Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Please or to access all these features

Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

Experiences of flexi-schooling

1 reply

Somuchgoo · 23/04/2024 14:18

Has anyone here got any experience of Flexi schooling?

I've just come across the concept, and I'm wondering whether it might be for us.

We've already delayed our 5yo starting school, as she's summer born (just), but I've got a lot of worries about her managing in September.

She's had a serious illness, which at the moment thankfully is stable. It's meant major brain surgery and has left her with fatigue (physical and cognitive). She can manage half a day of preschool, but is then v tired. She naps from 1-2.5 hours daily after lunch.

With this schedule, she manages pretty well, and to an outsider observer, there probably wouldn't be an issue. But where we've loosened the schedule at all, it's been awful, with a massive increase in meltdowns, and sometimes a child that's too tired to sit, eat, etc.

I know we are going to come under pressure for her to be at school all day, but I don't see that's viable right now. Morning in school, home for nap, and then sitting down together 1:1 to cover some of the afternoon topics is more viable. It also might leave just about enough energy for a swim lesson once a week (rather than the afternoon 1:1).

Even when she drops the nap, I doubt she'd be able to manage suddenly doing a whole day.

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
viques · 23/04/2024 14:44

I think you need to make an appointment with the SENCO at the school asap and discuss her health issues and the problems she has as a result. I think most schools would be reasonably flexible in this circumstance, not least because what the school could do to monitor a sleeping child every afternoon is likely to be something they have never had to consider, and they are unlikely to have either the resources or staff to deal with safely. The only issue I can see is a worry that her absence every afternoon might affect their attendance records, but there are codes that can be used in registers which should help to sort this.

Will your dd also need support 1-1 in school, this would also be the time to talk about this and start the process of applying for a formal statement.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page