only a bit tired on the first day. Most of the children were in full time nursery before starting school anyway.

cheesenpickles · 12/09/2019 09:13

Ours does it in three stages based on the age of the child. First three days are from 8:55-11:45 and then full time but as mine has a June birthday she doesn't start till next week. Thankfully I work part time from home and have taken a day off but if I worked full time and out of the home it would have been a nightmare. She's itching to start as well.

BuggerOffAndGoodDayToYou · 12/09/2019 14:07

I don’t understand these phased starts. My DCs went straight in with full days from the start - well... the started 15 minutes late on the first day but were in all day.

All schools I’ve worked in have done full days straight away too.

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