Part time hours advice in Reception

[Hocuspocusnonsense]

I want to request a part time start for my child who’s about to start Reception.

Can anyone advise on what I should suggest and what the school is likely to agree to eg 3 full days 2 half days or 4 full days 1 off etc?

Many thanks

A friend asked for this for her late august child. They said afternoons were less of an issue than mornings as they did the phonics etc in the mornings. I think she just had Fridays afternoons at home in the end.

If they're not yet statutory school age (term after they turn 5) you can decide whatever hours you want and inform the school - you don't have to ask permission. But you might want to think carefully about what takes place when to make sure they're not missing out on things you feel are important.

Hi,

Reception teacher here. I’d say 5 mornings to attend school if a parent asked me. We do phonics in the morning and children less tired in the morning and I feel generally get more out of school in the mornings.

Thank you both, I’m expecting them to want him in every morning but hoping to ask for 2 or 3 half days until Christmas.

Fab thank you pepper.

Are you able to share your reasons Hocus? Hope everything is okay.

Wondering the same. I had 3 friends and a SIL who swore blind their little darlings weren't ready and couldn't cope with the long days, but it was definitely more their issue letting go than the children's lack of ability to cope. My nephew begged to stay for school lunches and afternoons.

Well firstly I don’t have ‘little darlings’ I have children and secondly I don’t have a ‘problem letting go’ I have a 4 year old who has struggled to settle at nursery and only recently has started to enjoy it. He refuses to talk about starting school and is adamant he isn’t going. If he was a summer born I would be deferring him but he isn’t so I wish to ease him in to school gently.

My April born son did 2 mornings a week to start with, then 3 mornings after half term. He then did 3 full days after christmas and full time after easter. He is now about to start year 11 and doing very well.

Agree, I would go for 5 mornings as it's easier to then bring in longer days rather than adding an 'extra' morning (to him an extra day) further down the line.

Also the more he is there the better / more likely he will settle. He won't miss out on as much and will be better included in friendship groups forming (I appreciate they're unlikely to have a main friend yet).

I'm inclined to agree with @milkshakee that the more he is there, the more quickly he is likely to settle.
I suggest that you coming to collect him, when all his peers are staying is likely to be much more unsettling.

Might the school be flexible so you can see how he's getting on? DD's school were quite happy for any reception child to have an afternoon off if they were tired - mine was an August birthday and had an afternoon off most weeks all year. Her teacher would say at pickup if she was flagging, and the next day I would pick her up at lunchtime. She wasn't the only one, and one of the others was a September birthday.

The only thing with just mornings is he misses out on the fun parts of school, and he has less time to bond with the other children. Which might make him want to go less.

I would strongly suggest you give it a go (full time schooling) to see how he gets on, then broach the idea of adopting an adapted part time timetable with school a couple of weeks in, if he does struggle to settle. Mention your concerns straight away, so staff can keep a very close eye on him and be aware of his past difficulties, but don't just assume he won't settle because of past issues. He's older now.

Children can surprise you and struggling to adapt to nursery and/or not wanting to discuss starting school aren't necessarily signs that he won't settle well into school life, once it becomes a reality. If anything, he's likely to feel more unsettled the longer you keep him part time and therefore different to his peers. He will miss loads only attending a couple of days a week and will be playing catch up from the off, both socially and academically. IF he was to start off part time, 5 mornings will be of much more benefit to him so he doesn't miss too much academically (as all his early phonics experiences will definitely be part of the morning timetable).

I've had so many parents with similar concerns in the past and, most of the time, they are pleasantly surprised how well their child adapts. I'm not saying your concerns are unfounded, but I would definitely wait to see how he gets on first. If you are ultra positive about school, he'll be more likely to settle quickly. If you show him and sign whatsoever that you're anxious about how he'll settle, he'll pick up on this and be more likely to struggle. It's definitely not easy, but you have to approach the change as if it's the most exciting thing in the world for the sake of your son.

Many schools start Reception children on part time hours in the first couple of weeks. If your school doesn’t, I’d agree that mornings are when the focus on phonics etc takes place, but I think he needs to know that part time is short term and he’ll be increasing his time there towards full time.

In reception he is likely to be learning around 4 letters a week in phonics alone, so if he isn't in 5 mornings a week he will be missing letters, fridays is normally a consolidation day. Its much more structured than nursery and each day/week follows the previous and builds on it.

If he isn't in consistently he will also miss out on play time and free time in reception to build friendships

What's the settling in period your school has in place?

I would say 5 mornings but I do think it may be harder to settle in the long run as they'll be used to half days.
Plus agree with pp he'll miss out on fun things!

i don’t know anyone who has done this but how would you catch him up on phonics if he’s missing some mornings?

My child is going part time too although the school aren’t happy about it. I’ve will send mine 5 mornings and collect after lunch.