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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

School not full time until November

69 replies

Oysterbabe · 10/08/2020 20:33

DD is due to start reception. I keep hearing promises of schools fully reopening in September. We have received her schedule for settling in and her first day at school isn't until 1st October and she's only doing 8 days in school before half term. She will start full time after half term, on 2nd November. The school has decided that, as they have been closed for so long, the existing children will go back into their old classes and resettle for a month before moving up a class and new starters will be delayed. Can they do this? Can I complain to anyone?

My partner and I both work. I've managed to arrange for her to stay in nursery for an extra month but it's going to cost a grand because it's not funded, the school are getting the funding for her. The other days she's not in school we're going to have to cover somehow with annual leave and grandparents. We also have to pay nearly £400 for afterschool club for up until half term that we will use 8 times. The club is a private company so, whilst sympathetic, it isn't their problem that we don't need them and I have signed a contract.

I just feel really fed up, like we're being completely shafted financially.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Jackiebrambles · 21/08/2020 20:55

Sounds like you’ve had a hopeful response so far! My daughter started reception last year and started full days on the 13th sept I think. But I did have friends in other boroughs whose kids didn’t start full time til Oct, so it’s not just a covid thing.

However given my 7 year old son left school in March at lockdown and didn’t go back at all, and we both work full time, I hope that your little one gets to start school and Stay there! Thankfully my reception child did go back for short days from 15 June. But those lockdown home school months. I’m not sure I’ll ever get over that stress and juggle!

Original poster

Oysterbabe · 22/08/2020 06:42

Callmecordelia sorry to see you are having a similar issue. The school does seem to just assume that they can do what they want and we'll have to just figure it out. I am worried that I've pissed off the head already and I've never spoken to him.

I mentioned it in the new class WhatsApp group and a couple of the mums had already contacted the school to question the lengthy induction. Several more have asked for the woman at the council's details so they can contact her too. There are a lot of people in the same position as me, paying a fortune for nursery and feeling a bit bitter about it. At least I won't look like the only trouble maker. Unless they think I'm the ringleader! 😬

OP posts:

Singingrain1223 · 03/09/2020 21:24

@Oysterbabe , just wondering if you had an update, I would be amazed if the school is allowed to keep the funding for such a delayed start.

cansu · 04/09/2020 19:26

I am a teacher and am cross on your behalf. That kind of staggered start is ridiculous. I can also see absolutely no benefit to the other children in returning to their old teacher. Whilst some children are anxious, most will benefit hugely from a fresh start in a new year group and with a new teacher. Dragging out this process feels like wasting a half term looking backwards rather than forwards. Parents have already had huge issues juggling work and childcare. To add further problems is really unfair.

Delta1 · 05/09/2020 11:37

Just wanted to come on to say bloody well done for pursuing this @Oysterbabe. It sounds utterly ridiculous. I'd be absolutely fuming.

scissy · 05/09/2020 12:49

That sounds ridiculous to me, good on you for persuing it! My DD's school just moved everyone up to the next year "as usual" and haven't changed much at all. Reception had their settling sessions this week as they missed them in June, do mornings + lunch from Monday (with increasing numbers so assessments can be done) then full time from 21st. As they do every year .

I hope you get somewhere so your DC are full time before Nov .

Original poster

Oysterbabe · 05/09/2020 14:06

We had a message from the council that said the early years improvement officer had discussed it with the head and made him aware of the financial impact their plans had on families who were unable to access either school or funded nursery. He just said that he would speak to us and try and come to an arrangement. The school have said that if we want to send her full time from 1st October then we can but that's the best they can so. So we still have this month where we're paying full whack for nursery, the school have her funding yet won't see her at all. I'm still pretty pissed off about it all. It hasn't been the best introduction to school and I think the head already hates us 😂

OP posts:

BKCRMP · 05/09/2020 16:17

Going at it from a financial perspective probably wasn't the right approach. I would have been more concerned about the impact of the ridiculous transition on the kids.

Singingrain1223 · 05/09/2020 21:39

@Oysterbabe , thanks for updating. I know quite a bit about nursery / school financing and I think you took the right approach and it's disgraceful that you have lost your entitlement for September. Best of luck for your dc's 1st Oct start.

Original poster

Oysterbabe · 11/09/2020 19:20

Well I'm angry again
They really can't find 45 minutes during the school day to reschedule this? Despite appearances my child is actually a pupil there and does have the right to attend and an education. Apparently less of a right than the existing children. This little thing being cancelled really seems to have tipped me over the edge. I'm drafting a brutal email to the head setting out everything I'm pissed off about and why. I hope he calls me in for a meeting.

OP posts:

BKCRMP · 11/09/2020 19:59

Sorry but it is a pandemic. I'm surprised they even attempted to have it in the first place. Of course they can't have loads of parents in the school grounds during the school day.

Original poster

Oysterbabe · 11/09/2020 20:21

Reception has it's own entrance and playground so we'd just be dropping our children off for 45 minutes in the way we would if they were actually attending school, which they should be.

OP posts:

snowballer · 12/09/2020 20:38

I can't believe how bad this offering is! Our school's reception class are straight in as normal. How is it settling for a child to go in every 2-3 days? They need to go in every day to get into the routine. I wouldn't focus on the story time but on the outrageousness of not starting full time until after half term. It's ridiculous (and what are the Y6 teachers doing while everyone else is held back a year for a month...?!)

sirfredfredgeorge · 12/09/2020 20:55

There is no "school day exemption", they're just making stuff up.

I'm still sort of amazed at how accepting you've been, knowing the law.

ZoChan · 12/09/2020 21:40

This is astonishing! Our school kept the existing children back in their old year for three days whilst they did transition. Then full steam ahead this week, so the reception children have been visiting - twice last week and start officially next week. I muttered about that and I support the reasoning why! But a whole month is ridiculous. Pursue this!!

absolutelyknackeredcow · 12/09/2020 22:54

I'm really not sure their interpretation of the rule of six is correct otherwise after school clubs and other clubs like football and brownies wouldn't be able to run.
You are probably not going to like this but cut your losses and find another school. It's not going to change and I'm currently agonising over moving my children from a crap, inflexible school less than a year after we started. (See other thread on this )

toririra · 13/09/2020 00:38

This is astonishing. I agree with pp that you may want to start exploring other school options if you do not get a satisfactory and reasonable explanation from the head as to why the school start is being delayed to such an extent for the Reception children, and no mitigations are offered.

sirfredfredgeorge · 13/09/2020 08:54

I'm really not sure their interpretation of the rule of six is correct otherwise after school clubs and other clubs like football and brownies wouldn't be able to run.

Well, they could in theory be right, brownies is run under the DCMS agreement with the NYA - nya.org.uk/guidance/
Football is run under the DCMS agreement with the FA or of course it could be run as a childcare setting and under that law.

But there's nothing that specifies what the school day is, educational settings just get to what they want (within their obligations to be COVID secure of course, and normal law)

They could perhaps have made their own covid secure assessment that it would not be appropriate for whatever good reason. However the problem with that is nothing about the change of law tomorrow could have changed the information for that assessment.

movingonup20 · 13/09/2020 09:13

This unfortunately has been a problem for years. It's over a decade since my kids started but dd2 didn't start until 3 weeks after her older sister and it was 2.5 hours a day the first week, 4 hours the second week by which time it was half term (it's early here) working parents found diy very hard, I unofficially did childminding for one of the parents in a bind (I was a sahm)

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