Has anyone done part time reception for the whole year?

[PartTimeadvice]

We are in the position that we can choose to do this - we could also de register and defer but feel our dd needs to be in a setting for lots of reasons but for other reasons can’t manage full days.

We have decided on part time and just need to inform school. Has anyone else done this and was it a good compromise ?

Yes I think it was two full days and 3 half days worked really well and my son still did well in ks1 sats.

It's hard to advise without knowing the circumstances. What makes you think she won't be able to manage full days? Is there an SEN need?

She's only just started, and it can take a while for them to settle, but to decide you want her to remain part time all year seems pretty extreme unless there's a medical need of some sort. If she is already known to the SEN team, I would work closely with them to come up with a plan. If there's no obvious need and it's just a feeling that you have that she won't manage, I would definitely say wait and see as it's amazing how quickly most children do adapt to school, even if there were previous concerns at nursery etc.

While they don't legally have to be in school full time until the term after their 5th birthday, she will miss out on an awful lot, both academically and socially, if she only attends part time all year. Sometimes in extreme cases it is necessary, and obviously I don't know your reasons for wanting this, but it's a decision that is best made in consultation with the school, rather than just telling them that's what you want. Many might not be supportive if you just announce that's what you want. Request a meeting to discuss her needs and your concerns, see what plan you can come up with together to best support her transition. It's always better to work as a team.

We did it for a term. Worked really well for him.